H.B. No. 2819
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the operation and efficiency of the eligibility
  determination process for supplemental nutrition assistance
  program benefits.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by
  designating Sections 33.0005 through 33.028 as Subchapter A and
  adding a subchapter heading to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER A. NUTRITIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN GENERAL
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter B to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B. SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM:
  ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION PROCESS EFFICIENCY
         Sec. 33.051.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
  Commission.
               (2)  "Supplemental nutrition assistance program" means
  the nutritional assistance program formerly referred to as the food
  stamp program.
         Sec. 33.052.  APPLICATION ASSISTANCE. (a) The commission
  shall develop procedures to ensure that:
               (1)  clear guidance on program eligibility
  requirements is provided to supplemental nutrition assistance
  applicants and prospective applicants and mechanisms are
  established, including Internet and e-mail mechanisms, as
  appropriate, by which applicants can obtain answers to basic
  program-related questions; and
               (2)  information is provided to each applicant in
  person, by e-mail, by telephone, or through the mail, as
  appropriate, about information the applicant is required to submit
  for purposes of the eligibility determination process.
         (b)  The commission shall consider the feasibility and
  cost-effectiveness of using office personnel or an automated system
  or systems to support the eligibility determination process by
  contacting an applicant in advance of an applicant's scheduled
  interview to remind the applicant of the interview and the
  documentation that must be presented at the interview.
         Sec. 33.053.  USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE EFFICIENCY AND
  FRAUD DETECTION. (a) The commission shall consider the
  feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using readily available
  document scanning technology to reduce storage and maintenance
  costs and potential loss of data by creating electronic case files
  for supplemental nutrition assistance cases instead of maintaining
  physical files for those cases. The commission shall use that
  technology if determined feasible and cost-effective.
         (b)  The commission shall implement, if feasible and
  cost-effective, a risk scoring program for supplemental nutrition
  assistance applications to streamline the eligibility
  determination process, reduce errors, and strengthen fraud
  detection. A risk scoring program implemented by the commission
  must be capable of ranking applications based on complexity so
  that:
               (1)  more experienced eligibility determination staff
  members can be used to process more difficult cases and cases with
  fraud characteristics; and
               (2)  applications ranked as low-risk on fraud
  characteristics can be processed more expeditiously.
         Sec. 33.054.  WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT. The commission shall
  improve its management of supplemental nutrition assistance
  eligibility determination staff by:
               (1)  establishing clear performance expectations that
  can serve as the basis for performance assessments;
               (2)  planning for anticipated staffing needs;
               (3)  revising policies regarding overtime and accrual
  of compensatory time to ensure that eligibility determination staff
  members have access to supervisors as necessary;
               (4)  assessing the effectiveness of training provided
  to new eligibility determination staff members; and
               (5)  evaluating the compensation of eligibility
  determination staff members to determine if the compensation is
  sufficient to recruit qualified staff members and retain
  experienced staff members.
         Sec. 33.055.  PROGRAM MANAGEMENT INFORMATION. (a) The
  commission, in conjunction with state, regional, and local
  eligibility determination offices, shall identify eligibility
  determination program performance indicators with respect to which
  data should periodically be collected. The commission shall
  implement a process for collecting data on the identified
  performance indicators.
         (b)  The commission shall provide periodic management
  reports generated by the automated eligibility system to
  eligibility determination offices. The reports must include
  information regarding the number of pending supplemental nutrition
  assistance applications and the number of those applications that
  have not been processed within applicable timeliness standards.
         (c)  The commission shall use data collected under
  Subsection (a) and the reports described by Subsection (b) to
  develop and assess strategies for:
               (1)  streamlining the supplemental nutrition
  assistance eligibility determination process;
               (2)  improving timeliness of eligibility
  determinations; and
               (3)  accommodating increases in applications received.
         SECTION 3.  To the extent available for this purpose, the
  Health and Human Services Commission shall use supplemental federal
  funding provided for the administration of the supplemental
  nutrition assistance program to implement Subchapter B, Chapter 33,
  Human Resources Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2819 was passed by the House on May
  13, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2819 was passed by the Senate on May
  25, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor