85R5051 JG-D     By: Howard H.B. No. 943       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the establishment of the Transgender Healthcare   Advisory Committee.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  (a) In this section:                (1)  "Advisory committee" means the Transgender   Healthcare Advisory Committee.                (2)  "Executive commissioner" means the executive   commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.          (b)  The Health and Human Services Commission shall   establish the Transgender Healthcare Advisory Committee to develop   and provide recommendations on:                (1)  the health care and insurance needs for persons   who identify as transgender; and                (2)  the adverse health impacts for patients who do not   meet traditional gender standards under the Healthcare Common   Procedure Coding System adopted by the Centers for Medicare &   Medicaid Services of the United States Department of Health and   Human Services or the American Medical Association's Current   Procedural Terminology codes.          (c)  The advisory committee is composed of 15 members   appointed by the executive commissioner, unless otherwise   provided, as follows:                (1)  two representatives from a statewide or regional   lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender or gender-identity   advocacy organization;                (2)  one physician with broad experience working with   persons who identify as transgender;                (3)  one representative from a lesbian, gay, bisexual,   and transgender or gender-identity resource center;                (4)  one representative from a statewide medical   association;                (5)  one representative from a statewide physicians'   association;                (6)  one representative from a statewide pediatric   physicians' association;                (7)  one representative from a statewide insurance   association;                (8)  one representative from the Health and Human   Services Commission;                (9)  one representative from the Department of State   Health Services;                (10)  one representative from the Department of Family   and Protective Services;                (11)  one representative from the Texas Department of   Insurance, appointed by the commissioner of insurance;                (12)  one representative from the Texas Department of   Criminal Justice, appointed by the executive director of the   department;                (13)  one representative from The University of Texas   at Austin, Texas A&M University at College Station, or the   University of Houston; and                (14)  one representative from The University of Texas   Health Science Center at Houston or The Texas A&M University Health   Science Center.          (d)  The executive commissioner shall appoint a member of the   advisory committee to serve as presiding officer.          (e)  A vacancy on the advisory committee shall be filled in   the same manner as the original appointment.          (f)  A member of the advisory committee may not receive   compensation for service on the advisory committee, but is entitled   to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in   performing advisory committee duties. The advisory committee may   accept gifts, grants, and donations to pay for those expenses.          (g)  The advisory committee shall meet at least quarterly at   the call of the presiding officer and at other times as determined   by the presiding officer.          (h)  The advisory committee shall develop recommendations to   address:                (1)  the health care and insurance needs for persons   who identify as transgender;                (2)  adverse health impacts for patients who do not   meet traditional gender standards under the Healthcare Common   Procedure Coding System adopted by the Centers for Medicare &   Medicaid Services of the United States Department of Health and   Human Services or the American Medical Association's Current   Procedural Terminology codes and continuing education for health   care professionals addressing those impacts; and                (3)  the health care needs for inmates who identify as   transgender in jails and prisons in this state.          (i)  The Health and Human Services Commission shall provide   administrative support for the advisory committee using existing   resources.          (j)  Not later than August 31, 2018, the advisory committee   shall submit a final report to the governor, the lieutenant   governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the   executive commissioner with its findings and recommendations   described by Subsection (h) of this section.          (k)  The advisory committee is abolished June 1, 2019.          SECTION 2.  Not later than December 1, 2017, the executive   commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, the   commissioner of insurance, and the executive director of the Texas   Department of Criminal Justice shall appoint members to the   Transgender Healthcare Advisory Committee established under this   Act.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect September 1, 2017.