85R17889 SCL-D
 
  By: Bell, Oliverson, Sheffield, Wray, Guerra, H.B. No. 1794
      et al.
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1794:
 
  By:  Price C.S.H.B. No. 1794
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of the Work Group on Mental Health
  Access for First Responders.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Executive commissioner" means the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
               (2)  "First responder" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 421.095, Government Code.
               (3)  "First responder organization" means:
                     (A)  an organization, including a fire
  department, law enforcement agency, or emergency medical services
  provider, of a political subdivision of this state that employs a
  first responder; or
                     (B)  a volunteer fire department.
               (4)  "Work group" means the Work Group on Mental Health
  Access for First Responders.
         (b)  Not later than December 1, 2017, the Health and Human
  Services Commission shall establish the Work Group on Mental Health
  Access for First Responders to develop and make recommendations for
  improving access to mental health care services for first
  responders.
         (c)  The work group is composed of 15 members appointed by
  the executive commissioner, unless otherwise provided, as follows:
               (1)  one member from the Health and Human Services
  Commission with expertise in the field of mental health care;
               (2)  the dean of the Sam Houston State University
  College of Criminal Justice or the dean's designee;
               (3)  three practicing mental health professionals, as
  defined by Section 61.601, Education Code;
               (4)  one representative of volunteer fire departments;
               (5)  one representative of paid fire departments,
  appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of paid
  firefighters;
               (6)  two representatives of paid police departments,
  appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of police
  officers;
               (7)  one representative of a sheriff's department;
               (8)  two representatives of emergency medical services
  providers and personnel licensed under Chapter 773, Health and
  Safety Code, one of whom must be a representative of a fire
  department that provides emergency medical services and must be
  appointed from a list provided by a statewide association of paid
  firefighters;
               (9)  one municipal government representative;
               (10)  one county government representative; and
               (11)  one representative of the Texas Department of
  Insurance.
         (d)  The member described by Subsection (c)(1) of this
  section is the presiding officer of the work group.
         (e)  A work group member is not entitled to compensation for
  service on the work group or to reimbursement for any expenses
  incurred in performing work group duties.
         (f)  The work group shall meet at least quarterly at the call
  of the presiding officer. Work group meetings are subject to the
  open meetings law, Chapter 551, Government Code, except that the
  work group may meet by teleconference.
         (g)  The Health and Human Services Commission shall provide
  administrative support for the work group. Funding for the
  administrative and operational expenses of the work group shall be
  provided from the commission's existing budget.  The work group may
  accept gifts, grants, and donations from any source to perform a
  work group duty.
         (h)  The work group shall develop recommendations to
  address:
               (1)  the difference in access to mental health care
  services between:
                     (A)  volunteer fire departments and small law
  enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical
  services providers; and
                     (B)  large law enforcement agencies, fire
  departments, and emergency medical services providers;
               (2)  potential solutions for state and local
  governments to provide greater access to mental health care
  services for first responders;
               (3)  the sufficiency of first responder organizations'
  employee health insurance plans for obtaining access to mental
  health care services for first responders;
               (4)  the sufficiency of first responder organizations'
  human resources policies, including:
                     (A)  whether guaranteed employment should be
  offered for a first responder who self-reports a mental health
  issue;
                     (B)  the effectiveness of existing municipal
  employee assistance programs for treating post-traumatic stress
  disorder and whether those programs should be expanded;
                     (C)  any policy modification necessary to improve
  access to mental health care services for first responders; and
                     (D)  the establishment of best practices for
  municipalities, counties, and state agencies regarding legal
  reporting duties for first responders anonymously seeking mental
  health treatment;
               (5)  the effectiveness of workers' compensation and
  other benefit claims for first responders, including determining:
                     (A)  the process by which those claims for first
  responders are handled and whether that process may be improved;
                     (B)  the feasibility of requiring post-traumatic
  stress disorder to be covered under workers' compensation for first
  responders and if covered, the standards for diagnosing that
  condition;
                     (C)  the effectiveness of workers' compensation
  benefits and related benefits under Chapter 607, Government Code,
  and whether those benefits are excessively denied;
                     (D)  the effectiveness of outsourcing workers'
  compensation and other benefit claims to third parties; and
                     (E)  methods for improving the appeals process for
  workers' compensation and other benefit claims;
               (6)  the feasibility of mental health training during
  the licensing or certification and renewal process for first
  responders;
               (7)  the effectiveness of methods for assessing a first
  responder's mental health care needs after a critical incident,
  including determining:
                     (A)  the feasibility of creating a standardized
  post-critical incident checklist to assess a first responder's
  mental health and of establishing minimum requirements for a first
  responder to return to duty; and
                     (B)  the effectiveness of critical incident
  stress debriefing programs used by local governments in this state
  and whether:
                           (i)  those programs may be expanded
  statewide; and
                           (ii)  peer support may benefit those
  programs;
               (8)  the opportunities for public-private partnerships
  to provide mental health care services to first responders; and
               (9)  possible Texas-specific barriers, including
  stigmas, for first responders seeking mental health care services.
         (i)  In developing the recommendations described by
  Subsection (h) of this section, and for academic research related
  to the recommendations, the work group may collaborate with the
  Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas at Sam
  Houston State University, the College of Criminal Justice at Sam
  Houston State University, or any other academic institution
  considered necessary by the presiding officer of the work group.
         (j)  The work group shall develop a written report of the
  work group's recommendations described by Subsection (h) of this
  section. The work group shall electronically deliver the report to
  the governor, the lieutenant governor, and all members of the
  legislature not later than January 1, 2019.
         (k)  The work group is abolished and this Act expires June 1,
  2019.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.