Sec. 533.0346. AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER SERVICES TO COMMUNITY CENTERS

(a) The department may transfer operations of and services provided at the Amarillo State Center, Beaumont State Center, and Laredo State Center to a community center established under Chapter 534, including a newly established center providing mental retardation services or mental health and mental retardation services.

(b) The transfer may occur only on the department's approval of a plan submitted in accordance with Section 534.001(d) or of an amendment to a previously approved plan. In developing the plan or plan amendment, the center or proposed center proposing to accept the state center operation and service responsibilities shall consider input from consumers of mental health and mental retardation services and family members of and advocates for those consumers, organizations that represent affected employees, and other providers of mental health and mental retardation services.

(c) The center or proposed center proposing to accept the state center operation and service responsibilities shall publish notice of the initial planning meeting regarding the content of the plan or plan amendment and of the meeting to review the content of the proposed plan or plan amendment before it is submitted under Section 534.001(d). The notices must include the time and location of the meeting. The notice of the meeting to review the content of the plan or amendment must include information regarding how to obtain a copy of the proposed plan or amendment. The notices must be published not fewer than 30 days and not more than 90 days before the date set for the meeting in a newspaper of general circulation in each county containing any part of the proposed service area. If a county in which notice is required to be published does not have a newspaper of general circulation, the notices shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the nearest county in which a newspaper of general circulation is published.

(d) At the time the operations and services are transferred to the community center, money supporting the cost of providing operations and services at a state center shall be transferred to the community center to ensure continuity of services.

(e) The Amarillo State Center is exempt from the requirements listed in Subsections (b) and (c).

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1187, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.