HBA-MSH S.B. 691 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 691
By: Moncrief
Human Services
4/4/2001
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The 76th Texas Legislature increased the nursing home trust fund from
$500,000 to $10 million by increasing the fees nursing homes and assisted
living facilities must pay into the nursing home trust fund.  The fees
burden assisted living facilities by causing them to support the nursing
home industry.  Senate Bill 961 creates a separate assisted living facility
trust fund. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 691 amends the Health and Safety Code to create the assisted
living facility trust fund (fund) to be made available to the Texas
Department of Human Services (DHS) for expenditures without legislative
appropriation to make emergency assistance funds available to an assisted
living facility (facility). The bill authorizes a trustee of a facility to
use the emergency assistance funds only to alleviate an immediate threat to
the health or safety of the residents and sets forth authorized uses for
funds.   The bill authorizes a  court to order DHS to disburse emergency
assistance funds to a facility if the court finds that the facility has
inadequate funds accessible to the trustee for the operation of the
facility, an emergency exists that presents an immediate threat to the
health and safety of the residents, and it is in the best interests of the
health and safety of the residents.  The bill requires that any
unencumbered amount in the fund in excess of $500,000 at the end of each
fiscal year to be transferred to the credit of the general revenue fund and
may be appropriated only to DHS for its use in administering and enforcing
the Assisted Living Facilities Licensing Act.  The bill requires DHS to
adopt an annual fee to be collected if the amount of the fund is less than
$500,000 and to be deposited to the credit of the fund.  The bill
authorizes DHS to charge and collect the fee more than once each year only
if necessary to ensure that the amount in the fund is sufficient to make
the required disbursements.  The bill requires DHS to notify the governor
and the Legislative Budget Board if DHS makes more than one assessment of
the fee in any year.  The bill requires DHS to set the fee based on the
number of beds in facilities required to pay the fee in an amount to
provide not more than $500,000 in the fund. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.