By: Thompson of Harris, Craddick, Buckley, H.J.R. No. 135
Bonnen, et al.
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the
establishment of the Mental Health and Brain Research Institute of
Texas and establishing the Mental Health and Brain Institute
Research Fund for the purposes of scientific research of all forms
of mental health and human brain disease and disorders.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 68 to read as follows:
Sec. 68. (a) The legislature shall establish the Mental
Health and Brain Research Institute of Texas to:
(1) award grants to institutions of learning, advanced
medical research facilities, public or private persons, and
collaborations in this state to provide funds for:
(A) research into the causes of, means of
prevention of, and the treatment, rehabilitation, protocols, and
cures for:
(i) mental health and human brain-related
diseases, syndromes, disorders, dysfunctions, and injuries;
(ii) developmental issues;
(iii) neurological health issues;
(iv) behavioral health issues; and
(v) substance use disorders and other
addictions;
(B) research into other issues affecting mental
health and the human brain, including issues that directly or
indirectly affect or are affected by mental health or the brain or
brain health, such as the gut microbiome, nutrition, the spinal
cord, or the nervous system;
(C) research into the prevalence of the use of
psychoactive and psychotropic medications by veterans in this
state, including any connection to increased rates of suicide among
veterans who take a psychoactive or psychotropic medication;
(D) facilities, equipment, supplies, salaries,
benefits, and other costs related to brain research;
(E) research, including translational research,
to develop therapies, protocols, medical pharmaceuticals, or
procedures for the cure or substantial mitigation of all types of
brain diseases and disorders; and
(F) prevention programs and strategies to
mitigate the incidence of detrimental health impacts on the brain;
(2) support institutions of learning and advanced
medical research facilities and collaborations in this state in all
stages of the process of:
(A) discovering the causes of all types of:
(i) mental and behavioral health issues;
(ii) human brain-related diseases,
syndromes, disorders, dysfunctions, and injuries;
(iii) developmental issues; and
(iv) neurological health issues;
(B) developing therapies, protocols, medical
pharmaceuticals, or procedures for the cure or substantial
mitigation of mental health and brain diseases and disorders from
laboratory research to clinical trials; and
(C) developing programs to address access to
advanced treatment of mental health and brain diseases or
disorders; and
(3) establish the appropriate standards and oversight
bodies to ensure the proper use of funding authorized under this
section for brain research and facilities development.
(b) The members of the governing body and any other
decision-making body of the Mental Health and Brain Research
Institute of Texas may serve six-year terms.
(c) The Mental Health and Brain Institute Research Fund is
established as a special fund in the state treasury outside the
general revenue fund to be administered by the institute.
(d) On January 1, 2024, the comptroller shall transfer $3
billion from the general revenue fund to the Mental Health and Brain
Institute Research Fund. The transfer made under this subsection
is not an appropriation of state tax revenues for the purposes of
Section 22, Article VIII, of this constitution. This subsection
expires January 1, 2025.
(e) The Mental Health and Brain Institute Research Fund
consists of:
(1) money transferred to the fund under this section;
(2) money appropriated, credited, or transferred to
the fund by the legislature;
(3) gifts and grants, including grants from the
federal government, and other donations received for the fund;
(4) patent, royalty, and license fees and other income
received under a contract entered into by the Mental Health and
Brain Research Institute of Texas; and
(5) investment earnings and interest earned on amounts
credited to the fund.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
constitution, the Mental Health and Brain Research Institute of
Texas, as established by general law, may use money in the Mental
Health and Brain Institute Research Fund only for the purpose of
funding:
(1) grants in this state for mental health and brain
research, research facilities, and research opportunities in this
state to develop therapies, protocols, medical pharmaceuticals, or
procedures for the cure, substantial mitigation, or prevention of
brain diseases or disorders;
(2) grants for the prevention of mental and behavioral
health issues and substance use disorders and other addictions, and
brain disease and disorder prevention to mitigate the incidence of
all types of brain diseases or disorders in humans;
(3) the purchase, construction, or renovation,
subject to approval by the institute, of facilities by or on behalf
of a state agency or grant recipient; and
(4) the operation of the institute.
(g) Before the Mental Health and Brain Research Institute of
Texas may award a grant under this section, the recipient of the
grant must have an amount of funds equal to one-half the amount of
the grant dedicated to the research that is the subject of the grant
request.
(h) The reasonable expenses of managing the fund's assets
shall be paid from the fund.
SECTION 2. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2023.
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment requiring the creation
of the Mental Health and Brain Research Institute of Texas,
establishing the Mental Health and Brain Institute Research Fund to
provide funding for mental health and brain research in this state,
and transferring general revenue to that fund."