Tomorrow, committees in both the Texas Senate and House are expected to consider a variety of bills related to state institutions for Texans with mental disabilities.
Among those are proposals that would close some of the 13 institutions known as state schools.
The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services is set to consider a measure by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, that would require closing some institutions and reforming the entire system of services for Texans with disabilities.
The measure, Senate Bill 1060, does not designate which institutions - or how many - would close. Instead, it calls for state officials to heed recommendations of a steering committee that would consist of lawmakers, state school employees and state school residents and their families.
The House version of Ellis’ proposal is expected to be considered by the Committee on Human Services. Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, the panel’s chairman, is the author of that measure, House Bill 1589.
The Senate panel will also take up Senate Bill 336 by Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, which would give the head of the Health and Human Services Commission — rather than just the Legislature — the authority to close state schools. But it doesn’t mandate any closure. Neither does Senate Bill 1407 by Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, which would create a panel to evaluate whether any state schools should close and make recommendations to the Legislature.
Meanwhile, some major state school legislation that does not involve closure is already working its way through the Capitol. The Senate has passed a measure — Senate Bill 643, designated emergency legislation by Gov. Rick Perry — that would create an ombudsman for state schools and put video surveillance in common areas. A companion to that, House Bill 1317, which would also increase oversight of community homes and revamp abuse and neglect investigations, has been approved by the Human Services Committee.
State schools — home to nearly 5,000 Texans — are under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice, which reported in December that the institutions fail to protect residents from harm.
Tomorrow, the Senate committee meets at 9 a.m. in E1.016 and reconvenes after the full Senate meets. The House committee convenes in room E2.036 after the full House meets.
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