HB+1240+Texas+Legislature+81st+Session


 * HB 1240 **

During the 2005 legislative session, the Texas Senate passed [|SB 316] requiring that the mother, father, or caregiver of a newborn infant receive a pamphlet ([|Information for Parents of Newborns]) initially following the birth of the child. During this current 2009 legislative session, [|Mike Villareal], a Democrat and House Representative from District 123, San Antonio, has introduced [|HB 1240] to act as an enhancement of the previous bill. HB 1240's purpose is to provide additional information to parent's of newborn children including, expected developmental milestones, child safety, how to select and interact with a primary care provider, the importance of a "medical home," the importance of reading to a child, dental care, how to select appropriate child care, health care resources available, and effective parenting tips.
 * Introduction:**

 Mike Villareal, a married father with two young children, seems to be the perfect Representative to bring this bill to the House. Being the first in his family to receive a college degree, along with having a mother who was a nurse, places Rep. Villareal in an excellent position to argue cases for both children's health issues and education reform. A majority of the bills that he has proposed focuses on these two areas. In regards to educating new parents and the enhanced publication that HB 1240 will provide, Mr. Villareal has said, "This is the kind of stuff all parents need to know, and the kind of info that will help the parent be a better parent, and more importantly, help them nurture and grow their child to meet their fullest potential."
 * The author/s:**

Joint authors of the bill include Representative [|Garnet Coleman] a Democrat from District 147, Houston, who serves on the Public Health Committee and Representative [|Elliott Naishtat] a Democrat from District 49, Austin, who serves on the Health and Human Services Committee and who is the Vice Chair for the Public Health Committee.

HB 1240 is being sponsored in the Senate by the Democratic senator [|Carlos Uresti] ,District 19, who serves on the Health and Human Services Committee.

The bill was discussed at length during the Public Health Committee meeting on March 10, 2009. Representative Villareal introduced his bill and stated that HB 1240, "...builds on the information already required in statute but gives a more holistic (approach)." [|A Parent's Guide to Healthy, Happy Children], which has already been developed by a coalition of child advocacy groups, was displayed to members of the committee. The guide takes the form of a calendar and is written in an easy-to-understand format available in both English and Spanish. This guide is what Rep. Villareal intends to be distributed to new parents. It is his intention that hospitals will distribute the guides and that the state of Texas will pay for the printing. A substitution to the bill was made prior to it reaching the Public Health Committee with the focus of distribution being to Medicaid recipients only. Rep. Villareal informed committee members that the [|Health and Human Services Commission] was already in the process of purchasing the guides using [|FREW funds] and that his bill would provide statutory language to solidify the program, as well as allow for any grants or gifts received by HHSC to be used towards the printing and distribution of additional guides. HB 1240 also includes a "performance measure" as part of its language so that HHSC must report to the efficacy of the guides in improving health outcomes for children and in the reduction of health costs.
 * //In depth look://**

The main conflict towards this bill lies in the fact that only Medicaid recipients will be receiving the guide, with the only stated reason being cost. Rep. Villareal recognized that not all parents have access to resources of information or the skill-set to pursue this type of information on their own, and he was extremely willing to work with the committee in any way they saw fit in order to include all parents under his bill.

Representative Coleman voiced his agreement towards the importance of the bill and appreciated that the material is explained in a simple manner. He stated, "We all claim we know how to do something but then we go out and buy the Book for Dummies at the bookstore."

Brian Castrucci with Texas Department of State Health Services was questioned by committee members. He informed the committee that this guide would serve as a companion to the pamphlet currently being distributed. All mothers would receive the pamphlet but only Medicaid mothers would receive both pamphlet and guide. He stated that there are an average of 386,000 births annually in the state of Texas and that 50% of these births are considered Medicaid babies. Mr. Castrucci also stated that the current cost of printing the guide is estimated at $1 each.

Judy Willgren, an infant and early-childhood consultant and former coordinator for the Raising Texas initiative, facilitated revisions for the guide and referred to it as a "one-stop-shopping document." She provided background information to the committee regarding the development of the resource guide. She also told committee members that she believes the state will see a return of the $1 investment in the areas of health, mental health, and education.

Committee member Jim McReynolds voiced his opinion stating, "The greatest opportunity for influencing a child's life begins on that first day and passage of this bill is a great policy choice."

Kara Johnson with Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition spoke in favor of HB 1240 highlighting the three areas that were of the most importance to her group: the focus on the importance of reading to children, the highlighting of developmental stages, and the information regarding choosing a high-quality Head Start or pre-K program. Ms. Johnson also mentioned that additional funding might be achieved through a federal stimulus package with the target group being parents who receive child-care subsidy. She finalized her comments, telling committee members that she also believed this guide would be beneficial to all parents and she quoted a friend as saying, "No matter how smart you are, it doesn't mean you know how to parent."

On the March 24, 2009 meeting of the Public Health Committee, HB 1240 was brought to a vote and passed, with a recommendation of approval being sent to the House. The bill found approval in both the House and the Senate, and was signed into law on May 27,2009. The new law will go into effect on September 1, 2009.

2/12/09 - Bill filed in the House. 2/26/09 - Bill read in House and referred to Public Health Committee. 3/10-3/24/09 - Bill considered in Public Health Committee, testimony taken, amendments to bill made as determined by committee 3/30/09 - Second reading in House, vote. 3/31/09 - Final reading, vote (145 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 not voting (Mr. Speaker)), engrossed bill sent to Senate. 4/16/09 - Bill read in Senate and referred to Health & Human Services Committee. 4/30/09 - Bill considered in Health & Human Services Committee (approved with no additional amendments), returned to Senate. 5/14/09 - Second reading, third reading, final vote (31 Yeas, 0 Nays). 5/19/09 - Bill signed in House, signed in Senate, sent to Governor. 5/27/09 - Bill is signed by Governor Rick Perry and becomes a law with the effective date of 9/1/09
 * //Bill to Law// Transition Timeline:**

//While this transition has occurred at the state level, it is similar to what occurs nationally. For a more simplified version of the bill making process, watch this [|video]////(And if you're old enough, relive part of your childhood!).//