June 15th, 2023
Legislative Bills:
The following 3 bills passed by the 88th Legislature were discussed:
~ HB 4169 (Price) relating to prevocational services: The bill directs HHSC to either add pre-vocational services as part of ISS or to create a stand alone pre-vocational service.
Access to HB 4169: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB04169F.pdf#navpanes=0
~ HB 54 (Thompson) relating to increasing the personal needs allowance of persons in a nursing home or ICF/IID from $60/month to $75/month. HHSC was not able to confirm if there would be an adjustment to the rates to account for the increase. HHSC stated it will research and get back to us.
~ HB 1009 (Turner) relating to criminal history background checks. The bill applies to HCS group homes only. Though providers are not opposed to the checks the bill now requires federal checks including fingerprinting. [The bill itself does not mention fingerprinting, It does though reference obtaining DPS ‘electronic updates’ which is the trigger for or prompts the need for fingerprints.] External workgroup members expressed concerns with the requirement ranging from the cost (which was not funded) to the length of time it takes for federal checks to be completed. HHSC was not clear on what it would do with the concerns expressed. We fully anticipate there will be more conversation with HHSC about this bill.
Access to HB 1009: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB01009F.pdf#navpanes=0
