H.B. No. 2392
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the mental health program for veterans.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 1001.071, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 1001.071.  GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT
  RELATED TO HEALTH CARE. The department is responsible for
  administering human services programs regarding the public health,
  including:
               (1)  implementing the state's public health care
  delivery programs under the authority of the department;
               (2)  administering state health facilities, hospitals,
  and health care systems;
               (3)  developing and providing health care services, as
  directed by law;
               (4)  providing for the prevention and control of
  communicable diseases;
               (5)  providing public education on health-related
  matters, as directed by law;
               (6)  compiling and reporting health-related
  information, as directed by law;
               (7)  acting as the lead agency for implementation of
  state policies regarding the human immunodeficiency virus and
  acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and administering programs
  related to the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired
  immunodeficiency syndrome;
               (8)  investigating the causes of injuries and methods
  of prevention;
               (9)  administering a grant program to provide
  appropriated money to counties, municipalities, public health
  districts, and other political subdivisions for their use to
  provide or pay for essential public health services;
               (10)  administering the registration of vital
  statistics;
               (11)  licensing, inspecting, and enforcing regulations
  regarding health facilities, other than long-term care facilities
  regulated by the Department of Aging and Disability Services;
               (12)  implementing established standards and
  procedures for the management and control of sanitation and for
  health protection measures;
               (13)  enforcing regulations regarding radioactive
  materials;
               (14)  enforcing regulations regarding food, bottled
  and vended drinking water, drugs, cosmetics, and health devices;
               (15)  enforcing regulations regarding food service
  establishments, retail food stores, mobile food units, and roadside
  food vendors; [and]
               (16)  enforcing regulations controlling hazardous
  substances in households and workplaces; and
               (17)  implementing a mental health program for
  veterans.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 1001, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER H. MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM FOR VETERANS
         Sec. 1001.201.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Peer" means a person who is a veteran or a
  veteran's family member.
               (2)  "Veteran" means a person who has served in:
                     (A)  the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or
  marine corps of the United States;
                     (B)  the state military forces as defined by
  Section 431.001, Government Code; or
                     (C)  an auxiliary service of one of those branches
  of the armed forces.
               (3)  "Volunteer coordinator" means a person who
  recruits and retains veterans, peers, and volunteers to participate
  in the mental health program for veterans and related activities.
         Sec. 1001.202.  GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. (a)  The
  department shall develop a mental health intervention program for
  veterans. The program must include:
               (1)  peer-to-peer counseling;
               (2)  access to licensed mental health professionals for
  volunteer coordinators and peers;
               (3)  training approved by the department for peers;
               (4)  technical assistance for volunteer coordinators
  and peers;
               (5)  grants to regional and local organizations
  providing services under this subchapter;
               (6)  recruitment, retention, and screening of
  community-based therapists;
               (7)  suicide prevention training for volunteer
  coordinators and peers; and
               (8)  veteran jail diversion services, including
  veterans courts.
         (b)  The department shall solicit and ensure that
  specialized training is provided to persons who are peers and who
  want to provide peer-to-peer counseling or other peer-to-peer
  services under the program.
         (c)  The department may adopt rules necessary to implement
  this subchapter.
         Sec. 1001.203.  GRANTS. (a)  The department shall establish
  a grant program through which the department may award grants to
  regional and local organizations for the delivery of programs or
  services described by this subchapter.
         (b)  A grant awarded under this section must:
               (1)  emphasize direct services to veterans provided by
  peers;
               (2)  leverage additional local resources to provide
  funding for programs or services for veterans; and
               (3)  increase the capacity of the mental health program
  for veterans.
         (c)  A grant awarded under this section may not be used to
  supplant existing expenditures associated with programs or
  services within the department.
         Sec. 1001.204.  ANNUAL REPORT. Not later than December 1 of
  each year, the department shall submit a report to the governor and
  the legislature that includes:
               (1)  the number of veterans who received services
  through the mental health program for veterans;
               (2)  the number of peers and volunteer coordinators
  trained;
               (3)  a summary of the grants awarded and services
  provided through those grants;
               (4)  an evaluation of the services provided under this
  subchapter; and
               (5)  recommendations for program improvements.
         SECTION 3.  Section 1001.076, Health and Safety Code, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 4.  Not later than January 1, 2014, the Department of
  State Health Services shall modify the mental health intervention
  program for veterans as required by Subchapter H, Chapter 1001,
  Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2392 was passed by the House on April
  26, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 138, Nays 1, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 2392 on May 20, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 1,
  4 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2392 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 17, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor