Part 4. OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE

Chapter 81. ELECTIONS

Subchapter D. VOTING SYSTEM CERTIFICATION

The Office of the Secretary of State, Elections Division, adopts the repeal of and new §81.60, concerning voting system certification procedures. The repeal is adopted without changes to the proposal as published in the September 8, 2006, issue of the Texas Register (31 TexReg 7207). The new section is adopted with changes and will be republished.

The repeal and new rule are adopted to incorporate the most recent requirements to certify voting systems.

Comments were received recommending slight modifications to the proposed rule, as follows:

Change the wording of "Independent Testing Authority" to "nationally accredited voting system test laboratory."

Clarify paragraph (8) to state the requirement for the applicant to demonstrate the installation and configuration of their voting system and components, rather than demonstrating a build of the system.

The Office of the Secretary of State agrees with the recommended comments and has made the changes accordingly.

1 TAC §81.60

The repeal is adopted under the Texas Election Code (the "Code"), Chapter 31, Subchapter A, §31.003, which provides the Office of the Secretary of State with the authority to obtain and maintain uniformity in the application, interpretation, and operation of provisions under the Texas Election Code and other election law.

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 December 19, 2006.

TRD-200606823

Ann McGeehan

Director of Elections

Office of the Secretary of State

Effective date: January 8, 2007

Proposal publication date: September 8, 2006

For further information, please call: (512) 463-9871

1 TAC §81.60

The new rule is adopted under the Texas Election Code (the "Code"), Chapter 31, Subchapter A, §31.003, which provides the Office of the Secretary of State with the authority to obtain and maintain uniformity in the application, interpretation, and operation of provisions under the Texas Election Code and other election law.

§81.60.Voting System Certification Procedures.

In addition to the procedures prescribed by the Texas Election Code, Chapter 122, compliance with the following procedures is required for certification of a voting system.

(1) The entity applying for certification must deliver seven copies of their completed application forms (Form 100, Form 101, and if applicable, Form 100 Schedule A), user operating and maintenance manuals, training material, nationally accredited voting system test laboratory reports, and a change log detailing changes from any previously certified system or component, to the Secretary of State no later than 45 days prior to examination. Six of the seven copies can be in electronic form. One copy must be in hard-copy format organized in binders with tabs and tables of contents.

Figure 1: 1 TAC §81.60(1) (.pdf)

Figure 2: 1 TAC §81.60(1) (.pdf)

Figure 3: 1 TAC §81.60(1) (.pdf)

(2) The applicant must have the nationally accredited voting system test laboratory deliver four copies of all nationally qualified software/firmware and source codes for the system and/or system components requested for Texas certification, directly to the Secretary of State no later than 45 days prior to examination.

(3) The applicant must authorize the nationally accredited voting system test laboratory to deliver all the applicable executable and installation files to the National Software Reference Library (NSRL) within 30 days after receiving federal certification.

(4) The certification fee for a new election management system, tabulation device, electronic ballot marker, and other complex component of a system is $3,000 each and must be received by the Secretary of State 45 days prior to examination. The certification fee for a modification of a voting system shall be determined by the Secretary of State according to the complexity of the modification, and must be received by the Secretary of State 45 days prior to the examination.

(5) Certification examinations will be scheduled by the Secretary of State three times a year during the months of January, May, and August, unless extenuating circumstances provide otherwise.

(6) The time and date of each examination will not be scheduled until after the entity applying for certification has delivered all required documentation and fees to the Secretary of State.

(7) All physical examinations of voting systems will take place at the Office of the Secretary of State, Elections Division, in Austin, unless extenuating circumstances provide otherwise.

(8) The applicant must demonstrate an installation and configuration of the software/firmware on each system and system component using the Secretary of State's copy of the software/firmware received from the nationally accredited voting system test laboratory.

(9) The applicant shall furnish a sufficient number of sample ballots, designed from the templates provided by the Secretary of State, at least one week prior to the examination.

(10) Examiner's must submit a written report to the Secretary of State stating his or her findings for each voting system no later than the 30th day after examination. Examiner reports shall be posted on the Secretary of State's website.

(11) An examiner appointed by the Secretary of State will be compensated after he or she files his or her written report.

(12) The Secretary of State must approve or disapprove the voting system(s) within 30 days of the required public hearing, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

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 December 19, 2006.

TRD-200606824

Ann McGeehan

Director of Elections

Office of the Secretary of State

Effective date: January 8, 2007

Proposal publication date: September 8, 2006

For further information, please call: (512) 463-9871

Chapter 355. REIMBURSEMENT RATES

Subchapter A. COST DETERMINATION PROCESS

1 TAC §355.114

The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) adopts the amendments to §355.114, concerning the Consumer Directed Services Payment Option, in its Reimbursement Rates Chapter, with a minor change to the proposed text as published in the September 22, 2006, issue of the Texas Register (31 TexReg 8057). The text of the rule will be republished.

The amended §355.114, is adopted to allow the following: (1) Remove the attendant compensation spending requirement language from the rule since a revised spending requirement is being proposed by the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) in its program rules for Consumer Directed Services (CDS); (2) Remove billing language from the rule since billing guidelines are addressed in the DADS program rules; (3) Delete language limiting the Consumer Directed Services Payment Option to a specific list of programs, thereby giving HHSC the flexibility to offer the Consumer Directed Services Payment Option under the Texas Home Living (TxHmL) and Home and Community-based Services (HCS) waiver programs and, potentially, other programs in the future; and (4) Add new language that describes how the CDS rate will be modeled for the HCS program. HCS has a different rate structure than other waiver programs currently enrolled in CDS and, therefore, requires a different approach to determining the CDS rates.

HHSC has inserted the word "agency" in the last sentence of subsection (a) to clarify which contracted CDS payment rate is meant.

HHSC received one negative comment regarding the proposed rule during the comment period. The Private Providers Association of Texas (PPAT) issued a negative comment concerning the rule amendment.

Comment: Concerning the preamble to the rules, the commenter disagrees that there will be no adverse economic effect on small businesses as stated in the Impact Analysis on Small and Micro-Businesses in the preamble. The commenter states that the new option is being funded with a yet to be identified/published portion> funds. The commenter also adds that since there has not been a rate increase in the Home and Community-Based Services and Texas Home Living waivers in over 8 years, this proposal will result in a significant impact on providers with a concomitant potential to destabilize the provider network.

Response: The agency disagrees with the commenter's statement that there will be an adverse impact on program providers that will destabilize the provider network with the implementation of this methodology. The agency's position is that the CDS option will not affect a provider's financial viability. When an individual chooses the CDS option, the provider's work is reduced due to the fact that the provider is delivering fewer services to the individual. For individuals that choose the CDS option in the Home and Community-based Services program, a portion of the monthly rate associated with administration and operation costs for supported home living and respite services will be allocated from the program provider to the individual's budget. This allocation occurs because the program provider will see a reduction in its work related to the direct service delivery, coordination and oversight of these services for the individual under CDS. The individual (or his legally authorized representative) and not the program provider is the employer in CDS and the individual (or his legally authorized representative) manages the provision of these services under CDS. A similar allocation of administration and overhead cost to the individual's budget occurs in the Texas Home Living Waiver program, but occurs on an individual rate per service basis and not from a monthly rate basis. The rules themselves do not establish requirements that create an economic burden for program providers. The rule language was not changed in response to the comment.

The amendment is adopted under the Human Resources Code, §32.021, which provides HHSC with the authority to adopt rules necessary to administer the federal medical assistance (Medicaid) program in Texas; Texas Government Code, §531.033, which authorizes the executive commissioner of HHSC to adopt rules necessary to carry out the commission's duties under Chapter 531; and Government Code §531.0055, which authorizes the executive commissioner to adopt rules for the operation and provision of health and human services by the health and human services agencies and to adopt or approve rates of payment required by law to be adopted or approved by a health and human services agency.

§355.114.Consumer Directed Services Payment Option.

(a) For all programs providing consumer directed services (CDS) except the Home and Community-based Services (HCS) program, the sum of the payment rate for the contracted CDS agency and the payment rate for the consumer participating in CDS must not exceed the payment rate made to contracted providers in these programs. The payment rate for the contracted CDS agency is determined by modeling the estimated cost to carry out the responsibilities of the CDS agency. The payment rate for the consumer is determined by subtracting the contracted CDS agency payment rate from the payment rate made to contracted providers in these programs.

(b) For the HCS program the payment rate for the contracted CDS agency is determined by modeling the estimated cost to carry out the responsibilities of the CDS agency. The payment rate for the consumer is modeled and is based on the direct care rate plus a portion of the operating costs from the case management fee. The sum of the payment rate for the contracted CDS agency, the consumer participating in CDS, and the case management fee remaining for the provider agency cannot exceed, on average, the amount paid to contracted providers for non-CDS consumers in these programs.

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 December 21, 2006.

TRD-200606869

Steve Aragón

Chief Counsel

Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Effective date: February 1, 2007

Proposal publication date: September 22, 2006

For further information, please call: (512) 424-6900