HBA-MPM H.B. 2142 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2142
By: Jones, Elizabeth
Public Health
4/10/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children
(WIC) is a federal program designed to provide health care during critical
times of fetal and early childhood growth to prevent problems caused by
inadequate nutrition.  WIC families participate in health and nutrition
counseling to foster responsible and informed nutrition and health choices.
Additionally, WIC also provides brochures and materials describing food
available through a WIC program that issues certain foods that are
redeemable at contracted grocers.  The brochures may be subject to
extensive use by WIC participants due to the nature of handling while
shopping.  In 2000, WIC switched from using laminated brochures to hard
paper brochures due to new statutory requirements.  The hard paper
brochures tend to wear out more quickly than the laminated brochures.
House Bill 2142 allows brochures printed by WIC for distribution to program
participants to be printed on laminated paper. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2142 amends the Government Code to specify that provisions
prohibiting a state agency from using appropriated money to publish a
publication on enamel-coated, cast-coated, or dull-coated printing stock or
that contains an average of more than one picture for each two pages of the
publication unless the agency imposes a fee for the publication in an
amount that recovers the cost of publication do not apply to the
publication of a brochure regarding approved foods under the federal
special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children
administered by the Texas Department of Health. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.