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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the creation of a grant program to reduce recidivism, |
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arrest, and incarceration of individuals with mental illness. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 531.0993 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 531.0993. GRANT PROGRAM TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM, ARREST, |
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AND INCARCERATION AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND TO |
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REDUCE WAIT TIME FOR FORENSIC COMMITMENT. (a) For purposes of this |
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section, "low-income household" means a household with a total |
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income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline. |
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(b) The commission shall establish a program to provide |
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grants to county-based community collaboratives for the purposes of |
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reducing: |
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(1) recidivism by, the frequency of arrests of, and |
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incarceration of persons with mental illness; and |
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(2) the total waiting time for forensic commitment of |
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persons with mental illness to a state hospital. |
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(c) A community collaborative may petition the commission |
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for a grant under the program only if the collaborative includes a |
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county, a local mental health authority that operates in the |
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county, and each hospital district, if any, located in the county. |
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A community collaborative may include other local entities |
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designated by the collaborative's members. |
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(d) The commission shall condition each grant provided to a |
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community collaborative under this section on the collaborative |
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providing funds from non-state sources in a total amount at least |
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equal to: |
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(1) 50 percent of the grant amount if the |
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collaborative includes a county with a population of less than |
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250,000; |
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(2) 100 percent of the grant amount if the |
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collaborative includes a county with a population of 250,000 or |
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more; and |
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(3) the percentage of the grant amount otherwise |
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required by this subsection for the largest county included in the |
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collaborative, if the collaborative includes more than one county. |
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(d-1) To raise the required non-state sourced funds, a |
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collaborative may seek and receive gifts, grants, or donations from |
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any person. |
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(d-2) From money appropriated to the commission for each |
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fiscal year to implement this section, the commission shall reserve |
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40 percent of that total to be awarded only as grants to a community |
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collaborative that includes a county with a population of less than |
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250,000. |
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(e) For each state fiscal year for which a community |
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collaborative seeks a grant, the collaborative must submit a |
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petition to the commission not later than the 30th day of that |
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fiscal year. The community collaborative must include with a |
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petition: |
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(1) a statement indicating the amount of funds from |
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non-state sources the collaborative is able to provide; and |
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(2) a plan that: |
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(A) is endorsed by each of the collaborative's |
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member entities; |
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(B) identifies a target population; |
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(C) describes how the grant money and funds from |
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non-state sources will be used; |
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(D) includes outcome measures to evaluate the |
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success of the plan; and |
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(E) describes how the success of the plan in |
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accordance with the outcome measures would further the state's |
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interest in the grant program's purposes. |
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(f) The commission must review plans submitted with a |
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petition under Subsection (e) before the commission provides a |
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grant under this section. The commission must fulfill the |
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commission's requirements under this subsection not later than the |
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60th day of each fiscal year. |
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(g) For each petition timely submitted and containing the |
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statement and plan required by Subsection (e), the commission shall |
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estimate the number of cases of serious mental illness in |
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low-income households located in the county included in the |
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community collaborative that submitted the petition. The |
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commission must fulfill the commission's requirements under this |
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subsection not later than the 60th day of each fiscal year. |
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(h) For each state fiscal year, the commission shall |
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determine an amount of grant money available for the program on a |
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per-case basis by dividing the total amount of money appropriated |
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to the commission for the purpose of providing grants under this |
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section for that fiscal year by the total number of the cases |
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estimated under Subsection (g) for all collaboratives to which the |
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commission intends to provide grants under this section. The |
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commission must fulfill the commission's requirements under this |
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subsection not later than the 60th day of each fiscal year. |
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(i) Not later than the 90th day of each fiscal year, the |
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commission shall make available to a community collaborative |
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receiving a grant under this section a grant in an amount equal to |
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the lesser of: |
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(1) the amount determined by multiplying the per-case |
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amount determined under Subsection (h) by the number of cases of |
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serious mental illness in low-income households estimated for that |
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collaborative under Subsection (g); or |
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(2) the collaborative's available matching funds. |
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(j) Acceptable uses for the grant money and matching funds |
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include: |
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(1) the continuation of a mental health jail diversion |
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program; |
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(2) the establishment or expansion of a mental health |
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jail diversion program; |
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(3) the establishment of alternatives to competency |
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restoration in a state hospital, including outpatient competency |
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restoration, inpatient competency restoration in a setting other |
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than a state hospital, or jail-based competency restoration; |
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(4) the provision of assertive community treatment or |
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forensic assertive community treatment with an outreach component; |
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(5) the provision of intensive mental health services |
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and substance abuse treatment not readily available in the county; |
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(6) the provision of continuity of care services for |
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an individual being released from a state hospital; |
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(7) the establishment of interdisciplinary rapid |
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response teams to reduce law enforcement's involvement with mental |
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health emergencies; and |
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(8) the provision of local community hospital, crisis, |
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respite, or residential beds. |
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(j-1) To the extent money appropriated to the commission to |
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implement this section for a fiscal year remains available to the |
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commission after the commission selects grant recipients for the |
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fiscal year, the commission shall make grants available using the |
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money remaining for the fiscal year through a competitive request |
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for proposal process, without regard to the limitation provided by |
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Subsection (d-2). |
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(k) Not later than the 90th day after the last day of the |
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state fiscal year for which the commission distributes a grant |
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under this section, each community collaborative that receives a |
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grant shall prepare and submit a report describing the effect of the |
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grant money and matching funds in achieving the standard defined by |
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the outcome measures in the plan submitted under Subsection (e). |
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(l) The commission may make inspections of the operation and |
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provision of mental health services provided by a community |
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collaborative to ensure state money appropriated for the grant |
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program is used effectively. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |