Many of the bills that passed through the legislative process successfully have now became laws.  It is imperative that providers, individuals and family members become familiar with these new laws and identify how they may be impacted.  Overall this past Legislative session was positive for those in the IDD services field.  During our past annual conference in Corpus Christi I went into some detail on which bills people should get more information on.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to list a few of these bills again as a point of reference or if perhaps some folks forgot to write them down.   They are:

• HB 3116

• HB 3540

• SB 562

• HB 4533

• SB 1207

• SB 1519

• HB 684

• HB 3165

• SB 11

• SB 54

• SB 712

• SB 1017

• HB 1735

• HB 4531

• HB 3703

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This is just a small portion of the bills that have passed that either directly or indirectly impact IDD services and supports or individuals themselves.   The best proactive measure people can take is to educate yourself on these new laws.  Texas Legislature Online is a great resource to pull up the bill and look at all the attached information and fiscal impacts of the bill. Read any amendments that may have been added. The most promising item is we as a State continue to look for ways to improve services and supports to help people.