H.B. No. 2229
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of the Texas HIV Medication Advisory
  Committee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 85, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter K to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER K. TEXAS HIV MEDICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
         Sec. 85.271.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the
  department.
               (2)  "Committee" means the Texas HIV Medication
  Advisory Committee.
               (3)  "Executive commissioner" means the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
               (4)  "Program" means the Texas HIV medication program
  established under Subchapter C.
         Sec. 85.272.  TEXAS HIV MEDICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a)
  The executive commissioner shall establish the committee.
         (b)  The committee consists of 11 members appointed by the
  executive commissioner. The committee must include:
               (1)  three physicians who are actively engaged in the
  treatment of adults who are infected with HIV;
               (2)  one physician who is actively engaged in the
  treatment of infants and children who are infected with HIV;
               (3)  four consumers who are diagnosed with HIV;
               (4)  one person who is an administrator for a public,
  nonprofit hospital that provides services to individuals who are
  infected with HIV;
               (5)  one social worker who works with individuals who
  are infected with HIV; and
               (6)  one pharmacist who participates in the program.
         (c)  The department shall provide staff support for the
  committee.
         (d)  Except as provided by this subchapter, the committee is
  subject to Chapter 2110, Government Code.
         Sec. 85.273.  DUTIES. (a) The committee shall advise the
  executive commissioner and the department in the development of
  procedures and guidelines for the program.
         (b)  The committee shall:
               (1)  review the program's goals and aims;
               (2)  evaluate the program's ongoing efforts;
               (3)  recommend both short-range and long-range goals
  and objectives for medication needs; and
               (4)  perform any other tasks assigned by the executive
  commissioner.
         Sec. 85.274.  TERMS. A committee member serves at the will
  of the executive commissioner.
         Sec. 85.275.  OFFICERS. (a) The committee shall select a
  presiding officer and an assistant presiding officer from the
  committee members.
         (b)  An officer shall begin serving on March 1 of each
  odd-numbered year and serve until February 27 of the following
  odd-numbered year.
         (c)  An officer may continue to serve until a replacement is
  elected for the officer's position.
         (d)  The presiding officer shall:
               (1)  preside at all committee meetings attended by the
  presiding officer;
               (2)  call meetings in accordance with this subchapter;
               (3)  appoint subcommittees as necessary; and
               (4)  ensure annual reports are made to the
  commissioner.
         (e)  The presiding officer may serve as an ex officio member
  of any subcommittee.
         (f)  The assistant presiding officer shall:
               (1)  perform the duties of the presiding officer if the
  presiding officer is absent or becomes disabled; and
               (2)  complete the unexpired portion of the presiding
  officer's term if the office of the presiding officer becomes
  vacant.
         (g)  The committee may elect a committee member to replace
  the assistant presiding officer if the office of the assistant
  presiding officer becomes vacant.
         Sec. 85.276.  MEETINGS. (a) The committee shall meet only
  as necessary to conduct committee business.
         (b)  A meeting may be called by agreement between the
  department staff and:
               (1)  the presiding officer; or
               (2)  three or more members of the committee.
         (c)  The department staff shall:
               (1)  make meeting arrangements; and
               (2)  contact each committee member to determine the
  member's availability for a meeting date and place.
         (d)  The committee is not a "governmental body" as defined by
  Chapter 551, Government Code. However, each committee meeting must
  be announced and conducted in accordance with Chapter 551,
  Government Code, except that the provisions allowing executive
  sessions do not apply to the committee.
         (e)  Each member of the committee must be informed of a
  committee meeting at least five working days before the meeting is
  to take place.
         (f)  An agenda for each committee meeting must include an
  item entitled "public comment" under which any person may address
  the committee on matters relating to committee business. The
  presiding officer may establish procedures for public comment,
  including a time limit for each comment.
         Sec. 85.277.  ATTENDANCE. (a) A member shall attend:
               (1)  a scheduled committee meeting; and
               (2)  a meeting of a subcommittee to which the member is
  assigned.
         (b)  A member shall notify the presiding officer or the
  appropriate department staff if the member is unable to attend a
  scheduled meeting.
         (c)  The committee shall include the attendance records of
  each member in the committee's annual report to the commissioner.
  The report must include a member's attendance at both committee and
  subcommittee meetings.
         Sec. 85.278.  PROCEDURES. (a) The committee shall use
  Robert's Rules of Order as the basis of parliamentary decisions
  except as provided by other law or rule.
         (b)  An action taken by the committee must be approved by a
  majority vote of the members present after a quorum is established.
         (c)  Each member shall have one vote.
         (d)  A member may not authorize another individual to
  represent the member by proxy.
         (e)  The committee shall make decisions in the discharge of
  the committee's duties without discrimination based on a person's
  race, creed, gender, religion, national origin, age, physical
  condition, or economic status.
         (f)  The department staff shall take minutes of each
  committee meeting. After the minutes are approved by the
  committee, the presiding officer shall sign the minutes.
         Sec. 85.279.  SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The committee may
  establish subcommittees as necessary to assist the committee in
  performing the committee's duties.
         (b)  The presiding officer shall appoint committee members
  to serve on subcommittees and to act as subcommittee chairs. The
  presiding officer may appoint a person who is not a committee member
  to serve on a subcommittee.
         (c)  A subcommittee shall meet when called by the
  subcommittee's chair or when directed by the committee.
         (d)  A subcommittee chair shall make a regular report to the
  committee at each committee meeting or in an interim written report
  as needed. The report must include an executive summary or minutes
  of each subcommittee meeting.
         Sec. 85.280.  STATEMENT BY MEMBER; MEMBER DUTIES. (a)  The
  executive commissioner, the department, and the committee may not
  be bound by any statement made or action taken by a committee member
  unless the member makes the statement or takes the action based on
  specific instructions from the executive commissioner, the
  department, or the committee.
         (b)  The committee and committee members may not participate
  in any legislative activity in the name of the executive
  commissioner, the department, or the committee unless the committee
  or committee member obtains approval through the department's
  legislative process. Committee members may represent themselves or
  another entity in the legislative process.
         (c)  A committee member may not accept or solicit a benefit
  that might reasonably tend to influence the member in the discharge
  of the member's official duties.
         (d)  A committee member may not disclose confidential
  information acquired through the member's service on the committee.
         (e)  A committee member may not knowingly solicit, accept, or
  agree to accept a benefit for exercising the member's official
  powers or duties in favor of another person.
         (f)  A committee member who has a personal or private
  interest in a matter pending before the committee shall publicly
  disclose the fact and may not vote or otherwise participate in the
  matter.
         (g)  In this section, "personal or private interest" means a
  direct pecuniary interest in a matter but does not include a
  person's engagement in a profession, trade, or occupation if the
  person's interest is the same as any other person who is similarly
  engaged in the profession, trade, or occupation.
         Sec. 85.281.  COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A committee
  member may receive reimbursement for expenses incurred for each day
  the member engages in official committee business if the
  reimbursement is authorized by the General Appropriations Act or
  through the budget execution process.
         (b)  A committee member is not entitled to a salary or
  stipend unless required by law.
         (c)  A committee member who is an employee of a state agency,
  other than the department, is not entitled to reimbursement for
  expenses from the department.
         (d)  A person who serves on a subcommittee and who is not a
  committee member is not entitled to reimbursement for expenses from
  the department.
         (e)  Only a consumer who is diagnosed with HIV and serves as a
  committee member is eligible for reimbursement of actual travel
  expenses incurred.
         (f)  A committee member who is eligible for reimbursement of
  expenses shall submit to the department staff the member's receipts
  for the expenses and any required forms not later than 14 days after
  a committee meeting.
         (g)  A member shall make a request for reimbursement of
  expenses on an official state travel voucher prepared by the
  department staff.
         Sec. 85.282.  REPORTS. (a) The committee shall file an
  annual written report with the commissioner not later than March 31
  of each year. The report must cover the meetings and activities of
  the committee for the year preceding the date of the report.
         (b)  The report must include:
               (1)  the meeting dates of the committee and any
  subcommittee;
               (2)  attendance records for each committee member;
               (3)  a brief description of any action taken by the
  committee;
               (4)  a description of how the committee has
  accomplished any specific tasks officially given to the committee;
               (5)  the status of any rules recommended by the
  committee; and
               (6)  the anticipated activities of the committee for
  the following year.
         (c)  The committee shall identify the costs for the
  committee's existence in the report, including the cost of
  department staff used to support the committee's activities and the
  source of funds used to support the committee's activities.
         (d)  The presiding officer and appropriate department staff
  shall sign the report.
         SECTION 2.  Section 85.066, Health and Safety Code, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  The executive commissioner of the Health and
  Human Services Commission shall appoint the initial members of the
  Texas HIV Medication Advisory Committee as provided by Section
  85.272, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, as promptly as
  possible after the effective date of this Act.  The executive
  commissioner may appoint, but is not required to appoint, initial
  members to the committee who served on the advisory committee
  previously established under Section 85.066, Health and Safety
  Code, as repealed by this Act.
         (b)  The members of the Texas HIV Medication Advisory
  Committee shall, at the first meeting of the committee, select a
  presiding officer and an assistant presiding officer, and
  notwithstanding Section 85.275(b), Health and Safety Code, as added
  by this Act, the initial terms of those officers begin on the date
  of selection.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2229 was passed by the House on April
  27, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 88, Nays 57, 2 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2229 was passed by the Senate on May
  16, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 26, Nays 5.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor