Now that we’re into the final month of the legislative session, I wanted to let you know that a number of good bills and budget priorities for Texas kids and families are making progress at the Legislature. While there are also deep disappointments and concerns this session, we’re pleased to see these steps forward and thankful for the legislators and partners who are working hard to pass smart public policy proposals.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the bills we’re advocating for that have passed either the House or the Senate. They will have to pass the other chamber and then go to the Governor for his consideration before they can become law.
PASSED THE HOUSE
- HB 12 by Rep. Toni Rose — Extends health coverage for moms to a full 12 months after pregnancy instead of cutting off coverage at two months.
- HB 1599 by Rep. John Bucy — Implements an express lane option to improve access to Medicaid and CHIP health insurance for children who are already eligible but uninsured.
- HB 1979 by Rep. John Raney — Updates regulations for Local Workforce Development Boards with the standards and supports needed to maximize child care funding, improve transparency, and enroll as many families as possible in high-quality child care.
- HB 1972 by Rep. Liz Campos — Ensures children in foster care spend more time with families rather than in facilities and provides greater protections while children are in foster care facilities.
- HB 2066 by Rep. David Cook — Diverts youth in foster care away from the juvenile justice system through crisis response training for staff in foster care facilities, among other measures.
- HB 98 by Rep. Joe Moody — Supports student mental health by broadening schools’ ability to seek Medicaid reimbursement for those services.
- HB 13 by Rep. Ken King — Raises the school safety allotment (funding that school districts can use for mental health strategies or school security) from $10 per student to $100 per student, among other provisions.
- HB 2237 by Rep. Senfronia Thompson — Creates the Child First grant program, which enables community organizations to provide early childhood mental health or prevention services for low-income, high-risk families.
PASSED THE SENATE
- SB 1379 by Sen. Tan Parker — Helps youth develop greater financial independence when they age out of foster care through a pilot program to help youth set up checking or savings accounts.
PASSED EITHER THE HOUSE OR SENATE IN THE BUDGET BILL
A number of important provisions and funding priorities have also passed at least one chamber as part of the budget bill, including:
- Additional Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) funding for toddlers with disabilities;
- Additional funding to strengthen the HHSC workforce and technology to ensure that eligible Texans can enroll in Medicaid, CHIP, and other services and renew their coverage;
- Steps to use leftover federal Family First Transition Act (FFTA) funding to help keep children safely with their families and out of foster care and help the state get ready to implement the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA);
- Steps to place more children with their grandparents or other kinship caregivers instead of with strangers in foster care; and
- Additional funding for Community Mental Health Services for Children.
The budget conference committee is now ironing out the differences between the House and Senate budget bills. You can read more here on our website.
We look forward to working with legislators and our partners to get these bills and budget priorities over the finish line this session!
