Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

_____________________ A PPROPRIATIONS
PPROPRIATIONS ACT
77 th Texas Legislature
Provides the Library and Archives Commission an increase of $12.6 million in Other Funds due to an interagency
grant from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Board, which will be used to provide statewide
licensing of databases and access to library collections for TexShare libraries, and an increase of $5.8
million from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund for the Loan Star Libraries Program.
Provides an increase of $0.4 million in General Revenue Funds for the Texas Veterans Commission to
market the agency’s services to veterans, provide an additional Veterans Assistance Counselor, and
provide additional travel for outreach.
Health and Human Services
S.B. 1 appropriated $34,989.6 million from All Funds for the 2002-2003 biennium for health and human
services agencies, which is an increase of $5,113.4 million, or 17.1 percent, from the previous biennium.
General Revenue and General Revenue-Dedicated Funds appropriations total $13,770.8 million, an
increase of $1,744.2 million, or 14.5 percent, when compared to the 2000–2001 biennium. The majority of
funding for health and human services is associated with the Medicaid program. A total of $25 billion is
recommended in All Funds, with $10 billion in General Revenue and $15 billion in federal funds in Medicaid
appropriations contained in Article II and Article XII, excluding employee benefits. Tobacco Settlement
receipts total $968.1 million in Article XII, of which $465.8 million is recommended for Medicaid-related
programs for health and human services programs and activities. Funding for the acute care component of
the Medicaid program was transferred from the Department of Health to the Health and Human Services
Commission. Significant increases in the Medicaid program include the following:
• A $2.1 billion General Revenue Funds increase for the Medicaid program ($4.3 billion in All Funds).
• A $1,281.9 million General Revenue Funds increase ($3,225.1 million in All Funds) to support
caseload growth and increases related to cost and utilization for acute care, community care, and
nursing facility and hospice care services.
• A $206.1 million increase related to a less favorable Federal Medical Assistance Percentage
matching rate.
• A $387 million General Revenue Funds increase ($970 million in All Funds) for various acute care,
community care, and nursing facility rate increases.
• A $122.6 million Tobacco Settlement receipts increase for Medicaid Simplification.
• A $263 million Tobacco Settlement receipts increase in Article XII relating to CHIP and an $18
million General Revenue Funds increase in copay revenues and a $628.7 million Federal Funds
increase at the Health and Human Services Commission for the CHIP.
Recommendations for federal TANF funding total $1,159.6 million for the 2002–2003 biennium, compared
with $1,179.2 for the 2000-2001 biennium, including TANF funding outside of Article II health and human
services agencies. An estimated $224.5 million in TANF funds will be carried forward into the 2002–2003
biennium.
Two reductions are contained in Article II, Special Provisions: a decrease of $10 million in General
Revenue Funds relating to savings from business process improvements to be realized by the Health and
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