AT THE CAPITOL
News from the 88th legislative session
QUOTE OF NOTE
Senate puts $2B toward mental health care expansion
NUMBER TO KNOW That’s how much Texas lawmakers have allocated for the 2024-25 state budget. Members from the House and Senate will meet to hammer out the details of the budget before it heads to the governor’s desk. $161B APPRAISAL VALUES.” DADE PHELAN, HOUSE SPEAKER, ON THE PASSAGE OF HOUSE BILL 2, THE CHAMBER’S $17 BILLION PLAN TO CUT PROPERTY TAXES DELIVERING LASTING PROPERTY TAX RELIEF AND ADDRESSING SKYROCKETING “MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS HOUSE HAVE SENT AN UNEQUIVOCAL MESSAGE THAT THEY HEAR THE CONCERNS FROM FELLOW TEXANS ABOUT UPDATES FROM LOCAL LEGISLATORS
BY HANNAH NORTON
BUILDING MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES The Texas Senate’s $2.3 billion plan includes the construc- tion of new mental health facilities and upgrading existing facilities to increase capacity in Austin, San Antonio, North Texas, Montgomery County, El Paso and Tyler.
The Texas Senate has proposed a $2.3 billion investment in the state’s mental health care system, including upgrades to and construction of several state mental health facilities. Money will be allocated to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission by Senate Bill 30, a supplemental funding bill. The Senate unanimously passed SB 26 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R Brenham, on April 13. The bill would create a $15 billion “innovation grant” program to help local mental health centers provide early intervention and treatment for children and their families. At an April 13 news conference, Kolkhorst said mental health needs have increased signi cantly in Texas since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said roughly 1,000 Texans were on waitlists for forensic hospital beds, which are used for people in the criminal justice system who have mental illnesses, before the pandemic. Since then, Kolkhorst said the waitlist has “exploded to nearly 2,500.” Many state hospitals, state-supported living centers and local mental health facilities are also facing sta ng issues. The Senate passed SB 25, a nursing education bill, with a unanimous vote March 30. The bill would create scholar- ships, grants and a loan repayment program for nursing students.
New construction/ upgrades
North Texas State hospital
Terrell State hospital UT Tyler
Amarillo State hospital
Lubbock State hospital Sunrise Canyon
El Paso psychiatric center
Uvalde behaviorial health center
San Antonio State hospital
Montgomery County mental health
Victoria County
Rio Grande State center
SOURCE: TEXAS SENATE AND TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION COMMUNITY IMPACT
Narcan to be distributed across the state
Bill would send state funds to private schools
STATE REP. JAMES TALARICO
District 50 Democrat Elected: 2018
BY HANNAH NORTON
RELEVANT BILLS During his State of the State address in February, Gov. Greg Abbott desig-
Gov. Greg Abbott announced on April 6 that the opioid overdose reversal medication Narcan will be provided to law enforcement in every county in Texas. Over 2,000 Texans died from fentanyl poisoning in 2022, Abbott said. An initial 20,000 units of Narcan, which helps people over- dosing on opioids keep breathing, are available immediately. Counties can apply for an allotment from the Texas Division of Emergency Management, according to the governor’s o ce. Abbott also announced the launch of a $10 million multimedia campaign to educate Texans about the dangers of fentanyl, as well as how to prevent, recognize and reverse overdoses. The campaign is an extension of Abbott’s existing “One Pill Kills” initiative. Funding for the plans comes from multiple settlements that Texas is receiving from opioid manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, o cials said.
BY HANNAH NORTON
House Bill 2063 The bill would criminalize leaving animals unattended at boarding facilities if the animals’ owners did not provide informed consent. A boarding business in this bill includes veterinary medicine clinics and other facilities that provide boarding and related services to dogs or cats.
The Texas Senate approved on April 6 a proposal to use state money to help parents pay for enrollment in private schools. Senate Bill 8, by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R Conroe, would create an education savings account pro- gram, commonly known as private school vouchers. Parents who pull their children out of public schools could receive $8,000 per student to help send them to private schools. The money, which would come from taxes paid to the state, could be used to cover private school tuition or other educational expenses, such as textbooks or transportation. Current public school students and those enrolling in kindergarten or prekindergarten for the rst time could apply for ESAs. Creighton announced that about 62,500 low-income students who are already enrolled in private schools would also be eligible for the program.
nated combatting the fentanyl crisis as one of his top priorities for the current legislative session. Texas lawmakers have passed bills related to the crisis, including: Senate Bill 645 Goal: enable murder charges for lacing drugs with fentanyl, a deadly opioid Action: establish a rst-degree felony for manufacturing or distributing fentanyl that leads to someone’s death House Bill 362 Goal: help Texans safely test other drugs for fentanyl Action: legalize manufacturing and possession of fentanyl test strips, which are used to check if other drugs contain the deadly opioid
STATE REP. CAROLINE HARRIS
District 52 Republican Elected: 2022
Sign up for our newsletter at communityimpact.com for daily updates throughout the session. SUBSCRIBE TODAY supplies, requesting payment from patients for a service or item to provide the patient with an itemized bill of charges for all services or items during the patient’s visit to the provider. HB 1973 The bill would require health care providers, or facilities that provide health services or
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE TEXAS GOVERNOR COMMUNITY IMPACT
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