Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB690 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Rosenthal H.B. No. 690
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of the office of community violence
7	7	intervention and prevention within the Department of State Health
8	8	Services and a grant program for violence intervention and
9	9	prevention services.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Community Violence
12	12	Intervention and Prevention Act.
13	13	SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
14	14	amended by adding Chapter 53 to read as follows:
15	15	CHAPTER 53. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND
16	16	PREVENTION
17	17	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
18	18	Sec. 53.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
19	19	(1) "Advisory committee" means the grant review
20	20	advisory committee established under Section 53.102.
21	21	(2) "Office" means the office of community violence
22	22	intervention and prevention established under Section 53.051.
23	23	Sec. 53.002. RULES. The executive commissioner shall adopt
24	24	rules as necessary to implement this chapter.
25	25	Sec. 53.003. FUNDING. The department shall solicit and
26	26	accept gifts, grants, and donations on behalf of the office to carry
27	27	out the office's duties under this chapter.
28	28	SUBCHAPTER B. OFFICE: ESTABLISHMENT, POWERS, AND DUTIES
29	29	Sec. 53.051. ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE. The commissioner
30	30	shall establish within the department the office of community
31	31	violence intervention and prevention for the purposes of:
32	32	(1) coordinating and expanding violence intervention
33	33	and prevention activities;
34	34	(2) reducing the incidence of interpersonal violence
35	35	and homicide;
36	36	(3) providing leadership, coordination, and technical
37	37	assistance to promote effective state and local efforts on reducing
38	38	preventable injuries and deaths resulting from all forms of
39	39	physical violence;
40	40	(4) collaborating with governmental entities, law
41	41	enforcement agencies, community-based organizations, business
42	42	leaders, and other appropriate individuals in this state to develop
43	43	evidence-based policies, strategies, and interventions to reduce
44	44	the impacts of violence in this state; and
45	45	(5) awarding grants under Subchapter C.
46	46	Sec. 53.052. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The office shall
47	47	develop collaborative relationships with state agencies involved
48	48	in reducing interpersonal violence, including:
49	49	(1) child abuse;
50	50	(2) elder abuse;
51	51	(3) violence involving youth;
52	52	(4) family violence;
53	53	(5) intimate partner violence;
54	54	(6) gun violence;
55	55	(7) sexual assault; and
56	56	(8) violence against an individual based on the
57	57	individual's actual or perceived:
58	58	(A) sexual orientation;
59	59	(B) gender identity; or
60	60	(C) gender expression.
61	61	(b) To fulfill the purposes of this chapter, the office
62	62	shall:
63	63	(1) integrate violence intervention and prevention
64	64	education into state-funded substance use programs;
65	65	(2) support the development and implementation of
66	66	comprehensive, community-based violence intervention and
67	67	prevention initiatives throughout this state, including
68	68	initiatives focused on preventing the types of violence described
69	69	by Subsection (a);
70	70	(3) develop and recommend comprehensive wraparound
71	71	and other support services, including interpersonal violence and
72	72	suicide prevention programs, that are funded by local governmental
73	73	entities; and
74	74	(4) assist local organizations that provide violence
75	75	intervention and prevention services in seeking and applying for a
76	76	grant under Subchapter C.
77	77	(c) The office shall develop and implement a public health
78	78	strategy for implementing the purposes described by Section 53.051,
79	79	which must include:
80	80	(1) the use of culturally competent, community-wide
81	81	risk assessment tools;
82	82	(2) the use of methods to identify individuals in need
83	83	of intervention or prevention services who rely heavily on public
84	84	services;
85	85	(3) the provision of cognitive and family-based
86	86	counseling;
87	87	(4) the coordination of available services to prevent
88	88	incidents of violence; and
89	89	(5) as appropriate, technical assistance from
90	90	culturally competent organizations or individuals.
91	91	Sec. 53.053. INCREASING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF VIOLENCE;
92	92	DIRECTORY OF VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION SERVICES. (a)
93	93	The office shall conduct a statewide public health campaign on the
94	94	impact of violence, strategies to help stop violence from
95	95	occurring, and the use of alternative dispute resolution methods
96	96	for addressing incidents of violence.
97	97	(b) The office shall develop and post on the department's
98	98	Internet website a directory of violence intervention and
99	99	prevention services available in each county in this state.
100	100	SUBCHAPTER C. COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION GRANT
101	101	PROGRAM
102	102	Sec. 53.101. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF GRANT
103	103	PROGRAM. The office shall establish and administer a community
104	104	violence intervention and prevention grant program and award grants
105	105	under the program to improve public health and safety by supporting
106	106	effective violence reduction strategies in communities throughout
107	107	this state that are disproportionately impacted by a high incidence
108	108	of violence, including:
109	109	(1) gun violence;
110	110	(2) group violence;
111	111	(3) suicides;
112	112	(4) family violence;
113	113	(5) intimate partner violence; and
114	114	(6) violence based on an individual's gender.
115	115	Sec. 53.102. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The office shall
116	116	establish the grant review advisory committee to assist the office
117	117	in reviewing and selecting grant applications for a grant award.
118	118	The advisory committee must include:
119	119	(1) members who have been personally impacted by
120	120	violence;
121	121	(2) members who have been incarcerated; and
122	122	(3) members with hands-on experience implementing
123	123	evidence-based violence reduction initiatives that incorporate a
124	124	public health, community-based, or ecological system approach.
125	125	(b) The advisory committee shall select a presiding officer
126	126	from among the advisory committee members.
127	127	(c) An advisory committee member serves at the pleasure of
128	128	the office.
129	129	(d) Section 2110.008, Government Code, does not apply to the
130	130	advisory committee.
131	131	Sec. 53.103. ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. (a)
132	132	The office, with advice from the advisory committee, shall award
133	133	grants through a competitive process to counties and municipalities
134	134	that are disproportionately impacted by a high incidence of
135	135	violence and to community-based organizations that serve
136	136	communities disproportionately impacted by a high incidence of
137	137	violence.
138	138	(b) To be awarded a grant under this subchapter, a county,
139	139	municipality, or community-based organization shall submit to the
140	140	office, in the form and manner prescribed by the office, a complete
141	141	application that includes a statement describing:
142	142	(1) the community issues or concerns for which the
143	143	grant money is sought;
144	144	(2) the applicant's goals and objectives for use of the
145	145	grant money, including the applicant's plan for implementing an
146	146	evidence-based violence reduction initiative using the grant
147	147	money; and
148	148	(3) the applicant's plan to enhance local coordination
149	149	of existing violence intervention and prevention programs and
150	150	minimize the duplication of services.
151	151	(c) If appropriate to address regional problems or provide a
152	152	more comprehensive solution:
153	153	(1) a county or municipality may submit a joint
154	154	application with one or more other counties or municipalities; and
155	155	(2) a community-based organization may submit a joint
156	156	application with one or more other community-based organizations.
157	157	Sec. 53.104. REVIEW AND SELECTION OF GRANT APPLICANTS. (a)
158	158	The office, with assistance and advice from the advisory committee,
159	159	shall review grant applications submitted under this subchapter and
160	160	select the applicants for grant awards.
161	161	(b) In selecting applicants to be awarded a grant, the
162	162	office shall give preference to applicants whose proposals
163	163	demonstrate:
164	164	(1) the greatest likelihood for reducing violence in
165	165	the community served by the applicant without contributing to the
166	166	mass incarceration of individuals;
167	167	(2) for a joint application that includes at least one
168	168	community-based organization, a partnership with one or more
169	169	entities, including another community-based organization or a
170	170	public entity;
171	171	(3) leadership that reflects the demographics of the
172	172	community where the grant money will be used;
173	173	(4) experience with formerly incarcerated individuals
174	174	or individuals who are otherwise involved in the criminal justice
175	175	system; and
176	176	(5) experience with individuals who are experiencing
177	177	or have experienced interpersonal violence.
178	178	Sec. 53.105. REQUIRED USE OF GRANT MONEY. (a) A grant
179	179	recipient shall use a grant awarded under this subchapter to
180	180	support, expand, or replicate evidence-based violence reduction
181	181	initiatives focused on interrupting cycles of violence,
182	182	victimization, and retaliation to reduce the incidence of firearm
183	183	violence, including:
184	184	(1) hospital-based violence intervention programs;
185	185	(2) community outreach programs; and
186	186	(3) initiatives with focused deterrence strategies.
187	187	(b) The office may award a grant under this subchapter only
188	188	in accordance with a contract between the office and the grant
189	189	recipient. The contract must include provisions affording the
190	190	office sufficient control to ensure the public purpose of
191	191	supporting, expanding, or replicating evidence-based violence
192	192	reduction initiatives focused on interrupting cycles of violence,
193	193	victimization, and retaliation is accomplished and this state
194	194	receives the return benefit.
195	195	(c) Subject to Subsection (b), a county or municipal
196	196	recipient of a grant awarded under this subchapter must distribute
197	197	not less than 50 percent of the grant money in this state to one or
198	198	more of the following:
199	199	(1) a community-based organization;
200	200	(2) an Indian tribe or tribal organizations; or
201	201	(3) a public entity whose primary focus is community
202	202	safety or gun violence prevention.
203	203	Sec. 53.106. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. Each grant recipient
204	204	shall report to the office, in a form and at intervals prescribed by
205	205	the office, the recipient's progress toward achieving the grant
206	206	objectives.
207	207	Sec. 53.107. EFFICACY EVALUATION OF GRANT PROGRAM. The
208	208	office may contract with an independent entity with expertise in
209	209	evaluating community-based, grant-funded programs to evaluate the
210	210	effectiveness of the grant program under this subchapter, provided
211	211	that, in conducting the evaluation, the entity uses:
212	212	(1) both qualitative and quantitative methods, as
213	213	appropriate; and
214	214	(2) participatory action research methods or other
215	215	research methods that incorporate subject engagement, to the extent
216	216	practicable.
217	217	SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2023:
218	218	(1) the commissioner of state health services shall
219	219	establish the office of community violence intervention and
220	220	prevention within the Department of State Health Services as
221	221	required by Chapter 53, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
222	222	Act; and
223	223	(2) the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
224	224	Services Commission shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
225	225	Chapter 53, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
226	226	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.