TITLE 1.ADMINISTRATION

Part 4. OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE

Chapter 81. ELECTIONS

Subchapter I. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002

The Office of the Secretary of State, Elections Division, adopts an amendment to §81.171, new §81.173, and the repeal of §81.175 without changes to the text as proposed in the February 27, 2004, and March 5, 2004, issues of the Texas Register (29 TexReg 1747 and 2135).

The amendment to §81.171 clarifies the state's administrative complaint procedure designed to comply with Section 402 of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 ("HAVA").

New §81.173 concerns new provisional voting procedures for precinct count optical scan ballots as required under Section 302 of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 ("HAVA"). The text of §81.173 is identical to §81.175, which is repealed. The text is being moved from §81.175 to §81.173 to reorganize the rule numbering sequence.

No public comments were received concerning the proposals.

1 TAC §81.171

Statutory authority: Election Code, Section 13, House Bill 1549, 78th Legislative Session, 2003, which requires the Secretary of State to adopt rules establishing an administrative complaint procedure to remedy grievances. The rule must comply with Section 402 of HAVA.

No other codes or sections are affected.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June 11, 2004.

TRD-200403847

Ann McGeehan

Director of Elections

Office of the Secretary of State

Effective date: July 1, 2004

Proposal publication date: February 27, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 463-5562


1 TAC §81.173

Statutory Authority: Texas Election Code, §31.010.

No other codes or sections are affected.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June 11, 2004.

TRD-200403846

Ann McGeehan

Director of Elections

Office of the Secretary of State

Effective date: July 1, 2004

Proposal publication date: February 27, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 463-5562


1 TAC §81.175

Statutory Authority: The repeal is adopted under Texas Election Code, §31.010.

No other codes or sections are affected.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June 11, 2004.

TRD-200403845

Ann McGeehan

Director of Elections

Office of the Secretary of State

Effective date: July 1, 2004

Proposal publication date: March 5, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 463-5562


Part 15. TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION

Chapter 355. MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT RATES

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) adopts the repeals of §§355.732, 355.733, 355.744, 355.745, and 355.775 of Chapter 355, Subchapter F, Reimbursement Methodology for Programs Serving Persons with Mental Illness and Mental Retardation. HHSC adopts the proposed amendment to §355.742 to deleting the reference to of HCS-OBRA because the program no longer exists. The repeals and amendment are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the March 26, 2004, issue of the Texas Register (29 TexReg 2998-2999) and will not be republished.

The rules describe the reimbursement methodology of the Mental Retardation Local Authority (MRLA) Program and the Home and Community Based Services - OBRA (HCS-O) Program and are adopted for repeal because the programs are no longer in operation. The Texas Health and Safety Code, §533.0355, added by House Bill 2292 of the 78th Legislature, redefined the responsibilities of mental retardation authorities (MRAs), program providers, and the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) under the Mental Retardation Local Authority (MRLA) Program. The redefined responsibilities describe a program model that more closely resembles that of the Home and Community-Based Services (HCS) Program than the MRLA Program. MHMR determined that the most effective way to implement the redefined waiver program responsibilities required by §533.0355 was to provide all waiver services and supports through the HCS Program. Effective September 1, 2003, MHMR has provided all Medicaid waiver services through the HCS Program.

HHSC received no comments regarding adoption of the repeals and amendments.

Subchapter F. GENERAL REIMBURSEMENT METHODOLOGY FOR ALL MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

1 TAC §§355.732, 355.733, 355.744, 355.745, 355.775

The repeals are adopted under the Texas Government Code, §531.033, which provides the commissioner of HHSC with broad rulemaking authority; the Texas Government Code, §531.021(a), and the Texas Human Resources Code, §32.021(a), which provide HHSC with the authority to administer the federal medical assistance (Medicaid) program in Texas; and the Texas Government Code, §531.021(b), which provides HHSC with the authority to propose and adopt rules governing the determination of Medicaid reimbursements.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June 10, 2004.

TRD-200403811

Steve Aragón

General Counsel

Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Effective date: June 30, 2004

Proposal publication date: March 26, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 424-6576


Subchapter F. REIMBURSEMENT METHODOLOGY FOR PROGRAMS SERVING PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND MENTAL RETARDATION

1 TAC §355.742

The amendment is adopted under the Texas Government Code, §531.033, which provides the commissioner of HHSC with broad rulemaking authority; the Texas Government Code, §531.021(a), and the Texas Human Resources Code, §32.021(a), which provide HHSC with the authority to administer the federal medical assistance (Medicaid) program in Texas; and the Texas Government Code, §531.021(b), which provides HHSC with the authority to propose and adopt rules governing the determination of Medicaid reimbursements.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June 10, 2004.

TRD-200403812

Steve Aragón

General Counsel

Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Effective date: June 30, 2004

Proposal publication date: March 26, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 424-6576