BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4694

By: Noble

Human Services

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

State law contains unnecessary, duplicative, outdated, and burdensome training requirements for long-term care facility surveyors. These requirements take away from surveyors' ability to focus on mission-critical activities, including investigations of non-compliance and abuse or neglect of vulnerable individuals. C.S.H.B. 4694 seeks to repeal certain requirements related to training for long-term care facility surveyors, personnel, and providers and ICF-IID program providers.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4694 repeals provisions in the Health and Safety Code and the Human Resources Code that do the following:

·         with respect to assisted living facilities, require surveyors, facility supervisors, and other appropriate staff to complete annual training developed by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) regarding aging in place, retaliation, and other issues determined by HHSC;

·         with respect to the ICF-IID program, require HHSC to at least annually sponsor a conference on the program to provide certain assistance and information to providers and authorize HHSC to provide program information by other means, including publications; and

·         with respect to certain long-term care facilities, require the basic training program HHSC provides to surveyors to include the observation of an unrelated facility's operations for at least 10 working days within a 14-day period and authorize HHSC to waive that requirement for certain surveyors.

C.S.H.B. 4694 repeals the following provisions:

·         Section 247.066(h), Health and Safety Code;

·         Section 533A.066, Health and Safety Code; and

·         Sections 22.039(b-1) and (b-2), Human Resources Code.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 4694 differs from the introduced only by amending the caption.