HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
During the second week of February, Speaker Straus named the committee assignments for the Texas House of Representatives of the 82nd Legislative Session. One of the committees that has begun its work is the Human Services Committee. The Human Services Committee deals with a number of important issues which impact the budget of the State of Texas.
The Human Services Committee is composed of nine House members. I am a member of this committee. This committee will have legislative jurisdiction on all matters pertaining to:
• welfare and rehabilitation programs and their development, administration, and control;
• oversight of the Health and Human Services Commission as it relates to the subject matter jurisdiction of this committee;
• intellectual disabilities and the development of programs incident thereto;
• the prevention and treatment of intellectual disabilities;
In addition to having legislative jurisdiction over these matters, the committee will also be tasked with overseeing six state agencies. These agencies are:
• the Department of Aging and Disability Services,
• the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services,
• the Department of Family and Protective Services,
• the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners,
• the Texas Council on Purchasing from People with Disabilities,
• the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors.
The recent census figures showed that the population of the State of Texas had increased from 20,851,820 in 2000 to 25,145,581 in 2010. While the increase in population provided the state with four new congressional seats, it also added to the demand and need for services provided by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). The HHSC provides services through the Medicaid Program, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Some of the services include rural health clinics, home healthcare, prescription drugs and durable medical equipment. Other programs provided by the HHSC include the Medical Transportation Program, Family Violence Services, Disaster Assistance and the “Twogether in Texas” programs.
In 2009 the 81st Texas Legislature appropriated $40,782,618,434 to the HHSC for the 2010-2011 fiscal years. Out of the nearly $41 billion, $35,367,054,606 of that amount was spent on the state’s Medicaid program. This amount represents over eighty seven percent of the agencies biannual budget. The Medicaid funds are used to provide care for 3.2 million individuals, of which 2.5 million are children and 239,904 are elderly.
It is important to note that the funds appropriated to the HHSC makes it one of the state’s largest agencies both in size and percentage of the state’s biannual budget. Approximately $27 billion of the appropriated funds are provided by the federal government in the form of matching funds, grants and other financial programs.
If you would like to start following any of the bills that have already been referred to the Human Services committee or any of the other bills which have been filed and referred to other committees, these websites serve as a great resource:
• The Texas Legislature
• The Texas House of Representatives
• The Texas Senate
If you have questions or comments regarding any of the information mentioned in this article or any bills which have been filed, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
