Texas Legislative News: April 24, 2023

Last week, the Texas House passed a number of notable bills, including House Bill (HB) 54, by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, which passed on Tuesday, April 18. This previous TCDD Bill of the Week would increase the personal needs allowance for residents of long-term care facilities. After passing in the House on a vote of 117-29, the bill was referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

On Thursday, April 20, the House passed two additional TCDD Bills of the Week on its Local and Consent Calendar, which is generally reserved for bills without significant opposition and that won’t impact the state budget:

• HB 109 by Rep. Julie Johnson, relating to health benefit coverage for hearing aids
• HB 195 by Rep. Mary González, relating to emergency preparedness for students with disabilities  

On the same calendar, the House also passed HB 1604, by Rep. Mary González. This bill would direct the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create a report on enrollment and success in higher education for students with disabilities.

Here are some bills of note on the House floor this week:

• HB 185 by Rep. Mary González, relating to including chronically absent students as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and reporting of data regarding those students
• HB 479 by Rep. Gina Hinojosa, relating to the period for transporting a criminal defendant found incompetent to stand trial to a facility for competency restoration and to compensation paid to counties for related costs
• HB 653 by Rep. Steve Allison, relating to guardianships of people with profound intellectual disabilities who are minors or were minors when their guardianship proceedings began
• HB 772 by Rep. Alma Allen, relating to corporal punishment in public schools
• HB 906 by Rep. Joe Moody, relating to the provision of information on mental health and suicide prevention services to students entering public institutions of higher education
• HB 1008 by Rep. Chris Turner, relating to suspending the employment of workers providing care to people with developmental disabilities (DD) when those workers are alleged to have engaged in reportable conduct
• HB 1238 by Rep. Gary VanDeaver, relating to the school health and related services program, including parental consent for services, the creation of a program advisory council, and the publication of the School Health and Related Services Handbook portion of the Texas Medicaid Provider Procedures Manual  

For complete lists of bills being considered each day, go to the House and Senate calendars on the Capitol website.

Legislative Deadlines

With the regular session entering its final five weeks, lawmakers will soon face a number of bill deadlines. For instance, May 8 is the final date for House committees to report House bills out for referral to the Calendars Committee, and May 11 is the last day for the full House to consider bills on second reading, with the exception of local and consent bills that have separate cutoff dates. As these deadlines approach, the focus of the session tends to shift from committee hearings to debates on the House and Senate floors.

For more information, see the deadline calendar (PDF) prepared by the Texas Legislative Council.

TCDD Public Testimony

Last week, TCDD staff provided public testimony on a number of bills at the Capitol, covering a wide range of topics. The following measures were among those that received public comment from TCDD:

• HB 1007 by Rep. Chris Turner, relating to banning weapons at residential facilities housing people with DD
• HB 2858 by Rep. Penny Morales Shaw, relating to inclusive disaster planning
• HB 4449 by Rep. Ron Reynolds, relating to creating a task force to study school discipline
• HB 4702 by Rep. Liz Campos, relating to allowing peer-support services for people with DD to be paid through Medicaid
• HB 4716 by Rep. Christian Manuel, relating to referrals of students receiving special education services to local intellectual and developmental disability authorities
• HB 5146 by Rep. John Raney, relating to creating the Building Better Futures Program to provide educational and job skills training opportunities and support to students with DD
• HB 5148 by Rep. John Raney, relating to creating the Texas Students with Disabilities Scholarship Program
• Senate Bill (SB) 2304 by Sen. Morgan LaMantia, relating to providing students with information on the Texas Driving with Disability Program  

If you’d like to give remarks at an upcoming hearing but aren’t sure how to craft your comments, we’ve created a My Testimony Blueprint (PDF) that can be used as a framework. For more information and support, check out Legislative Advocacy Resources.

Hearings To Watch

The following section includes a sample of the hearings that we are monitoring this week. During these hearings, legislative committees may consider important disability-related bills. You can find live and archived broadcasts of committee hearings on the House and Senate websites.

The House Public Health Committee held a hearing on Monday morning, April 24. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 2072 by Rep. Jacey Jetton, relating to eligibility for a grant to reduce recidivism, arrest, and incarceration of people with mental illnesses
• HB 2233 by Rep. David Spiller, relating to required mental health awareness training for first responders
• HB 2506 by Rep. Jacey Jetton, relating to procedures for the emergency detention of a person with mental illness at a mental health facility, including the detention, transportation, and transfer of the person and to certain best practices for courts with jurisdiction over emergency mental health matters
• HB 3903 by Rep. Lina Ortega, relating to the definition of a psychiatrist for certain provisions on mental health care examinations, evaluations, and services  

The House Higher Education Committee held a hearing on Monday morning, April 24. The committee discussed the following notable bill:

• HB 2594 by Rep. Lina Ortega, relating to requiring training in the importance of mental and physical health as a requisite for certain medical degrees  

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on Monday morning, April 24. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 3757 by Rep. Terry Wilson, relating to the authority of taxing units other than school districts to limit property taxes on homes of people with disabilities and older adults as well as their spouses
• House Joint Resolution (HJR) 153 by Rep. Terry Wilson, relating to a constitutional amendment to authorize political subdivisions other than school districts to limit property taxes on homes of people with disabilities and older adults as well as their spouses  

The House Corrections Committee held a hearing on Monday morning, April 24. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 2743 by Rep. Reggie Smith, relating to procedures regarding the court-ordered administration of psychoactive medication for criminal defendants found incompetent to stand trial
• HB 2805 by Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson, relating to the consideration of certain information by a parole panel in determining whether to release an inmate on parole  

The House Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 25. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 3715 by Rep. Lacey Hull, relating to access to all prescribed medications for residents in certain long-term care facilities
• HB 4169 by Rep. Four Price, relating to providing prevocational services under certain Medicaid waiver programs
• HB 4655 by Rep. Kronda Thimesch, relating to creating a vulnerable adult protection task force
• HB 5166 by Rep. Penny Morales Shaw, relating to developing a language access plan to increase certain individuals’ access to assistance under health and human services programs
• HB 5265 by Rep. Richard Raymond, relating to Medicaid coverage and reimbursement for certain inpatient mental health services  

The House Insurance Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 25. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 3460 by Rep. Four Price, relating to coverage for mental health conditions and substance-use disorders under certain governmental health benefit plans
• HB 5121 by Rep. Chris Turner, relating to health benefit plan coverage of treatment for chemical dependency  

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 25. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• SB 2287 by Sen. Royce West, relating to the authority of a peace officer to apprehend a person for emergency detention and the authority of certain facilities and professionals to temporarily detain a person with a mental illness  

The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 25. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 2187 by Rep. Yvonne Davis, relating to the crime of abandoning or endangering a child, an older adult, or a person with a disability
• HB 3381 by Rep. David Cook, relating to making it a crime to misrepresent medical history to obtain unnecessary medical treatment for a child, an older adult, or a person with a disability
• HB 5088 by Rep. Joe Moody, relating to procedures for people with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities  

The House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday afternoon, April 25. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 2283 by Rep. Mando Martinez, relating to using vehicle registration-associated indications to notify peace officers that a vehicle owner may be transporting a person with a disability
• HB 3330 by Rep. Carl Sherman Sr., relating to creating a task force on the statewide alert systems for abducted children and people with intellectual disabilities who are reported missing
• HB 3532 by Rep. Carl Sherman Sr., relating to notification requirements for law enforcement agencies regarding a missing child with an intellectual disability or mental illness
• HB 3858 by Rep. Frederick Frazier, relating to creating mental health wellness units within law enforcement agencies
• SB 656 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, relating to an optional health condition or disability designation on a driver’s license or personal identification certificate  

The House Land and Resource Management Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, April 26. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 3987 by Rep. Ron Reynolds, relating to regulating boarding home facilities
• HB 4415 by Rep. Carl Tepper, relating to the transfer of certain property from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to the StarCare Specialty Health System  

The House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, April 26. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 1464 by Rep. Liz Campos, relating to preliminary examination periods for mental health protective custody and the criteria and duration of certain court-ordered mental health services
• HB 3058 by Rep. Ann Johnson, relating to the operation of the physician-patient relationship with respect to certain medically necessary services
• SB 944 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, relating to commitment orders for people with DD in state-supported living centers  

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, April 26. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• SB 1150 by Sen. José Menéndez, relating to prior authorization for prescription drug benefits related to the treatment of chronic and autoimmune diseases
• SB 1220 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, relating to group health benefit plan coverage for early treatment of first-episode psychosis
• SB 1285 by Sen. Nathan Johnson, relating to newborn or infant testing for congenital cytomegalovirus
• SB 1619 by Sen. Charles Perry, relating to prescription drug reimbursement amounts under the Medicaid vendor drug program
• SB 1667 by Sen. Tan Parker, relating to newborn screening
• SB 2143 by Sen. Tan Parker, relating to eligibility and access to certain Medicaid waiver programs, including the Medically Dependent Children Program and the Texas Home-Living Program
• Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 66 by Sen. Bob Hall, relating to a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of individuals to refuse medical treatments and to access public accommodations  

The House Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, April 26. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 4846 by Rep. Yvonne Davis, relating to transportation planning by metropolitan planning organizations

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