Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The committee. An advisory committee
shall be appointed under and governed by this section.
(1) The name of the advisory committee shall
be the State Preventive Health Advisory Committee (committee).
(2) The committee is established under Health
and Safety Code, §
11.016,
which authorizes the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission to establish advisory committees and is required by
42 USC
§300w-4.
(b) Applicable law. The committee is subject
to the Government Code, Chapter 2110, concerning state agency advisory
committees.
(c) Purpose. The
purpose of the committee is to carry out the tasks outlined in
42 USC
§300w -
4(d) regarding
formulation of an annual state plan for the Preventive Health and Health
Services Block Grant (PHHSBG).
(d)
Tasks.
(1) The committee shall make
recommendations to the Department of State Health Services (department)
regarding the development and implementation of a state plan, including
recommendations on:
(A) the conduct of
assessments of the public health;
(B) which of the activities authorized in
42 USC
§300w-3 should be carried out in the
state;
(C) the allocation of
payments made to the state under
42 USC
§300w-2;
(D) the coordination of activities carried
out under the state plan with relevant programs of other entities;
and
(E) the collection and
reporting of data in accordance with
42 USC
§300w -
5(a).
(2) The committee shall carry out
any other tasks assigned by the board.
(e) Committee abolished. The committee may
not be abolished unless the department ceases to receive Preventive Health and
Health Services Block Grant funds or federal law relating to the block grant is
amended to no longer require a committee. The date on which the committee shall
be abolished is the date of the occurrence of the earlier of these
events.
(f) Composition. The
committee shall be composed of eight members.
(1) The composition of the committee shall
include three consumer representatives and five non-consumer
representatives.
(2) The members of
the committee shall be appointed by the Executive Commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission as follows:
(A)
three consumers representing the interests of the general public;
(B) five non-consumer members, including the
following:
(i) the Commissioner of the
department;
(ii) the PHHSBG
Coordinator;
(iii) one department
regional director;
(iv) one
official of a local health department; and
(v) one representative from a Texas school of
public health.
(g) Terms of office. The term of office of
each member shall be six years.
(1) Members
shall be appointed for staggered terms so that the terms of two members will
expire on December 31 of each even-numbered year.
(2) If a vacancy occurs, a person shall be
appointed to serve the unexpired portion of that term.
(h) Officers.
(1) The Commissioner of the department serves
as the presiding officer of the committee. The presiding officer shall preside
at all committee meetings at which he or she is in attendance, call meetings in
accordance with this section, and cause proper reports to be made to the
federal funding agency.
(2) The
committee shall select from its members an assistant presiding officer. The
assistant presiding officer shall perform the duties of the presiding officer
in case of the absence of the presiding officer.
(3) If the office of assistant presiding
officer becomes vacant, it may be filled by vote of the committee.
(4) The committee may reference its officers
by other terms, such as chairperson and vice-chairperson.
(i) Meetings. The committee shall meet not
less than twice each federal fiscal year.
(1)
A meeting may be called by agreement of department staff and either the
presiding officer or assistant presiding officer.
(2) Meeting arrangements shall be made by
department staff. Department staff shall contact committee members to determine
availability for a meeting date and place.
(3) The committee is not a "governmental
body" as defined in the Open Meetings Act. However, in order to promote public
participation, each meeting of the committee shall be announced and conducted
in accordance with the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551,
with the exception that the provisions allowing executive sessions shall not
apply.
(4) Each member of the
committee shall be informed of a committee meeting at least five working days
before the meeting.
(5) A simple
majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the
purpose of transacting official business.
(6) The committee is authorized to transact
official business only when in a legally constituted meeting with a quorum
present.
(7) The agenda for each
committee meeting shall include an opportunity for any person to address the
committee on matters relating to committee business. The presiding officer may
establish procedures for such public comment, including a time limit on each
comment.
(j) Attendance.
Members shall attend committee meetings as scheduled.
(1) A member shall notify the presiding
officer or appropriate department staff if he or she is unable to attend a
scheduled meeting.
(2) It is
grounds for removal from the committee if a member cannot discharge the
member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which the member is
appointed because of illness or disability or is absent from at least four
consecutive committee meetings.
(3)
The validity of an action of the committee is not affected by the fact that it
is taken when a ground for removal of a member exists.
(k) Staff. Staff support for the committee
shall be provided by the department.
(l) Procedures. Roberts Rules of Order, Newly
Revised, shall be the basis of parliamentary decisions except where otherwise
provided by law or rule.
(1) Any action taken
by the committee must be approved by a majority vote of the members present
once quorum is established.
(2)
Each member shall have one vote.
(3) A member may not authorize another
individual to represent the member by proxy.
(4) The committee shall make decisions in the
discharge of its duties without discrimination based on any person's race,
creed, gender, religion, national origin, age, physical condition, or economic
status.
(5) Minutes of each
committee meeting shall be compiled by department staff.
(A) A draft of the minutes approved by the
presiding officer shall be provided to the board and each member of the
committee within 30 days of each meeting.
(B) After approval by the committee, the
minutes shall be signed by the presiding officer.
(m) Statement by members.
(1) The department and the committee shall
not be bound in any way by any statement or action on the part of any committee
member except when a statement or action is in pursuit of specific instructions
from the department or committee.
(2) The committee and its members may not
participate in legislative activity in the name of the department or the
committee except with approval through the department's legislative process.
Committee members are not prohibited from representing themselves or other
entities in the legislative process.
(3) A committee member should not accept or
solicit any benefit that might reasonably tend to influence the member in the
discharge of the member's official duties.
(4) A committee member should not disclose
confidential information acquired through his or her committee
membership.
(5) A committee member
should not knowingly solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit for having
exercised the member's official powers or duties in favor of another
person.
(6) A committee member who
has a personal or private interest in a matter pending before the committee
shall publicly disclose the fact in a committee meeting and may not vote or
otherwise participate in the matter. The phrase "personal or private interest"
means the committee member has a direct pecuniary interest in the matter but
does not include the committee member's engagement in a profession, trade, or
occupation when the member's interest is the same as all others similarly
engaged in the profession, trade, or occupation.
(n) Reports to the Center for Consumer and
External Affairs (CCEA). The committee shall file an annual written report with
the CCEA.
(1) The report shall list the
meeting dates of the committee, the attendance records of its members, a brief
description of actions taken by the committee, a description of how the
committee has accomplished the tasks given to the committee, the status of any
rules which were recommended by the committee, and anticipated activities of
the committee for the next year.
(2) The report shall identify the costs
related to the committee's existence, including the cost of agency staff time
spent in support of the committee's activities and the source of funds used to
support the committee's activities.
(3) The report shall cover the meetings and
activities in the immediately preceding fiscal year and shall be filed with the
CCEA each October. The report shall be signed by the commissioner.
(o) Reimbursement for expenses. In
accordance with the requirements set forth in the Government Code, Chapter
2110, a committee member may receive reimbursement for the member's expenses
incurred for each day the member engages in official committee business if
authorized by the General Appropriations Act or the budget execution process.
(1) No compensatory per diem shall be paid to
committee members unless required by law.
(2) A committee member who is an employee of
a state agency, other than the department, may not receive reimbursement for
expenses from the department.
(3)
Each member who is to be reimbursed for expenses shall submit to staff the
member's receipts for expenses and any required official forms no later than 14
days after each committee meeting.
(4) Requests for reimbursement of expenses
shall be made on official state travel vouchers prepared by department
staff.