HBA-CCH H.C.R. 109 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.C.R. 109
By: Gutierrez
Public Health
3/6/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Due to the numerous federal, state, and local health and human services
providers located in Texas, senior citizens, people with disabilities,
victims of crime, children and adolescents, military personnel, and other
Texas residents could benefit from a simple way to access information
regarding the availability of health and human services.  The Texas
Information & Referral Network (TIRN) streamlines access to health and
human services by providing 25 area information centers that a person may
call to gain health and human services information and assistance.  A
toll-free, three-digit hotline number is the next step in simplifying
access to health and human services information.  The Federal
Communications Commission recently authorized states to use a 2-1-1 number
to provide access to the information and referral network.  The 2-1-1
initiative in Texas is a public and private partnership that has already
received approximately $5 million from private donations, and  TIRN has
been cooperating with the Public Utility Commission to establish a
statewide 2-1-1 network.  H.C.R. 109 supports a statewide 2-1-1 telephone
network. 

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

H.C.R. 109 declares support for the establishment of a statewide 2-1-1
information and referral telephone network to link residents to health and
human services information and assistance.