88R10812 MPF-D
 
  By: Plesa H.B. No. 2849
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to information about available free or low-cost cellular
  telephones and free or low-cost cellular telephone service plans
  provided to residents of certain nursing and assisted living
  facilities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 242.501(a), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt a
  statement of the rights of a resident.  The statement must be
  consistent with Chapter 102, Human Resources Code, but shall
  reflect the unique circumstances of a resident at an
  institution.  At a minimum, the statement of the rights of a
  resident must address the resident's constitutional, civil, and
  legal rights and the resident's right:
               (1)  to be free from abuse and exploitation;
               (2)  to safe, decent, and clean conditions;
               (3)  to be treated with courtesy, consideration, and
  respect;
               (4)  to not be subjected to discrimination based on
  age, race, religion, sex, nationality, or disability and to
  practice the resident's own religious beliefs;
               (5)  to place in the resident's room an electronic
  monitoring device that is owned and operated by the resident or
  provided by the resident's guardian or legal representative;
               (6)  to privacy, including privacy during visits and
  telephone calls;
               (7)  to complain about the institution and to organize
  or participate in any program that presents residents' concerns to
  the administrator of the institution;
               (8)  to have information about the resident in the
  possession of the institution maintained as confidential;
               (9)  to retain the services of a physician the resident
  chooses, at the resident's own expense or through a health care
  plan, and to have a physician explain to the resident, in language
  that the resident understands, the resident's complete medical
  condition, the recommended treatment, and the expected results of
  the treatment, including reasonably expected effects, side
  effects, and risks associated with psychoactive medications;
               (10)  to participate in developing a plan of care, to
  refuse treatment, and to refuse to participate in experimental
  research;
               (11)  to a written statement or admission agreement
  describing the services provided by the institution and the related
  charges;
               (12)  to manage the resident's own finances or to
  delegate that responsibility to another person;
               (13)  to access money and property that the resident
  has deposited with the institution and to an accounting of the
  resident's money and property that are deposited with the
  institution and of all financial transactions made with or on
  behalf of the resident;
               (14)  to keep and use personal property, secure from
  theft or loss;
               (15)  to not be relocated within the institution,
  except in accordance with standards adopted under Section 242.403;
               (16)  to receive visitors;
               (17)  to receive unopened mail and to receive
  assistance in reading or writing correspondence;
               (18)  to participate in activities inside and outside
  the institution;
               (19)  to wear the resident's own clothes;
               (20)  to discharge himself or herself from the
  institution unless the resident is an adjudicated mental
  incompetent;
               (21)  to not be discharged from the institution except
  as provided in the standards adopted under Section 242.403;
               (22)  to be free from any physical or chemical
  restraints imposed for the purposes of discipline or convenience,
  and not required to treat the resident's medical symptoms; [and]
               (23)  to receive information about prescribed
  psychoactive medication from the person prescribing the medication
  or that person's designee, to have any psychoactive medications
  prescribed and administered in a responsible manner, as mandated by
  Section 242.505, and to refuse to consent to the prescription of
  psychoactive medications; and
               (24)  to receive information, at the time of admission
  and annually following admission, about available programs
  providing free or low-cost cellular telephones and free or low-cost
  cellular telephone service plans to qualifying residents.
         SECTION 2.  Section 247.064(b), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The residents' bill of rights must provide that each
  resident in the assisted living facility has the right to:
               (1)  manage the resident's financial affairs;
               (2)  determine the resident's dress, hair style, or
  other personal effects according to individual preference, except
  that the resident has the responsibility to maintain personal
  hygiene;
               (3)  retain and use personal property in the resident's
  immediate living quarters and to have an individual locked cabinet
  in which to keep personal property;
               (4)  receive and send unopened mail;
               (5)  unaccompanied access to a telephone at a
  reasonable hour or in case of an emergency or personal crisis;
               (6)  privacy;
               (7)  unrestricted communication, including personal
  visitation with any person of the resident's choice, at any
  reasonable hour, including family members and representatives of
  advocacy groups and community service organizations;
               (8)  make contacts with the community and to achieve
  the highest level of independence, autonomy, and interaction with
  the community of which the resident is capable;
               (9)  present grievances on behalf of the resident or
  others to the operator, state agencies, or other persons without
  threat of reprisal in any manner;
               (10)  a safe and decent living environment and
  considerate and respectful care that recognizes the dignity and
  individuality of the resident;
               (11)  refuse to perform services for the facility,
  except as contracted for by the resident and operator;
               (12)  practice the religion of the resident's choice;
               (13)  leave the facility temporarily or permanently,
  subject to contractual or financial obligations; [and]
               (14)  receive information, at the time of admission and
  annually following admission, about available programs providing
  free or low-cost cellular telephones and free or low-cost cellular
  telephone service plans to qualifying residents; and
               (15)  not be deprived of any constitutional, civil, or
  legal right solely by reason of residence in an assisted living
  facility.
         SECTION 3.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
  Services Commission shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
  the changes in law made by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.