Table of Contents
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 645
House Bill (HB) 645, relating to the provision of certain co-navigation services to individuals who are deaf-blind. HB 645 was authored by Rep. Mary González, from El Paso, House District 75.
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We’ve created a Bill of the Week one-pager (PDF, 171 KB) for HB 645. This is a simplified explanation of the bill that you can share with your representative and personal network.
Background
The Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD) — in its 2026-2027 Policy Recommendations Report to the 89th Texas Legislature (PDF, 38 pages, 336 KB) — states that deaf-blindness is a chronic condition. This condition includes:
- deafness: where a person’s hearing is impaired severely enough that most speech cannot be understood without amplification; and
- legal blindness: where visual acuity is 20/200 or less with best correction or the visual field is 20 degrees or less.
Deaf-blindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss that requires significant and unique adaptations for the individual to maintain independence and access their communities.
People with deaf-blindness face barriers in their day-to-day routines and activities such as raising a family, attending community events, managing and maintaining a household, running errands like grocery shopping, participating in workplace activities, getting medical care, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and many more, according to a GCPD report (PDF, 55 pages, 704 KB). Texas does not currently meet the support needs of people with deaf-blindness. The GCPD cites co-navigators as a vital tool available for people who are deaf-blind. Co-navigators can provide support and information to help people who are deaf-blind lead independent, productive, and quality lives.
Texas does not have a mechanism to fund co-navigator services, meaning the people who provide these services are generally working as unpaid volunteers. This lack of funding leads to an unsustainable service model, often resulting in unskilled volunteers, and denies people who are deaf-blind of their privacy, autonomy, and access.
With this in mind, the GCPD formally recommended that the state establish a deaf-blind co-navigator program.
What does the bill do?
HB 645 would require the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to operate a co-navigation services program for people who are deaf-blind, in which co-navigators are reimbursed for providing the services.
Co-navigation services are defined in the bill as, “services provided to an individual who is deaf-blind that assist the individual to physically access the individual’s environment and to make informed decisions. The term includes providing visual and environmental information or sighted guide services and assisting with communication accessibility by communicating in the preferred language and communication mode of the individual who is deaf-blind.” The term does not include providing personal care services; completing ordinary errands; making decisions for, teaching, or otherwise instructing the individual; or interpreting for the individual in a formal setting.
The bill requires the HHSC executive commissioner to establish reimbursement rates to be paid to co-navigators. Reimbursements would use a tiered wage schedule based on the level of training, fluency, and skill in communication modes and sighted guide-mobility.
HHSC would monitor co-navigators’ compliance with program rules and develop funding sources that reduce reliance on the state. HHSC would also provide funding and technical assistance for training programs for co-navigators and individuals who are deaf-blind. The training would allow people to make effect use of the program’s services.
The bill allows for establishing an advisory committee to advise in the development and operation of the program as well as ensure the efficient use of state money. The advisory committee must include people who are deaf-blind and other people involved or impacted by the program.
HB 645 requires HHSC to adopt rules and begin operating the program no later than Sept. 1, 2026.
“HB 645 will help members of Texas’ deaf-blind community live independently and participate in activities most Texans simply take for granted — shopping, banking, and attending medical appointments and community and civic events.”
Rep. Mary González, bill author
Where is the bill in the process?
On Nov. 12, 2024, HB 645 was pre-filed for the 89th regular session. Since committee assignments have yet to be named, the bill is waiting to be referred.
Who supports the bill and why?
The following comments were provided at a March 7, 2023, hearing on a bill nearly identical to HB 645:
Deaf-Blind Service Center (DBSC) of Austin: Hayley Broadway, a board member of the DBSC of Austin, testified in favor of the bill. She indicated she has over 15 years of experience providing resources and support for the deaf-blind community, including as an instructor at Austin Community College. She stated that Texas does not offer any services that provide co-navigation to people, like herself, who are deaf-blind but live independently and have autonomy. This creates difficulties for her in many areas, including transportation. Additionally, as a deaf-blind mother of two teenage boys, the lack of available co-navigation services has prevented her from attending school events, participating in the parent-teacher association, or engaging in other activities with her children.
The following groups also registered their support for the legislation but provided no testimony: The Arc of Texas, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Disability Rights Texas, Texas Association of Community Health Plans, Texas Association of the Deaf, and Texas Medical Association.
Additionally, support was registered through online public comment by the Alliance of and for Visually Impaired Texans, Texas Parent to Parent, the Deafblind Multihandicapped Association of Texas, and Texans for Special Education Reform.
Who opposes the bill and why?
No opposition to the bill was registered at the hearing in 2023.
Additional Testimony
The following comments were offered at the 2023 hearing:
GCPD: Ron Lucey, executive director of the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, explained that the GCPD met in 2016 with 200 members of the Deaf Grassroots Movement to better understand the unmet needs of deaf-blind Texans. In 2017, the GCPD issued a report on co-navigators to the Legislature. The report included a unanimous recommendation to support the establishment of a co-navigator program at HHSC. That report was later updated to include eligibility guidelines for the proposed program as well as demographics and statistics. In 2023, the topic was ranked among the GCPD’s top two priorities out of a list of 99 issues important to Texans with disabilities.
How much will the bill cost?
In 2023, the Legislative Budget Board found that a bill identical to HB 645 would cost $2,472,471 over the course of the biennium and would require ongoing funding of about $1.9 million per year.
Is there a Senate companion to the bill?
There is no Senate companion to HB 645.
Stay Informed
For the latest information about where HB 645 is in the process, follow the bill on the Texas Legislature Online. To receive future legislative updates from TCDD, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
