Bill Caption

Relating to counties and other governmental entities operations regarding behavioral health.

Fiscal Notes

From the LBB: No significant fiscal implication to the State for provisions of the bill related to community collaboratives, suspension and reinstatement of eligibility for medical assistance, and others, is anticipated. However, due to the number of unknown variables, such as the number of potential grant recipients and the value of the grants, there could be an indeterminate fiscal impact to the state for provisions of the bill related to grants for family drug courts.

Bill Analysis

This bill would change the code to substitute "intellectual disability" or "intellectual or developmental disability" instead of "mental retardation." The bill would also require law enforcement agencies to make a good faith effort to divert persons suspected of suffering from a mental health crisis or substance abuse disorder to the proper treatment center in the agency's jurisdiction. A study would also be required on the effect of family drug courts in counties that have not yet established them. Grant funding would be appropriated for this program. Grants would also be established for the establishment and expansion of community collaboratives.

This bill would allow a person to initially file a paper with the county clerk by use of reproduced, photocopied, or electronically transmitted paper copies. The person would have to maintain the original copy and make it available for inspection on request of parties or the court.

A person in a county jail who has not been convicted of an offense would have their eligibility for medical assistance suspended during their confinement and automatically reinstate their eligibility upon their release. A convicted person would have their eligibility either terminated or suspended at the discretion of the commission. 

The bill would require that for a person to be appointed county jailer they must have completed a training program that includes 24 hours of training on how to interact with persons with mental impairments.

The bill would also require that school counselors, teachers, nurses, administrators, and law enforcement officers and social workers who regularly interact with students to receive training to recognize signs of physical or emotion trauma in students and intervening effectively with those students by notifying parents.

School districts would be required to report each year to the Texas Education Agency how many teachers, principals, and counselors have completed the training, and the total number of those employed by the district. The agency would be required to make that information public on their website. A court would also be allowed to create a mental health public defender’s office with the permission of the commissioners court to be appointed by the court in lieu of a private attorney. 

Vote Recommendation Notes

This bill contains changes which are mostly procedural and administrative rather than substantive. We remain neutral.