An update on disability-related bills in the 88th Texas Legislature. Presentation was provided to the TCDD Public Policy Committee, with the order/priority of topics determined by the Committee members.

1. Disability Issues at the Capitol:
An Update on the
88th Texas Legislature
April 14, 2023

2. TCDD Public Policy Priorities
Personal and Civil Rights
Accessibility
Early Childhood and Inclusive Education
Employment
Health and Safety
Funding for Services
Attendant Wages and Training

3. Bills/Issues Under
Consideration
What’s moving in Austin?

4. Bills, Bills, and More Bills
Bill filings in the past two legislative sessions:
87th Session (2021): 6927
86th Session (2019): 7,324
For the 88th Regular Session, they have filed
8,041 bills
This is the most ever in a session!!!

5. Pop Quiz,
Hotshot!
What is the only bill that lawmakers MUST pass each session?

6. Community Attendant Rates
The rate for community attendants is currently $8.11 per hour.
Current proposals in Appropriations bills:
House version: It’s complicated
Senate version: $11 per hour
House:
(a) Included in amounts appropriated above in Goal A, Medicaid Client Services, is
$106,933,536 in General Revenue Funds ($275,374,538 in All Funds) for the Health and
Human Services Commission (HHSC) to increase service support funding for Home
and Community Services Agency Community Attendant services.
(b) Included in amounts appropriated above in Goal A, Medicaid Client Services, for
each fiscal year is $391,865,226 in General Revenue ($1,008,859,566 in All Funds) for
HHSC to include an increase of $0.04 for each level in the rate enhancement program
for Community Attendants. Funds include full rate enhancement for attendant
programs not included in the rate enhancement such as Medically Dependent
Children Program (MDCP) / Personal Attendant Services (PAS), Personal Care Services
(PCS), Respite, and Consumer Directed Services (CDS) option attendant services.
Senate:
Information on Funding Provided for Attendant Wages. Included in amounts
appropriated above to the Health and Human Services Commission in Goal A,
Medicaid Client Services, and Strategy F.1.2, Non-Medicaid Services, is $901,886,738 in
General Revenue and $1,414,403,638 in Federal Funds to increase the base wage for
personal attendant services to $11.00 per hour in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

7. Community Attendant
Rates
Filed bills to raise the wage:
HB 245, González/SB 1696, Blanco: $15
or federal minimum wage, whichever
is higher
HB 1430, Meza: $17 or federal
minimum wage, whichever is higher
($15 in first year, then stepped up)

8. Long-Term Care
HB 54, Thompson – Personal Needs
Allowance from $60 to $85, now with
biennial inflation adjustment
HB 1007, Turner – Weapons Ban in Long-
Term Care Facilities
HB 1008-1010, Turner – Caregiver
Misconduct in Group Homes
(Suspensions, Criminal Records, Insurable Interest)
SB 944, Kolkhorst – Commitment Orders

9. Employment
HB 1113, Meza – Entrepreneurship of
People with Disabilities
HB 5146, Raney – Building Better
Futures Program
SB 464, Parker – October 17 as
Entrepreneurs with Disabilities
Day (Blake Pyron Act)

10. Strategic Approach for IDD Services
HB 729, Rose – Statewide IDD Coordinating
Council
This bill would establish a statewide IDD coordinating council with the
purpose of ensuring a strategic statewide approach for IDD services.
The duties of the council would include:
⮚ Developing and monitoring the implementation of a five-year statewide
IDD strategic plan
⮚ Developing a biennial coordinated statewide IDD expenditure proposal
⮚ Annually publishing an updated inventory of state-funded IDD programs
and services
⮚ Potentially facilitating opportunities to increase collaboration for the
effective expenditure of available federal and state funds for IDD services
in Texas
HB 4629, Klick – Membership of IDD SRAC

11. Health Care
HB 109, Johnson/SB 51, Zaffirini – Health
Benefit Coverage for Hearing Aids
HB 667, A. Johnson –
Licensing/Regulation of Music Therapists
HB 1805, Klick – Texas Compassionate
Use Program (TCUP) Expansion
HB 1875, Guillen – Audiology and
Speech-Language Pathology
Interstate Compact

12. 2015 (SB 339)
⮚ intractable epilepsy
⮚ .5% THC
⮚ Two physicians
2019 (HB 3703)
⮚ all types of epilepsy
⮚ seizure disorders
⮚ multiple sclerosis
⮚ spasticity
⮚ autism
⮚ amyotropic lateral sclerosis
⮚ terminal cancer
⮚ incurable neurodegenerative disease
⮚ Change from two physicians to one
Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP) Through the Years
2021 (HB 1535)
⮚ post-traumatic stress disorder
⮚ medical condition approved for
research
⮚ cancer, not just terminal cancer
⮚ changed from .5% THC to 1%
Removed from Final 2021 Bill:
⮚ condition for which a physician would
otherwise prescribe an opioid for pain
⮚ debilitating medical condition as
designated by Department of Health
and Human Services
⮚ change from .5% THC to 5%
(CSHB 1805 is 10mg per dosage unit)

13. Guardianship
HB 785, Swanson – Qualified Delivery
Methods of Guardianship Notices
SB 1606, Zaffirini – IDD Experience for
Guardianship Exams
HB 653, Allison – Caregiver Parents as
Independent Guardians

14. House Committee on Judiciary & Civil
Jurisprudence Interim Charge
Evaluate the use and types of guardianships in Texas
and the effect of guardianship on individual rights. Study
the financial costs to families related to attaining and
maintaining guardianship and compare costs to those
associated with guardianship alternatives, such as
supported decision-making.

15. Special Education
HB 166, González –
Appointment of Educational Representative
(bringing TX in line with IDEA)
HB 272, J. Johnson – IEP Team Terminology
HB 579, Burns – Exemption from Alternative
Assessments/Specialized Support Campuses
HB 773, Allen – Early Pickups
HB 1926, Hull – Supplemental Special Ed Services (SSES) Program
HB 2234, Thompson – Cameras in Classrooms

16. Texas State Budget, HB 1
Total Expenditures, All Funds = $302.6 billion
This is about $5.5 billion more than the current
budget.
$24 billion drop in federal funds, largely COVID relief
$18.7 billion increase in state general revenue
$10.9 billion increase in other state funds (State
Highway Fund, the Texas Mobility Fund, the
Property Tax Relief Fund, the Economic
Stabilization Fund, trust funds, bond proceeds,
& Interagency Contracts.)

17. Texas State Budget
Spending Limits
Growth in the Texas state budget operates
under a variety of limitations. Among them:
Balanced budget limit (pay-as-you-go)
HB 1: $25.6 billion
Tax spending limit
HB 1: $1.3 billion
Consolidated general revenue limit
HB 1: $12.5 billion

18. Texas State Budget
Additional Notes
Texas began the session with an
anticipated
$32.7 billion surplus
In 2025, the Economic Stabilization Fund
(Rainy Day Fund) is expected to reach its
maximum constitutional balance.
At that point, it will have $27.1 billion.

19. Texas State Budget, HB 1
Amendments
When the Texas House debated the
appropriations bill, 388 amendments were
pre-filed for the debate. The vast majority
went to Article XI, the budget wish list.
Since the Senate operates in a different
manner, its floor debate saw the
consideration of one amendment.
That amendment was not adopted.

20. Family Care Items
HB 300, Howard – Sales Tax
Exemption for Family Care Items

21. Private School Vouchers
HB 3781, Jetton
HB 4340, Frank
SB 8, Creighton
SB 1474, Bettencourt
SB 2354, Bettencourt
HB 1 amendment by Herrero

22. Restraint/Discipline in
Schools
HB 459, Hull/SB 133, West –
No Kids in Cuffs
HB 516, Wu –
Reporting of Disciplinary/Law
Enforcement Actions
HB 772, Allen – Ban on Corporal Punishment
HB 2126, Goodwin – Reporting of Disciplinary
Measures/Restraint in Schools

23. Accessible Parking
HB 1538, Gámez –
Parking for Veterans with
Disabilities
SB 904, Springer –
Offense of Unauthorized
Parking in an Accessible
Spot

24. Peer Support
HB 4702, Plesa –
IDD Peer Supports

25. Higher Education
SB 55, Zaffirini – THECB Study on Assisting
Students with Autism
HB 1211, Guillen – Loan Repayment for Licensed
Specialists in School Psychology
HB 1604, González – THECB Report on Enrollment and
Success of Students with Disabilities
HB 5148, Raney – TX Students with Disabilities
Scholarship Program

26. ID Terminology
HB 446, Craddick –
Respectful Language for
Intellectual Disability
HB 530, Wu –
Family Code Update

27. Disaster Preparedness
HB 195, González – Emergency Preparations in IEPs,
TEA guidelines
HB 795, E. Thompson – Emergency Generators in
Assisted Living Facilities
HB 1446, Cortez – TDCJ Emergency Planning
HB 2858, Morales Shaw – Inclusive Disaster Planning

28. Voting
HB 386, J. González –
Voters Unable to Enter a
Polling Place
SB 477, Zaffirini –
Accommodating Voters
with Disabilities

29. Criminal Justice
HB 381, Thompson –
Death Penalty Ban for
People with ID
HB 727, Rose –
Death Penalty Ban for People
with Severe Mental Illness

30. Service Animals
HB 4164, Cortez –
Improper Use and Treatment
of a Service Animal
HB 5206, Goodwin –
False Representation of an
Animal as a Service Animal

31. Child Care
HB 211, González – Inclusive Child Care
HB 1615, Button – Child Care Availability

32. Questions?
What’d I Miss?
32

33. Contact Information
Scott M. Daigle
Public Policy Director
Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities
6201 E. Oltorf, Ste. 600
Austin, TX 78741
M: 512-962-8770
scott.daigle@tcdd.texas.gov
www.tcdd.texas.gov