| 1 | 1 | | 89R4603 CMO-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Simmons H.B. No. 1881 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to a study regarding establishing a public medical school |
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| 10 | 10 | | as a professional school of Texas Southern University. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. FEASIBILITY STUDY. (a) The president of Texas |
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| 13 | 13 | | Southern University shall designate a department or entity at the |
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| 14 | 14 | | university to conduct a study to examine the need for and |
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| 15 | 15 | | feasibility of establishing a school of medicine as a professional |
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| 16 | 16 | | school of Texas Southern University. The department or entity may |
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| 17 | 17 | | seek the assistance of outside experts or consultants, as |
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| 18 | 18 | | necessary. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (b) The study must: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (1) assess the need for establishing an institution |
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| 21 | 21 | | described by Subsection (a) of this section; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (2) include a financial plan for establishing an |
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| 23 | 23 | | institution described by Subsection (a) of this section, including |
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| 24 | 24 | | the cost associated with establishing the institution; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (3) examine the feasibility of establishing an |
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| 26 | 26 | | institution described by Subsection (a) of this section, including |
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| 27 | 27 | | the projected timeline for accreditation of the institution; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | (4) assess how Texas Southern University, when |
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| 29 | 29 | | compared to other public universities in this state, is better |
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| 30 | 30 | | suited to develop programs to address the following issues as they |
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| 31 | 31 | | appear in urban areas of this state: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (A) gaps in health care affecting urban |
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| 33 | 33 | | populations; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (B) ease of access to health care in different |
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| 35 | 35 | | locations of an urban area; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (C) disparities in the health of various |
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| 37 | 37 | | populations in an urban area; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (D) maternal mortality; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | (E) any other medical issue affecting the |
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| 40 | 40 | | provision of health care in urban areas of this state. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 2. REPORT. (a) The department or entity at Texas |
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| 42 | 42 | | Southern University designated to conduct the study under Section 1 |
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| 43 | 43 | | of this Act shall prepare a written report summarizing the results |
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| 44 | 44 | | of the study. The report must also: |
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| 45 | 45 | | (1) identify the challenges related to establishing a |
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| 46 | 46 | | school of medicine as a professional school of Texas Southern |
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| 47 | 47 | | University; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (2) include recommendations for legislative or other |
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| 49 | 49 | | action; and |
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| 50 | 50 | | (3) include any other matter the department or entity |
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| 51 | 51 | | considers appropriate. |
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| 52 | 52 | | (b) Not later than September 1, 2026, the department or |
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| 53 | 53 | | entity described by Subsection (a) of this section shall submit the |
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| 54 | 54 | | report to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. |
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| 55 | 55 | | SECTION 3. FUNDING. The department or entity at Texas |
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| 56 | 56 | | Southern University designated to conduct the study under Section 1 |
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| 57 | 57 | | of this Act may use money appropriated by the legislature or |
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| 58 | 58 | | otherwise available for the purpose to pay for any costs associated |
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| 59 | 59 | | with conducting the study and with preparing the report required by |
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| 60 | 60 | | Section 2 of this Act. |
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| 61 | 61 | | SECTION 4. EXPIRATION. This Act expires December 1, 2026. |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September |
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| 63 | 63 | | 1, 2025. |
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