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For this weekly feature, the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) profiles a noteworthy bill going through the legislative process. The bill may relate directly to TCDD’s Public Policy Priorities or another disability-related issue.
Bill of the Week: HB 2807
House Bill (HB) 2807, relating to the statewide intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) coordinating council. HB 2807 was authored by Rep. Toni Rose, from Dallas, House District 110.
Share This Bill
We’ve created a Bill of the Week one-pager (PDF) for HB 2807. This is a simplified explanation of the bill that you can share with your representative and personal network. Our Differences Between Disability Entities one-pager (PDF) also breaks down some of the specifics related to the bill.
What does the bill do?
HB 2807 would establish a statewide IDD coordinating council to ensure a strategic statewide approach for IDD services.
The duties of the council would include:
- Developing and monitoring a five-year statewide IDD strategic plan, which would be sent to the executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and the administrative head of each agency on the council.
- Developing a two-year, coordinated statewide IDD spending proposal.
- Updating and publishing an annual inventory of state-funded IDD programs and services, including a description of how these programs and services further the purpose of the statewide IDD strategic plan.
- Publishing an annual estimate of the number of individuals who are interested in receiving IDD programs and services.
- Facilitating potential opportunities to increase collaboration for the effective use of available federal and state funding for IDD services in Texas.
The council would include one or more members from each of the following agencies:
- Department of State Health Services
- Department of Family and Protective Services
- Texas Workforce Commission
- Texas Education Agency
- Texas Center for Disability Studies at the University of Texas at Austin
- Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Texas Commission on Jail Standards
Additionally, the HHSC executive commissioner would appoint the following members to the council:
- A representative of a local IDD authority
- A representative of the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities
- A representative of the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities
- A representative of the Arc of Texas
- A representative of a managed-care organization
- A provider of Medicaid long-term services and supports
- A person or family member of a person with IDD receiving home and community-based services
- A person or family member of a person with IDD living in a private intermediate-care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities
- A person or family member of an individual with IDD living in a state-supported living center
- A representative of HHSC’s Office of the Ombudsman
- Representatives of HHSC responsible for:
- Medicaid and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program services
- IDD behavioral health services
- Health and specialty-care system employment
- Health, developmental, and independence services
- Access and eligibility services
- A physician
- Additional members as needed who are recognized experts serving individuals with IDD or who represent the interests of individuals with IDD
The HHSC executive commissioner would determine the number of representatives serving on the council from each entity. Additionally, the council may use funds to designate representatives from other state agencies or institutions that provide IDD services with the use of appropriated funds. The bill indicates that council members would serve at the pleasure of the designated entity. The HHSC executive commissioner would designate a member of the council to serve as its presiding officer.
Under the terms of the bill, the council would meet at least once quarterly or more frequently at the call of the presiding officer. The council would be subject to the Texas Sunset Act and be reviewed during the same period as HHSC.
The bill sets the following deadlines:
- Council members would be appointed no later than Jan. 31, 2026.
- The council would hold its first meeting no later than March. 1, 2026.
- The council would prepare its initial strategic plan no later than March. 1, 2027.
HB 2807 would take effect immediately if it passes with a two-thirds vote of all members of each chamber. Otherwise, it would take effect on Sept. 1, 2025.
Background
The idea for a coordinating council came about while an HHSC planning group took stakeholder input and developed a statewide IDD strategic plan (PDF, 173 pages, 1.4 MB), which was published in January 2022. This plan included three main goals:
- Empower and support people to pursue the lives they want to live.
- Deliver services in the most integrated setting according to each person’s needs and preferences.
- Enhance the performance of systems.
While the planning group outlined specific recommendations, the group lacked the appropriate mandate to achieve these goals. The council created by HB 2807 would have the appropriate mandate to oversee the implementation of the IDD strategic plan in partnership with the appropriate decision-makers to achieve these goals.
In addition to recommendations, the IDD strategic plan acknowledged that an IDD coordinating council would have great potential to support IDD services and strategic efforts that would complement the work of the Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council, which was established by the Legislature in 2015. That group published an update to its strategic plan in February 2019 that recognized the unique challenges faced by Texans with IDD and called for a coordinated plan of action for statewide IDD services, noting the lack of an existing plan that would properly address the needs of the state’s IDD population.
It’s worth noting that TCDD is itself a statewide council focused on IDD issues. However, TCDD’s purpose, membership, and activities are different than those of the council proposed by this legislation. According to the current text of HB 2807, TCDD would have a designated representative on the new coordinating council.
“HB 2802 offers a crucial opportunity to better serve the more than 500,000 Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Texas can chart a new course by establishing the Statewide Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Coordinating Council. This initiative would unite key stakeholders, create a strategic, statewide plan, and ensure that individuals with IDD receive the quality care and resources they need and deserve.”
Rep. Toni Rose, HB 2807 author
Where is the bill in the process?
On Feb. 13, 2025, HB 2807 was filed for the 89th regular session. The bill is currently waiting to be referred to a committee.
Who supports the bill and why?
The following comments were given as testimony at a hearing on March 14, 2023, on a bill nearly identical to HB 2807:
- The Arc of Texas: Ashley Ford, who at the time was the director of public policy and advocacy for The Arc of Texas, testified in favor of the bill. She detailed how the new IDD coordinating council would differ from TCDD and the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD), indicating that TCDD’s primary role is funding innovative grants and demonstration projects. Ford said, “[TCDD is] not charged with looking specifically at how IDD services are being delivered and looking for ways to streamline and remove duplicative processes.” In describing the GCPD, Ford stated that “they have a cross-disability focus, and so it is not specifically on intellectual and developmental disabilities like this coordination council would be.” She added, “[GCPD is] not looking at the coordination of services across, for example, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Health and Human Services Commission, or the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, all of which are places that we know people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the state of Texas are being served, but we are just not doing a very good job of identifying or tracking them within each of these agencies right now, which is why this bill is so critical.” Lastly, in response to a question from a committee member, Ford also said, “we do believe that the establishment of this council would further promote and protect the self-determination and human rights of Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
The following groups also registered their support for the bill but provided no testimony: Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Disability Rights Texas, Driscoll Health System, Mayor’s Office of the City of Houston, Private Providers Association of Texas, Providers Alliance for Community Services of Texas, Texas Association of Health Plans, Texas Association of School Boards, Texas Council of Community Centers, Texas Medical Association, and United Ways of Texas.
Who opposes the bill and why?
No opposition to the bill was registered at the hearing in 2023.
Additional Information
In 2023, the bill that was nearly identical to HB 2807 passed both chambers of the Legislature but was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott. The veto statement (PDF) complimented the “laudable goal of improving the provision of intellectual and developmental disability services in Texas,” but suggested that “several Texas committees already do that same important work.” However, as we’ve previously described, the work of existing committees — including groups like TCDD and the GCPD — does not involve the statewide coordination of services proposed by HB 2807. The differences are described further in the Differences Between Disability Entities one-pager (PDF).
How much will the bill cost?
In 2023, the Legislative Budget Board found that a bill nearly identical to HB 2807 would not impact the state budget in a significant way.
Is there a Senate companion to the bill?
There is no Senate companion to HB 2807.
Stay Informed
For the latest information about where HB 2807 is in the process, follow the bill on the Differences Between Disability Entities one-pager. To receive future legislative updates from TCDD, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
