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HELLO, MY NAME IS LATOYA JACKSON, AND I SERVE
[Commission on Disabilities on April 25, 2023. ]
AS THE COMMISSION COORDINATOR FOR THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES.I'D LIKE TO BEGIN TODAY'S MEETING, UM, WITH ROLL CALL.
PLEASE STATE FOR THE RECORD YOUR ATTENDANCE BEGINNING WITH DISTRICT ONE COMMISSIONER REK.
THIS IS GAY REY, DISTRICT ONE REY, DISTRICT TWO.
HELLO, THIS IS COMMISSIONER LYDIA FOR DISTRICT TWO, DISTRICT SIX.
GOOD AFTERNOON, THIS IS CHAIR CHRISTINA POE.
I THINK SHE'S STILL HAVING TROUBLE ENTERING.
HI, THIS IS COMMISSIONER OLSON FOR DISTRICT 10.
COMMISSIONER EMMERMAN, NOT PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER SUSIE SHAW, DISTRICT 12 PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER, UM, HUSHNA HUSHKA, NOT PRESENT.
I'LL NOW MOVE TO OUR TECHNICAL RESOURCE PANEL MEMBERS.
I'LL NOW TURN THINGS OVER TO THE CHAIR.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE, UM, AND YOUR PRESENCE FOR THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES.
TODAY IS TUESDAY, APRIL THE 25TH, AND THE TIME IS NOW 2:12 PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME.
AND THIS IS THE APRIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF DALLAS COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES.
I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
DOES EVERYONE HAVE A COPY OF THE AGENDA? RIGHT.
THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS REGISTERED FOR TODAY'S MEETING? NO, MA'AM.
THERE WERE NO SPEAKERS REGISTERED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. JACKSON FOR THAT INFORMATION.
SO NOW WHAT WE WOULD DO IS, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
YOU ALL RECEIVED A COPY OF THE MINUTES IN ADVANCE.
UM, THERE WAS A CORRECTION MADE.
UM, IS THERE ANY OTHER CORRECTIONS THAT NEED TO BE MADE OR ANYONE NOTICE SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED IN OR EDITED? I MOVE THE MINUTE SAYS CORRECTED.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? FIVE SECOND.
WHO'S SPEAKING? THIS IS BEVERLY WHITE? YES, MA'AM.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CORRECTION IS.
SO UNDER THE ADJOURNMENT, THE INITIAL CORRECTION WAS THE MEETING AND THE NAME OF THE MEETING AND IT WAS CHANGED TO THE COMMISSIONER ON DISABILITIES MEETING.
IT DIDN'T HAVE THE ACCURATE NAME FOR THE MEETING.
I ALSO SEE WHERE IT SAYS PRESENT SEVEN, BUT IT'S ONLY LISTED SIX AND IT SAYS ABSENT TWO AND IT'S LISTED THREE.
THOSE CORRECTIONS WILL BE MADE.
SO BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT I WAS GIVEN,
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I DO NOT HAVE THAT ON MY MINUTES, UH, FOR APPROVAL.EXCUSE ME, THE FIRST CORRECTION, BUT OKAY.
SO WHAT'S ON THE SCREEN ISN'T WHAT I HAVE.
SO, UM, YOU'RE CORRECT, COMMISSIONER WHITE, IT SHOULD BE THREE MINUTES THAT NEEDS TO BE EDITED.
UH, I MOVE TO, UM, MOTION THAT CORRECTION.
MAY I GET A SECOND VICE CHAIR? CALL CONLEY SECOND.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO BOTH OF YOU.
YES, WHO'S SPEAKING? THIS IS, UH, LYDIA COMMISSIONER FOR DISTRICT TWO.
I DON'T THINK I WAS PRESENT WHEN ROLL CALL WAS DONE.
UM, I THINK I WAS HAVING ISSUES WITH GETTING THE, UM, THE CODE.
UM, BUT I WAS PRESENT THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MEETING LAST TIME.
UM, DOES IT CLOUD IF I WASN'T THERE AT THE BEGINNING OF ROLL CALL? SO BASED ON THE MEETINGS, IT, I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY I WAS LISTED AS ABSENTEE.
ALSO, THAT WOULD BE THE THIRD CORRECTION.
SO THIS IS WHY IT'S REALLY IMPERATIVE AS COMMISSIONERS IF YOU ARE NOT PHYSICALLY PRESENT FOR THE MEETING, UM, MS. JACKSON DOES SEND OUT THE LINK PRIOR TO, UM, IT WOULD BE BEST PRACTICE PRIOR TO OUR MEETING STARTED AT 2:00 PM IF YOU ALL WOULD AT LEAST TAKE THE FIRST 15 TO TW EXCUSE ME, 15 TO 10 MINUTES PRIOR TO, TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES FOR YOU TO LOG IN.
BECAUSE IF MS. JACKSON BEING STAFFED DOES CALL YOUR NAME AND YOU DON'T ANSWER, THEN YOU WOULD BE MARKED ABSENT FOR THE MEETING.
AND SO YOU WERE PHYSICALLY, I MEAN, EXCUSE ME, YOU WERE PRESENT ONLINE, CORRECT? CORRECT, YES, I WAS.
IF, IF YOU WERE INDEED PRESENT, GIMME ONE MOMENT AT THIS CURRENT TIME, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, WE WOULD HAVE TO WATCH THE AUDIO AGAIN.
BUT AGAIN, JUST FOR BEST PRACTICE, WHETHER WE ARE HERE PHYSICALLY PRESENT, BECAUSE OUR MEETINGS WILL START AT 2:00 PM THERE IS A LIMITED TIME PRIOR TO THE MEETING THAT YOU HAVE TO BE PRESENT IN ORDER FOR ROLL CALL AND FOR QUORUM.
SO AS OF NOW, IT WILL SHOW ABSENTEE TO WE VERIFY THAT CORRECTION.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE FOR CORRECTIONS? THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS OFFICER REPORTS.
I WILL BEGIN WITH, UM, UPDATES ON MY ACTIVITIES AS CHAIR.
LINDSEY WILSON AND THE OPPOSITE EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
AND THAT DISCUSSION WAS HOW THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION WILL SUPPORT THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES WITH OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
I ALSO MET WITH THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, MRS. LIZ DE PERRERA IN REFERENCE TO THOSE TOP THREE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING CURRENTLY, WHICH WOULD BE EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, AND TRANSPORTATION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS, UM, THAT WE HAD THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO REPORT? I WILL START WITH OUR VICE CHAIR.
THANK YOU CHAIR CLIFF FOR TURNING THIS OVER.
ONE OTHER ITEM WE HAD WAS LAST WE IS DATE APRIL 19TH.
THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET TOGETHER WITH THE MAYOR, AND THE MAYOR WAS KIND ENOUGH TO NOT ONLY PRESENT, BUT READ OUT LOUD THE PROCLAMATION, UH, REGARDING AUTISM AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE MONTH.
IT WAS TRULY AN HONOR TO BE PRESENT ON FRIDAY, APRIL 21ST.
I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AT EARTHX.
THIS IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST GATHERING WHERE ISSUES PERTAINING TO THE ENVIRONMENT ARE ADDRESSED AS WELL AS SUSTAINABLE GOALS OF THE UNITED NATIONS.
THERE I WAS ABLE TO TALK ABOUT ADVOCACY, AND IN MY SPEECH I INCLUDED INFORMATION ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION AS WELL AS OTHER ADVOCACY ISSUES PERTAINING TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, VICE CHAIR.
AND AS A REMINDER FOR OUR COMMISSIONERS IN YOUR PERSPECTIVE DISTRICTS AND IN THE COMMUNITY, IF THERE ARE ANY ACTIVITIES THAT YOU ARE INVOLVED IN OR ANYTHING THAT YOU ARE INVITED TO, YOU ARE A GUEST SPEAKER THAT HAS ANY RELATION AND OR REFERENCE TO THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES, PLEASE INFORM US SO THAT WE CAN RECOGNIZE THAT UNDER OUR AGENDA FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS, I WILL BRING ATTENTION TO THE PROCLAMATION.
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ARE THERE ANY OTHER REPORTS FROM ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS IN REFERENCE TO ACTIVITIES? MADAM CHAIR, I HAD A VERY FRUITFUL DISCUSSION WITH THE, UH, DIRECTOR OF METHODIST MEDICAL SYSTEMS, THE HOSPITAL IN, UH, BISHOP ARTS IN OAK CLIFFE.UH, AND WE JUST REVIEWED AWARENESS OF STAFF TO FRAIL IN THE BUILDING AND OTHER ISSUES OF ACCESS FOR THE DISABLED.
THEY WERE EXTREMELY COOPERATIVE AND I JUST WANT TO COMMEND THEM FOR THE REALLY KEEN SUPPORT OF OUR EFFORTS.
SO AGAIN, WHETHER IT BE FOR HEARING IMPAIRED, VISUALLY IMPAIRED PHYSICAL DISABILITIES, OR ANY OTHER SENSORY MOTOR, WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING ATTENTION AND AWARENESS, INFORMATION AND EDUCATION ON THOSE ACTIVITIES, UM, MEETINGS THAT YOU MAY HAVE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND CONSTITUENTS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WHO MAY HAVE SOMETHING THEY WANT TO SHARE IN OR ADD? NO.
WE ARE GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR BRIEFING TODAY, WHICH WOULD BE FROM RON LUCY.
MR. LUCY SERVES AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ON THE TEXAS GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
HE WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION AND THEIR RECENT WORK.
MR. LUCY, BEFORE YOU, UM, START, PLEASE BE ADVISED AND INFORMED THAT WE DO HAVE COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE DISABILITIES AND, UM, PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF WHEN SHARING THAT INFORMATION THAT WE KEEP IT AT A PACE.
CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME OKAY? ARE Y'ALL ABLE TO HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
AND IS MY PRESENTATION VIEWABLE TO THE AUDIENCE? OKAY.
WHO SAID NO THAT THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO VIEW THEIR PRESENTATION? SORRY, I THOUGHT YOU MEANT LIKE SHARE SCREEN.
YOU MEAN THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS ATTACHED TO THE EMAIL? YES.
LOOK, LATOYA IS GOING TO BE ADVANCING THE SLIDES AS I GO THROUGH.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WAS ABLE TO SEE IT UP ON THEIR SCREEN.
IS THERE SUPPOSED TO BE A, WHERE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE VIRTUAL CAN SEE IT? I HOPE SO.
SO COMMISSIONER WHITE, THERE WAS A LINK EMAIL TO ALL COMMISSIONERS FOR THEIR VIEW, AND IF THERE IS ANYONE PHYSICALLY PRESENT HERE AT CITY HALL AND OR ANYONE WHO'S LOOKING ONLINE THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE LINK FOR COMMISSIONERS AND CANNOT SEE THE EXTRA PRESENTATION THAT'S BEING ON THE OPEN SCREEN, PLEASE LET ME KNOW BEFORE HE PROCEEDS.
I CAN, THAT I CAN READ WHAT WAS, WHAT WAS SENT.
AND CERTAINLY WE CAN E EMAIL THIS OUT TO YOUR AUDIENCE AFTERWARDS AS WELL.
UM, SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
THIS FIRST SLIDE JUST SHOWS THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE'S LOGO AND I, I'LL USE LIGHT, UM, AUDIO DESCRIPTION OF ANY GRAPHICS THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION.
MOST OF THE GRAPHICS IN THIS PRESENTATION ARE JUST EYE CANDY AND ARE NOT, UH, INFORMATIVE OR INFOGRAPHICS.
UH, SLIDE NUMBER TWO IS, UH, MEET RON LUCY.
THIS IS A PICTURE OF MY HEADSHOT AND IT HAS MY CONTACT INFORMATION AT THE TEXAS GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
AND MY TITLE IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
ON THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL HAVE, UH, OUR CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS AND OUR MAIN PHONE NUMBER.
SO WHAT I HOPE TO COVER TODAY IS TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND OUR PRIMARY FUNCTIONS, AND THEN GO INTO THE 88TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE AND SOME KEY LEGISLATION THAT WE'RE TRACKING THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO THE DALLAS COMMUNITY.
UH, GIVE YOU SOME TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AND HOW YOU CAN FIND AND TRACK BILLS THAT ARE, UH, RELATED TO DISABILITIES.
TALK ABOUT SOME OF OUR KEY SERVICES AND PERHAPS EVEN HOW WE CAN COLLABORATE IN THE FUTURE.
SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
FIRST OF ALL, UH, SLIDE THREE IS WHO ARE WE? AND, UH, THIS IS JUST A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE.
WE'RE THE LEADING STATE AGENCY THAT LOOKS AT DISABILITY ISSUES FROM A CROSS DISABILITY STANDPOINT.
WE WERE ESTABLISHED IN SEPTEMBER OF 1950, UH, WITH A PROCLAMATION FROM, UH, OR EXECUTIVE ORDER FROM GOVERNOR ALLEN SHIVERS.
AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN OUR NATION AND IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IN 1950, THAT WAS JUST FIVE YEARS AFTER THE END OF WORLD WAR II.
AND THAT'S WHEN OUR COUNTRY AND CONGRESS MADE A, UH, AN AGREEMENT WITH THE RETURNING GIS FROM WORLD WAR II, INCLUDING VETERANS WITH DISABILITIES.
AND THAT WAS CALLED THE GI BILL.
UH, AND TYPICALLY IT TAKES, UH, SOMEBODY ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE YEARS TO GET THROUGH COLLEGE.
SO RIGHT AROUND 1950, WE HAD HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
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OF VETERANS, UH, GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE READY TO ENTER THE WORKFORCE, AND THAT INCLUDES THOUSANDS OF VETERANS WITH DISABILITIES.AND AT THAT POINT, THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS BELIEVED THAT THERE SHOULD BE AN AGENCY OR ORGANIZATION TO ADVOCATE FOR VETERANS WITH DISABILITIES ENTERING THE WORKFORCE.
AND THAT'S THE, THE ORIGIN OF THE TEXAS GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
FAST FORWARD TO 1991 AND, UM, OUR COMMITTEE'S NAME WAS CHANGED TO THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
AND, UH, OUR, UM, ORGANIZATION WAS ESTABLISHED IN STATUTE AS A STATE AGENCY.
WE'RE STILL CONSIDERED A TRUSTEE DIVISION WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, BUT WE ARE ALSO A STATE AGENCY.
A BIT OF INTERESTING HISTORICAL FACT.
UH, OUR FIRST COMMITTEE CHAIR AFTER WE WERE ESTABLISHED AS OUR OWN STATE AGENCY WAS A GENTLEMAN NAMED MR. JUSTIN DART.
I HOPE MOST OF YOU KNOW WHO JUSTIN DART IS.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE WHITE HOUSE SIGNING CEREMONY, HE IS, UH, ONE OF TWO TEXANS IN THAT PICTURE, UH, AND IS OFTEN REGARDED AS THE FATHER OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT.
OKAY, SLIDE THREE IS A SLIDE THAT TALKS ABOUT OUR MISSION, AND I'LL JUST PARAPHRASE.
THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WORKS TO FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES TO, UH, FULLY AND EQUALLY IN ACCESS LIVES OF INDEPENDENCE, PRODUCTIVITY, AND SELF-DETERMINATION.
AND, UH, THOSE ARE NOT JUST WORDS FOR US.
THOSE ARE, UH, A MISSION THAT THE STAFF AND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WORK ON EVERY DAY AND EVERY MONTH AS WE TRY TO CREATE EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL TEXANS WITH DISABILITIES.
I WANTED TO, UM, INTERJECT WITH THE PAUSE.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU MENTIONED THE PAGE NUMBERS WHEN YOU SAID PAGE THREE, WE'RE NOW ON PAGE FOUR.
BEFORE INTRODUCING INFORMATION.
BEFORE INTRODUCING INFORMATION, PLEASE BE, UH, MINDFUL TO SAY WHAT PAGE THAT WE ARE ON, THE CORRECT PAGE THAT WE CAN FOLLOW IN ACCORDANCE.
SO THIS NEXT SLIDE IS OUR VALUES, UH, COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP.
AND ON THIS SLIDE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS NOW SLIDE FIVE, UH, WE TALK ABOUT OUR CORE VALUES BEING SUPPORTING STATEWIDE, A STATEWIDE NETWORK OF LOCAL MAYORS AND COUNTY COMMITTEES, WHICH OF COURSE INCLUDES THE DALLAS COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES.
PRESENTLY, THERE'S APPROXIMATELY, UH, 2223 COMMITTEES ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
AND THAT NUMBER HAS FLUCTUATED, UH, THROUGHOUT THE, UH, PAST SEVERAL DECADES.
UH, I THINK, UH, IN THE 1990S OUR, AT OUR PEAK, WE HAD ABOUT 40 MAYOR'S COMMITTEES ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, THAT BEING SAID, THERE ARE ALSO SOME SPECIALIZED, UH, LOCAL COMMITTEES INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEES FOR, UH, LOCAL TRANSIT AUTHORITIES.
AND, UH, THERE'S TWO, UH, INCLUSIVE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING ADVISORY COMMITTEES, UH, FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
UH, BUT ALL BEING TOLD, UH, WE'RE IN THE LOW TWENTIES RIGHT NOW, AND, UH, WE'RE JUST VERY DELIGHTED THAT THE, UH, DALLAS COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES HAS JOINED THAT NETWORK.
UH, FOR MANY YEARS WE'VE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH EMPLOYABILITY, THE FORMERLY THE DALLAS MAYOR'S COMMITTEE, UNEMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND THAT'S STILL A GREAT ORGANIZATION THAT'S OUT THERE ADVOCATING FOR THE FULL EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
BUT WE WANNA CONGRATULATE, UH, THIS COMMISSION FOR, UH, BEING INAUGURATED THIS YEAR.
UH, SO THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE, UH, AS PART OF OUR PARTNERSHIP, WE INCLUDE, UH, SIX EX OFFICIO STATE AGENCIES THAT PROVIDE INPUT TO, UH, THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE.
I ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY THAT THE EX OFFICIOS, THEY GET A SAY, BUT THEY DON'T GET A VOTE.
AND OF COURSE, UM, WE HAVE 12 COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
THOSE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE APPOINTED BY GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT.
AND UNDER THE SAYING NOTHING ABOUT US, WITHOUT US, AT LEAST SEVEN OF THOSE COMMITTEE MEMBERS MUST BE TEXANS WITH DISABILITIES.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE ADVANCING TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND ON THAT SLIDE, THE TITLE IS COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION.
AND I HAD JUST TOUCHED ON THIS A LITTLE BIT.
AND ONCE AGAIN, WE HAVE 12 COMMITTEE MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR.
SEVEN MUST BE TEXANS WITH DISABILITIES, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE EX OFFICIO ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
AND, UH, TOWARDS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, I'LL TALK ABOUT WHERE OUR NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING IS BEING HELD, AND, UH, CERTAINLY WE HOPE, UH, TO MEET IN THE FUTURE UP IN THE DALLAS FORT WORTH AREA AGAIN.
UH, LAST TIME WE WERE IN YOUR AREA OF THE STATE WAS IN MAY OF 2022 WHEN WE MET IN FORT WORTH.
I BELIEVE PRIOR TO THAT WE WERE IN PLANO IN 2018.
I WOULD SAY THE BIGGEST PART OF TEXAS IS A PART OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, AND WE TRY TO MAKE IT TO AS MANY AREAS OF THE STATE AS POSSIBLE.
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TO SLIDE NUMBER SEVEN.UM, APOLOGIZE FOR THE TYPO ON HERE, UH, WHEN WE, WELL, NO, I BELIEVE I CORRECTED OUT OF NINE, BUT YOU MAY HAVE, UM, UH, A MISTAKE ON YOURS.
THESE ARE THE 10 POLICY ISSUE AREAS.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE WE WORK ON IS EMPLOYMENT.
BUT FOR SOME REASON, I LISTED HEALTH ON YOUR SLIDE TWICE, SO THAT'S JUST A LITTLE TYPO.
BUT OUR 10 ISSUE AREAS INCLUDE ACCESS, WHICH TRADITIONALLY WE THINK OF AS ACCESSIBILITY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, ADA, UH, REGULATIONS OR TEXAS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS COMMUNICATIONS, WHICH INCLUDES ACCESSIBILITY TO ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION RESOURCES OR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, ALSO KNOWN AS DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY.
AND ADVOCATING FOR, UH, ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATIONS FOR TEXANS WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING EDUCATION, WHICH INCLUDES, UH, SECTION 5 0 4 IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, AS WELL AS, UH, SUPPORTING, UH, EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, EMPLOYMENT, UH, HEALTH, UH, HOUSING, RECREATION, TRANSPORTATION AND VETERANS.
SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MEETING, UH, Y Y'ALL WERE TALKING ABOUT YOUR THREE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
AND AS YOU SEE R 10 ISSUE AREAS OVERLAP WITH YOUR THREE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
UH, SO THERE'S A LOT OF COMMON GROUND FOR, UH, OUR TWO ORGANIZATIONS TO COVER TOGETHER.
NEXT SLIDE IS SLIDE NUMBER EIGHT, AND THE TITLE OF THIS SLIDE IS KEY SERVICES.
THESE ARE A FEW OF THE, UH, KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE ALSO ESTABLISHED IN OUR ENABLING STATUTE, WHICH IS HUMAN RESOURCES CODE CHAPTER 1 15 1 IS TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
AND, UH, AT THE END OF EVERY EVEN NUMBERED YEAR, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ISSUING A BIENNIAL REPORT TO THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
AND THIS COVERS, UH, LAWS, UH, IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
IT MAY NEED TO BE CHANGED TO, UH, HELP TEXAS WITH DISABILITIES AND POLICY ISSUES THAT, UM, ARE IDENTIFIED AS PRIORITIES THAT MAY SERVE AS A BASIS FOR LEGISLATION DURING, UH, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
UH, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE A NETWORK OF LOCAL COMMITTEES, AND MR. NORMAN KIKI, WHO IS ALSO A GUEST ON THIS, UH, MEETING, HE IS OUR PRIMARY LIAISON TO THE LOCAL COMMITTEES.
UH, NORMAN'S TITLE IS COMMUNITY OUTREACH COORDINATOR.
UH, WE ALSO TRY TO, UH, CONNECT CONNECT CONSTITUENTS TO STATE AGENCIES AND TO, UH, DISABILITY SERVICES.
ALTHOUGH WE HAVE A SMALL STAFF OF FIVE STAFF MEMBERS, WE'RE SMALL BUT MIGHTY STAFF.
AND, UH, WE DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB WITH INFORMATION AND REFERRAL IN THIS OFFICE.
UH, WE RECOGNIZE EMPLOYERS FOR HIRING AND RETAINING, UH, EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES.
AND THIS OCCURS THROUGH OUR, ONE OF OUR ANNUAL AWARDS PROGRAMS. AND, UH, WE, UH, PROMOTE COMPLIANCE WITH DISABILITY RELATED LAWS, INCLUDING FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS.
ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE IS SLIDE NUMBER NINE.
UH, TALKING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT AWARDS.
UM, ONE OF OUR AWARDS IS OUR LEX FRIEDEN EMPLOYMENT AWARDS, WHICH OCCURS IN OCTOBER DURING NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH.
AND, UM, THE AWARDS PROGRAMS THAT WE HOLD, WE LIKE TO HOLD THEM AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND IN THE PAST, WE HAVE PARTNERED AND HOSTING THESE AWARDS WITH LOCAL MAYORS COMMITTEES, AND WE'VE ALSO PARTNERED WITH LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARDS.
UH, THIS YEAR WE'RE GONNA BE HOLDING OUR L FRIED AND EMPLOYMENT TOWARDS PROGRAM DOWN IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY, PARTNERING WITH THE DISABILITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY.
AND, UM, IN THE PAST, WE'VE HELD THEM IN EL PASO, LUBBOCK, UH, PLANO, UH, THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS.
WE TOOK A BIT OF A HI HIATUS DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC, AND OUR AWARDS PROGRAMS WENT PRIMARILY ONLINE DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, IN, UM, THE LAST TWO AWARDS PROGRAMS, WE HAVE HELD HYBRID AWARDS PROGRAMS WHERE PEOPLE COULD ATTEND IN PERSON AND THROUGH OUR ZOOM PLATFORM.
WE ALSO HAVE A NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH POSTER COMPETITION.
AND THESE ARE POSTERS WHERE THE ART IS, UH, SUBMITTED BY ARTISTS WITH DISABILITIES AND JUDGED BY A PANEL OF, UH, ARTS EXPERTS.
ART IS DISPLAYED ON THE POSTER ALONG WITH THE NATIONAL THEME FOR NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH.
AND WE INCLUDE THE ARTIST STATEMENT.
THEY ARE SERVING SORT OF AS A ROLE MODEL FOR EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, WE INCLUDE THE HIGHER ABILITY, UH, TWITTER HASHTAG HIGHER ABILITY IS THE CAMPAIGN THAT WE HAVE WITH THE TEXAS WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, UH, TO PROMOTE THE FULL EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
AND IF YOU FOLLOW THAT TWITTER HASHTAG, IT WILL TAKE YOU TO,
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UH, BOTH EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES FOR, UH, EMPLOYING TEXANS WITH DISABILITIES, AND ALSO ALL OF THE, UH, HIGHER ABILITY AND NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS, UH, MONTH EVENTS TAKING PLACE THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.UH, IN RECENT YEARS, WE'VE ALSO INCLUDED A QR CODE ON OUR POSTERS TO, UH, TAKE PEOPLE TO ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, INCLUDING APPLYING FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN WANNA POSTER, YOU CAN, UH, CONTACT US BY EMAIL, AND WE'RE GLAD TO ADD YOU TO OUR MAILING LIST.
WE TYPICALLY PRINT ABOUT 3000 POSTERS, AND MOST OF THE POSTERS ARE MAILED OUT TO EMPLOYERS ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS WHERE THEY'RE, THEY ARE DISPLAYED IN EMPLOYEE BREAK ROOMS AND HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICES AS A TALKING PIECE FOR EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE NOW ON TO SLIDE NUMBER 10, ACCESSIBILITY AND DISABILITY TRAININGS.
ONE OF THE KEY SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE IS, UH, OFFERED AND PROMOTED THROUGH OUR ACCESSIBILITY AND DISABILITY RIGHTS COORDINATOR, MATTHEW DICKENS.
AND THIS IS OUR MONTHLY ACCESSIBILITY AND DISABILITY POLICY WEBINAR SERIES.
AND WE HAVE A LIBRARY OF PAST WEBINARS THAT ARE LINKED FROM OUR WEBSITE AND DIS, UH, DISPLAYED, UH, THROUGH OUR GOVERNOR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
AND THESE COVER A WIDE RANGE OF POLICY, UH, TOPICS INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION, ACCESSIBILITY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, HOUSING, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL SECURITY, UH, JUST EVERY IMAGINABLE TOPIC YOU CAN IMAGINE GOING BACK TO 2016.
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS WE TAKE REQUESTS.
SO IF THERE'S A TRAINING TOPIC THAT, UH, YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE US COVER, UH, WE, UH, LOOK THROUGHOUT THE STATE TO FIND THE BEST EXPERTS ON THOSE DISABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY TOPICS.
AND, AND WE BOOK THEM TO DO A PRESENTATION.
AND THESE WEBINARS ARE FULLY ACCESSIBLE.
WE INCLUDE REALTIME CAPTIONING OR A CART WITH OUR WEBINARS, AND WE INCLUDE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS AS WELL.
SO BOTH THE LIVE SESSION IS ACCESSIBLE AS WELL AS THE RECORDING OF THE ZOOM SESSION.
WE ALSO POST THE, UH, ACCESSIBLE MATERIALS UP ON OUR WEBSITE, SO YOU CAN USE THOSE AS A REFERENCE LATER ON.
UH, THIS NEXT WEBINAR THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HOLDING IS GONNA BE WITH TEXAS SPECIAL OLYMPICS, WHERE WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT, UH, THEIR, UH, INCLUSIVE SPORTS PROGRAMS, UH, CALLED UNIFIED.
UH, THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM BEING PROMOTED IN, UH, HIGH SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS WHERE ATHLETES WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES ARE COMPETING IN SPORTS ALONGSIDE NON-DISABLED, UH, TEAMMATES.
AND, UH, THIS HAS JUST BEEN A FANTASTIC NEW PROGRAM THAT WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO, UH, BRING TO OUR AUDIENCE.
AND WE'RE SCHEDULING THIS WEBINAR AT THREE 30 SO THAT, UM, HIGH SCHOOL GYM TEACHERS AND HIGH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, ONCE STUDENTS ARE DISMISSED OR ABLE TO, UH, ATTEND THAT WEBINAR ON THEIR CONVENIENT SCHEDULE.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GOING ON TO SLIDE NUMBER 11, I HOPE.
SO A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AND CAN'T DO.
OUR PRIMARY, UH, UH, POWER IS OUR ABILITY TO LISTEN TO DISABILITY ADVOCATES AND STAKEHOLDERS WHO BRING THEIR POLICY CHALLENGES TO OUR COMMITTEE AT OUR QUARTERLY MEETINGS, OR BRING THOSE ISSUES TO STAFF WHO CAN THEN SHARE THAT INFORMATION THROUGH OUR MEETING AGENDAS.
IN THE SAME WAY THAT YOUR DALLAS COMMISSION LISTENS TO THE CITIZENS OF DALLAS AND TRIES TO ADVOCATE FOR SOLUTIONS TO HELP WITH, UH, THEIR DISABILITY CHALLENGES IN THE DALLAS COMMUNITY, UH, WE REALIZE THAT NOT EVERY COMPLICATED PROBLEM HAS A SIMPLE SOLUTION.
SO OFTEN THESE POLICY ISSUES WILL RESULT IN A STUDY WHERE WE WILL ANALYZE, UH, THE POLICY ISSUES AND, UH, OFTEN, UH, IT MAY EVEN RESULT IN A AD HOC WORK GROUP OR SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE TO DIVE DEEPER INTO THOSE ISSUES AND SOMETIMES RESULT IN ISSUE IN A SPECIAL REPORT.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS PAST YEAR, WE HAD A GUARDIANSHIP SUBCOMMITTEE THAT DEALT INTO ISSUES OF GUARDIANSHIP FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
AND WE ALSO HAD A SERVICE ANIMAL WORK GROUP TO LOOK AT WHAT POTENTIAL CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE TO, UH, TEXAS LAW UNDER HUMAN RESOURCES CODE CHAPTER 1 21, TO REDUCE INSTANCES OF POTENTIAL FRAUD FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE PUTTING FORTH A PET AS A, A SERVICE ANIMAL, OR FOR, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE DENYING ACCESS TO A PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION FOR SOMEBODY WITH A LEGITIMATE SERVICE ANIMAL.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE ISSUE REPORTS, AND THOSE REPORTS ARE BOTH POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE AND SHARED AS APPROPRIATE WITH MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
WE CAN ALSO WORK WITHIN EXISTING STATE AGENCY POLICIES TO ADVOCATE FOR, UH, ALIGNING THOSE POLICIES SO
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THAT THEY WORK BETTER FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.IN OTHER WORDS, NOT EVERY PROBLEM REQUIRES A NEW LAW TO BE PASSED BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE PROVIDE, UM, A, UH, COMMENT TO THE, UH, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR'S, UH, POLICY TEAM, UH, THE GO GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, WE ARE AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, BUT WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY A RULEMAKING BODY.
UH, GOVERNOR ABBOTT ALSO HAS A BUDGET AND POLICY, UH, OFFICE, WHICH, UH, HAS POLICY ADVISORS THAT WORK WITH EACH ONE OF THE STATE AGENCIES.
AND SO WE WORK PRETTY COLLABORATIVELY WITH THAT GROUP WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR.
UH, WE CAN PROVIDE, UH, INVITED RESOURCE TESTIMONY TO, UH, BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE DURING THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
AND THAT'S, UH, CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT I HAVE DONE DURING THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WE CANNOT INITIATE TESTIMONY ON A BILL, BUT WE CAN RESPOND TO REQUESTS FROM, UH, SPONSORS OF BILLS.
AND WHEN WE TESTIFY, I'LL, I'LL GO INTO THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH, BUT AS STATE EMPLOYEES, WE CAN, UH, ONLY PROVIDE NEUTRAL RESOURCE TESTIMONY.
IN OTHER WORDS, ANSWERING FACTS ABOUT HOW POTENTIAL LEGISLATION MAY IMPACT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
WE CAN ALSO PROVIDE G CCP D POLICY RESOURCES TO DISABILITY ADVOCATES.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WERE ADVOCATES THAT WERE ADVOCATING FOR A, UH, DEAFBLIND SUPPORT SERVICE, UH, PROGRAM, UH, OR A CO NAVIGATOR PROGRAM TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE FOR DEAF-BLIND TEXANS TO LIVE INDEPENDENTLY IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND WHEN THEY HAD A HEARING ON A BILL THAT WOULD CREATE A PROGRAM FOR THEM AT HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, IT WAS VERY USEFUL TO THEM TO HAVE A COPY OF OUR BANAL REPORT FOR EACH OF THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES AT THAT HEARING.
AND I'VE JOKINGLY SAID, WE WILL MELT OUR COPY MACHINE.
WE WILL MELT OURS ROCKS MACHINE, PROVIDING COPIES OF REPORTS FOR ADVOCATES, UH, FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN ORDER TO EDUCATE THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE ON THOSE POLICY ISSUES.
UH, WE WILL IDENTIFY AND SHARE, UH, REPORTS, UH, AND OF BEST PRACTICES, UH, FOR LOCAL, UH, COMMITTEES AND LOCAL, UM, UH, MAYOR'S COMMITTEES, TRANSIT COMMITTEES, AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING WHERE WE'D LIKE TO KIND OF WORK MORE CLOSELY WITH YOUR COMMISSION AND OTHER COMMISSIONS.
IN THE PAST, THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE HAS HELD QUARTERLY, UH, MEETINGS OF LOCAL COMMITTEES TO, UH, SHARE BEST PRACTICES AMONG THE LOCAL COMMITTEES.
I'VE ALWAYS SUGGESTED THAT THE TAXPAYERS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR THE SAME GOOD IDEA MORE THAN ONCE.
AND OFTEN WE FIND THAT THE GOOD IDEAS THAT YOUR COMMISSION HAS COME UP WITH FOR THE PEOPLE OF DALLAS MAY ALSO WORK IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OR WORK IN SAN ANTONIO AND VICE VERSA.
SO THAT BEING SAID, WE ALL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN FROM EACH OTHER AND TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN LOOK TO US IN THE FUTURE, PROVIDING MORE OF THOSE NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE COMMITTEES.
UH, OF COURSE, WE CAN USE OUR COMMUNICATION CHANNELS, UH, TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT, UH, BOTH OUR POLICIES AND, UH, LO LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL DISABILITY, UH, RELATED TRAININGS AND, UH, SUPPORT.
UH, I HOPE THAT ALL OF YOU SUBSCRIBE TO OUR GOV DELIVERY EMAIL SYSTEM.
CURRENTLY, WE HAVE ABOUT 17,000 SUBSCRIBERS ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT RECEIVE OUR EMAILS.
AND, UH, I, IF YOU SUBSCRIBE, I WON'T SAY THAT WE'LL FLOOD YOUR INBOX.
WE TYPICALLY PUT OUT ABOUT TWO TO THREE EMAILS PER WEEK, AND THEY'RE RELEVANT TO EITHER, UH, THE COMMITTEE'S WORK, OUR QUARTERLY MEETINGS, OUR TRAININGS THAT WE'RE OFFERING OR TO EVENTS, UH, TAKING PLACE WITHIN STATE AGENCIES THAT SERVE TEXANS WITH DISABILITIES.
AND FINALLY, UH, SERVE, UH, ON DIFFERENT STATE TASK FORCES AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES.
AS STAFF AND AS COMMITTEE MEMBERS, WE OFTEN GET INVITED TO, UH, SERVE ON, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL TASK FORCES THAT, UH, FURTHER INFORM THOSE STATE AGENCIES ON HOW TO BETTER SERVE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
WE SHOULD BE ON SLIDE NUMBER 13.
AND THIS COMES TO REAL QUICKLY, PARDON THE INTERRUPTION.
UM, AS A NOTE AFTER PAGE 13, THE PAGES ARE NOT NUMBERED.
SO IF YOU WOULD, AFTER PAGE 13, GIVE US A TITLE OF THOSE PAGES SO THAT WE CAN STILL FOLLOW YOU, THEY WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.
ALSO, ONE MORE, UH, NOTIFICATION, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR MICS ARE ON, AND THE VOLUME IS LOUD, SO THAT WHEN WE CALL ROLL CALL, WE CAN HEAR EACH COMMISSIONER THAT IS ONLINE IN EACH TECHNICAL RESOURCE PER THE INFORMATION GIVEN TO ME.
WHEN WE STARTED, UM, WE MET CORMAN AT TWO 12 AND START AT THE MEETING.
ONE OF OUR, UM, MEMBERS, NON-VOTING MEMBER, UH, DYLAN RAP WAS ALIGNED.
AND WHEN THE ROLL CALL WAS NOTED, UM, WE DID NOT HEAR HIM, BUT
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HE WAS PRESENT.I WANTED TO MAKE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT.
DYLAN IS ONE OF OUR GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ALUMNI.
HE IS A FORMER MEMBER OF THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND WE WERE PROUD TO WORK WITH DYLAN FOR MANY YEARS.
ALRIGHT, SO ON SLIDE 13, IF, UH, DEPENDING ON HOW IT'S BEING DISPLAYED ON YOUR SCREEN, THE TITLE OF THIS, UH, SLIDE IS G C P D CANNOT.
AND THIS IS JUST A, A SHORT REMINDER OF WHAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO.
WE'RE NOT ABLE TO ADVOCATE IN FAVOR OF OR AGAINST ANY SPECIFIC LEGISLATION.
UH, AND THAT GOES TO WHEN YOU GO TO TESTIFY, UH, TO THE LEGISLATURE, YOU SIGN UP TO TESTIFY IN FAVOR AGAINST OR HONOR A BILL.
AND WHEN YOU'RE ON, YOU'RE TESTIFYING AS A RESOURCE WHERE, UH, YOU ARE NOT ADVOCATING FOR THAT BILL TO PASS OR FAILURE.
JUST PROVIDING THEM WITH FACTUAL INFORMATION SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE THE BEST INFORMED DECISION.
ALL RIGHT, MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, THIS IS JUST A QUICK SAMPLING OF DIFFERENT REPORTS WE'VE ISSUED OVER TIME.
WE OCCASIONALLY GET, UH, ASKED TO DO INTERIM STUDIES BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
PROBABLY ONE OF OUR BIGGEST ONES WAS IN 2016 WHEN WE WERE ASKED TO DO A COMPREHENSIVE ACCESSIBLE PARKING STUDY.
AND, UH, WHEN WE DID THAT STUDY, WE LITERALLY, UH, INCLUDED A SURVEY FOR EVERYBODY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT HAD AN ACCESSIBLE PARKING PLACARD.
UH, IT WAS PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE.
IT HAD US LOOK AT ACCESSIBLE PARKING LAWS, UH, NOT ONLY FEDERAL LAWS, BUT THE LAWS OF ALL 50 STATES AND EXISTING, UH, LEGISLATION THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND THAT RESULTED IN 12 KEY POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
NOW, GOING BACK TO 2016, THAT'S QUITE SOME TIME AGO.
BUT IN THE INTERIM, UH, ABOUT FIVE OF THOSE, UH, 12 RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN ENACTED BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
AND, UH, FRANKLY, WHEN A TYPICAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION HAS OVER 7,000 BILLS FILED, AND, UH, LESS THAN A THOU THAN A THOUSAND OF THEM EVER GET ENACTED, THAT'S NOT TOO BAD OF A SUCCESS RATE.
UH, OTHER STUDIES WE'VE DONE HAVE INCLUDED, UH, UH, REPORTS ON SERVICE ANIMAL LAWS, REPORTS ON, UH, DEAFBLIND COORS TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY STUDIES.
SO, UH, OUR CURRENCY THAT WE TRANSACT IN IS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS.
UH, OUR POLICY PROCESS IS, UH, ONCE AGAIN, OUR POWER TO LISTEN TO, UH, SEEK INPUT FROM DISABILITY STAKEHOLDERS.
UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF ORGANIZED GROUPS REPRESENTING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, ADAPT, OR THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF TEXAS, THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND.
BUT WE ALSO OFTEN HAVE A LOT OF SUCCESS IN WORKING WITH INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS THAT WILL BRING A PRETTY WELL POLISHED OR WELL-ARTICULATED POLICY ISSUE TO US, AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO COLLABORATE WITH THEM.
ONE SUCCESS STORY IS THE TEXAS DRIVING WITH DISABILITIES PROGRAM AND THE PASSAGE OF THE SAMUEL ELLEN IN-LAW.
THAT IS A ISSUE THAT WAS BROUGHT TO US BY ONE MOM AND HER SON, UH, MS. JENNIFER ELLEN, AND HER SON, SAM ELLEN, WHO WANTED TO INCREASE TRANSPORTATION ACCESS AND PUBLIC SAFETY FOR DRIVERS WITH DISABILITIES THAT MAY HAVE A COMMUNICATION IMPEDIMENT WITH A PEACE OFFICER.
AND SO, UM, WE LOVE TO, UH, TALK ABOUT SUCCESS STORIES LIKE THAT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T TAKE NECESSARILY BEING A MEMBER OF A LARGE ORGANIZATION TO WORK WITH US TO ACHIEVE POLICY OR LEGISLATIVE SUCCESS.
UM, OFTEN THOSE ISSUES AFTER BEING, UH, POLISHED A LITTLE BIT, WILL BE BROUGHT FORTH TO THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE AT ONE OF OUR QUARTERLY MEETINGS AND, UH, PRESENTED AS A RECOMMENDATION OR A BRIEFING TO THE COMMITTEE.
THE COMMITTEE MAY ASK US TO GO BACK IN FURTHER RESEARCH AND REFINE, UH, THE POLICY RECOMMENDATION, AND THEN BRING IT BACK FOR AN ADDITIONAL VOTE BY THE COMMITTEE.
UH, ONCE, UH, THOSE POLICY ISSUES ARE VOTED UPON BY THE COMMITTEE, THAT'S NOT THE END OF THE JOURNEY FOR THAT POLICY ISSUE.
THAT'S REALLY, IT'S BEGINNING IT.
WE STILL HAVE AN INTERNAL VETTING PROCESS WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR WHERE THOSE POLICIES MUST GO THROUGH OUR LEGAL COUNCIL, OUR BUDGET AND POLICY TEAM, AND, UH, SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF FOR FINAL APPROVAL.
ONCE THAT APPROVAL, UH, HAPPENS, UH, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE PUBLISHED WITHIN OUR BIAL REPORT, WHICH IS POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND I'VE DESCRIBED THIS YEAR'S BIAL REPORT AS OUR TOP 99 LIST.
WE WERE JUST ONE POLICY SHORT OF HITTING AN EVEN A HUNDRED, BUT, UH, UH, NOBODY'S GONNA READ THIS REPORT LIKE THEY W WOULD A NOVEL.
BUT, UH, THE REPORT IS ORGANIZED INTO THE 10 POLICY ISSUE AREAS THAT WE DESCRIBED.
AND, UH, THE POLICIES ARE WRITTEN IN A SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE AND ACHIEVABLE WAY.
AND IT'S BEEN SAID THAT OUR POLICY REPORT IS ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY FOOTNOTED REPORTS IN STATE GOVERNMENT.
AND THAT, UH, WHEN WE IDENTIFY AN ISSUE OR MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, IT'S JUST NOT AN UNDOCUMENTED
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ASSERTION.IT'S FOOTNOTED WITH, UH, PRIMARY SOURCES WHENEVER POSSIBLE THAT, UH, CAN BACK UP THE DATA THAT, UH, IS SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE MAKING.
THE TITLE OF THAT SLIDE IS OUR BONNIE REPORT.
I WON'T COVER THAT TOO MUCH MORE OTHER THAN, UH, THE HYPERLINK, UH, TO OUR CURRENT REPORT IS ON THIS SLIDE, AND IT, IT SHOWS A PICTURE OF THE COVER PAGE OF THE 20 24, 20 25 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO, UH, THE 88TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE 88TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
UH, THE 88TH LEGISLATURE CONVENED ON JANUARY, UH, 10TH OF 2023.
AND ALL SESSIONS TEND TO START OUT PRETTY SLOW.
THEY ELECT, UH, A SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, OF COURSE, THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, AND, UH, THAT'S AN ELECTED OFFICE.
AND, UH, THEY BEGIN TO APPOINT COMMITTEE CHAIRS AND APPOINT MEMBERS TO COMMITTEES.
BUT NOT A LOT REALLY HAPPENS FOR THOSE FIRST TWO MONTHS, UH, UH, OR NOT MUCH HAPPENS THAT YOU WOULD NOTICE.
UH, BUT DURING THAT TIME, UH, YOUR SENATORS AND YOUR REPRESENTATIVES HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO FILE BILLS.
AND, UH, BILL FILING ACTUALLY STARTS IN NOVEMBER RIGHT AFTER THE, THE FALL ELECTION WHEN, UH, YOUR ELECT, YOUR STATE OFFICIALS ARE ELECTED.
UH, BUT THE CUTOFF FOR FILING BILLS IS MARCH 10TH.
AND SO IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD YOUR POLI POLICY ISSUE FILED AS A BILL BY MARCH 10TH, THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR ISSUE, UH, TO BECOME PART OF LEGISLATION IS IF IT'S AMENDED TO AN EXISTING BILL.
AND IT TYPICALLY HAS TO BE ON A RELATED TOPIC.
UH, SO THERE ARE SOME OPTIONS ALSO, YOU CAN OFTEN GET ISSUES, UH, INCLUDED AS A RIDER INTO AN APPROPRIATIONS BILL.
UH, SO THERE ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES, BUT BEING AWARE OF THAT CALENDAR FOR THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IS VERY IMPORTANT.
AND THIS YEAR, MARCH 10TH, WAS, UM, A, UH, PRETTY STRESSFUL DATE FOR PEOPLE BECAUSE WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
AND, UH, EVERY REPRESENTATIVE OR SENATOR THAT WRITES A BILL HAS TO SEND THEM TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL SO THEY CAN BE FORMATTED INTO PROPER BILL LANGUAGE.
AND WE UNDERSTAND THIS YEAR THAT THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL WAS A LITTLE JAMMED UP WITH A LOT OF, I DON'T WANNA SAY LAST MINUTE BILLS, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE HERE IN THE, UH, CURRENT SESSION, UH, THERE WERE 8,276 BILLS THAT WERE FILED, UH, IN THE SESSION.
AND WE KNOW JUST A FRACTION OF THOSE ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO MAKE IT THE GOVERNOR ABBOTT'S DESK.
BUT, UH, YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT A TREMENDOUS WORKLOAD THAT, UH, MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
ALL RIGHT, UH, GOING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE ABOUT THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS.
UH, SO, UH, WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO DEVELOP A POLICY RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE FILED AS BILL AND ADDRESSED BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU START OUT BY EDUCATING YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND START OUT EARLY, UH, USUALLY AROUND NOVEMBER BEFORE SESSION STARTS IS A PRETTY GOOD TIME TO MEET WITH THEM AND, UH, SHARE YOUR CONCERNS WITH THEM ON, ON THOSE POLICY ISSUE AREAS THAT ARE A PRIORITY.
UM, ADDRESS ANY, UM, UH, CONTRARY CONCERNS LIKE THIS SURE.
SOUNDS LIKE IT'S PRETTY EXPENSIVE.
UH, WELL, WHAT WOULD BE THE, UH, THE CONTRARY CONCERN TO THAT IS WHAT IS THE COST OF DOING NOTHING, FOR EXAMPLE, THEN, UH, FINDING THE RIGHT SPONSOR.
UH, IT'S ALWAYS BEST TO START IN YOUR LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT WITH YOUR ELECTED OFFICIAL.
THEY'RE GONNA CERTAINLY WANNA KNOW THAT YOU'RE A VOTER, UH, AND PREFERABLY, UH, SOMEBODY THAT'S VOTED FOR THEM.
BUT EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T VOTE FOR YOUR REPRESENTATIVE OR YOUR SENATOR, UH, THEY WILL STILL WORK WITH YOU.
UM, BUT, UM, KNOWING THE HISTORY OF, UH, WHAT THAT REPRESENTATIVE, UH, IS INTERESTED IN AND WHAT COMMITTEES THEY'VE SERVED ON, WILL ALSO HELP YOU DECIDE IF THEY'RE A GOOD FIT FOR TRYING TO SPONSOR YOUR BILL.
UH, WHEN THE SESSION BEGINS, UH, SIGNING UP AS A WITNESS, UH, FOR THE HEARINGS, YOU CAN PROVIDE WRITTEN, UH, TESTIMONY OR, UH, SIGN UP TO BE IN FAVOR OR AGAINST A BILL WITHOUT BEING THERE IN PERSON, BUT TO PROVIDE, UH, ACTUAL TESTIMONY.
UNLIKE DURING COVID V I D, YOU MUST BE THERE IN PERSON TO, UH, YOU HAVE TO SIGN UP IN ADVANCE THROUGH THE, THE PORTAL THAT, UH, UH, YOU USE TO REGISTER YOUR, UH, AS A WITNESS IN FAVOR ON OR AGAINST A BILL.
AND THEN, UH, BE AWARE OF THE LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR.
AS I MENTIONED, UH, THAT MARCH 10TH DEADLINE CAME UPON US RATHER QUICKLY.
AND, UH, PEOPLE THAT DID NOT GET THEIR BILLS IN EARLY, UH, TO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MAY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SEE THEIR BILL FILED THIS SESSION.
AND OF COURSE, DON'T FORGET THE ART OF COMPROMISE.
UH, WE HAVE A SAYING AT THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE AMONG OUR STAFF, WE'RE A GROUP OF RAGING INCREMENTALISTS, MEANING SOMETIMES WE, UH, WILL WORK TOWARDS INCREMENTAL
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CHANGE WHEN WE CAN'T GET THE ENTIRE CHANGE THAT WE, WE WOULD REALLY LIKE, WE'D LIKE TO SEE SOME PROGRESS RATHER THAN NO PROGRESS.UM, THERE, UH, IS A, A LITTLE BIT I WANNA SAY ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY AT THE CAPITAL.
UH, SINCE I'VE BEEN WORKING HERE, WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS, UH, WITH MAKING THE CAPITAL A MORE ACCESSIBLE PLACE FOR, UH, PEOPLE TO COME.
AND I REALIZE CAPITAL, OH, NO, THAT THAT'S THE CORRECT PLAN.
I WAS, I THOUGHT I SAW AN A THERE.
THE ACCESSIBLE SIDE OF THE CAPITOL IS THE NORTH ENTRANCE OF THE CAPITOL.
AND RECENTLY, UH, WE HELPED FUND AN ACCESSIBLE PICKUP AND DROP OFF, UH, TRANSIT STATION AT THE CAPITOL.
AND ONE OF THE DOWNSTREAM SLIDES, I'LL MENTION A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
BUT ANOTHER, UH, AREA OF PROGRESS WE'VE MADE IS INCLUDING FAMILY RESTROOMS FOR PEOPLE THAT WORK WITH PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANTS AT THE CAPITOL.
AND, UH, WE'RE ALSO ADVOCATING IN OUR BILINGUAL REPORT TO ADD AN ADULT CHANGING TABLE TO THE CAPITOL.
UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE 1 MILLION VISITORS PER YEAR TO THE STATE CAPITOL, AND THAT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF PEOPLE.
AND, UH, I KNOW WE TALK ABOUT HOW APPROXIMATELY 20% OF THE POPULATION ARE TEXANS WITH DISABILITIES, AND THAT CERTAINLY INCLUDES THE POPULATION THAT VISITS THE CAPITOL.
UH, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, WE HAVE A LINK TO WHO IS MY REPRESENTATIVE.
IF YOU'RE NOT SURE WHO YOUR STATE SENATOR OR YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE IS, YOU CAN JUST ENTER YOUR ZIP CODE AND IT WILL LOOK IT UP FOR YOU.
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST FREE TOOLS THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR, UH, VOTERS AND, UH, CITIZENS ACROSS THE STATE.
AND THIS IS ALSO THE SAME TOOL THAT THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES USES.
THIS IS THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE.
IT'S A LEGISLATIVE TRACKING TOOL.
YOU CAN GET TO IT BY GOING TO CAPITAL DOT STATE DOTTX US.
IT HAS A SCREENSHOT OF SOME OF THE DIFFERENT TOOLS, UH, THAT ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS PORTAL.
BUT, UH, ON TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE, YOU CAN LOOK UP BILLS BY THEIR BILL NUMBER.
YOU CAN ALSO LOOK UP BILLS BY KEYWORD, LIKE SERVICE ANIMAL OR DISABILITY, OR AUTISM OR DYSLEXIA, AND IT WILL PULL UP ANY BILLS THAT HAVE THOSE KEYWORDS.
YOU CAN NOT ONLY LOOK UP BILLS FROM THIS SESSION, BUT YOU CAN LOOK UP BILLS FROM PRIOR SESSIONS, AS WELL AS SPECIAL SESSIONS.
OF COURSE, A SPEC SPECIAL SESSION IS A SESSION THAT GOVERNOR ABBOTT CAN CALL FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE OR SPECIFIC PURPOSES.
AND THOSE SPECIAL SESSIONS WILL HAPPEN, UH, AT THE END OF THE REGULAR SESSION, USUALLY DURING THE SUMMER, IF THERE'S ANY UNFINISHED BUSINESS, UH, ON THE GOVERNOR'S AGENDA.
UH, YOU CAN ALSO USE THE BILL ALERT, UH, FEATURE TO, UH, SIGN UP TO HAVE A BILL TRACKED, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE EMAILS LETTING YOU KNOW WHEN THERE'S BEEN ACTION TAKEN ON THAT BILL.
AND THAT'S HOW OUR STAFF KNOW WHEN ONE OF THE BILLS WE'RE TRACKING THAT ALIGNS WITH OUR BANAL REPORT, UH, IS, UH, GONNA BE HAVING A HEARING.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO, UH, I KNOW YOU'RE UP IN DALLAS, AND IT'S A LONG RIDE DOWN TO AUSTIN, YOU CAN WATCH THESE HEARINGS LIVE OR WATCH THE RECORDINGS OF THEM, UH, THROUGH THE HOUSE AND SENATE VIDEO PORTAL.
UM, AND, UH, IT IS PRETTY INTERESTING.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, YOU'RE ABLE TO REVIEW PAST LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS AND PAST BILLS IF YOU WANNA DO FURTHER RESEARCH.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS TALKING ABOUT A COUPLE OF BILLS IN EACH SESSION.
ONLY ONE BILL NEED PASS, UH, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
IF NO OTHER BUSINESS HAPPENS DURING THE LEGISLATURE, THIS IS THE ONLY THING THAT MUST HAPPEN, AND THAT'S THE STATE APPROPRIATIONS BILL.
IT ALTERNATES BETWEEN BINS BETWEEN, UH, HOUSE BILL ONE OR SENATE BILL ONE IN TERMS OF WHICH ONE IS THE LEAD.
THIS BY EMITS HOUSE BILL ONE, AND THIS IS THE OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS BILL THAT FUNDS ALL OF STATE GOVERNMENT, ALL STATE AGENCIES, ALL TECH DOT APPROPRIATIONS FOR RHODE PROJECTS.
AND, AND, UH, ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S GONNA BE FUNDED BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE GOES THROUGH THIS BILL.
UH, SO COUPLE OF THINGS OF INTEREST.
UH, A LOT OF ADVOCATES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WERE INTERESTED IN, UH, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO FUNDING FOR PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANCE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AS PART OF OUR MEDICAID LONG-TERM CARE PROGRAM.
AND SO ON THIS SLIDE, WE'VE GOT, UH, SPECIFICALLY WHICH ARTICLE OF, UH, HOUSE BILL ONE, UH, ADDRESSES THAT.
AND CURRENTLY, UH, IN STATE LAW UNDER MEDICAID, MOST PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANCE, UH, ARE BEING PAID A BASE WAGE OF $8 AND 11 CENTS.
AND ADVOCATES ARE, UH, TRYING TO ADVOCATE TO GET THAT PAY UP TO $15 AN HOUR, UH, UNDER THE CURRENT, UH, BUDGET DISCUSSIONS.
UH, IT'S AT 11 RIGHT NOW, SO IT'S NOT QUITE WHERE ADVOCATES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT.
AND THERE WILL BE A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE BETWEEN THE HOUSE VERSION OF THE BUDGET AND THE SENATE VERSION OF THE BUDGET.
SO RIGHT NOW, ADVOCATES ARE TRYING TO, UH, CONTACT MEMBERS OF THE TWO FINANCE COMMITTEES TO GIVE INPUT ON WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE SPENDING FOR
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PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANCE.ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, HERE'S ANOTHER BILL THAT, UH, WE'RE TRACKING THAT LINES UP WITH ONE OF OUR POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND TH THIS IS SENATE BILL 2326 BY SENATOR JUDITH ZINI.
AND THIS IS RELATED TO ACCESS TO AN ADULT CHANGING STATION.
SO, AS WE KNOW, UH, IN, UM, THE TEXAS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS AND, UH, THE, UH, INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE STANDARDS FOR, UH, PUBLIC RESTROOMS, UM, MOST PUBLIC RESTROOMS, YOU'LL, YOU'LL FIND A, AN INFANT CHANGING TABLE.
BUT FOR ADULTS AND ADULT CHILDREN WHO, UH, MAY, YOU KNOW, WEIGH 150, 200 POUNDS OR MORE, UH, THEY NEED AN A SANITARY PLACE FOR CHANGING THAT SHOULD NOT BE THE BATHROOM FLOOR.
AND CURRENTLY, ADULT CHANGING TABLES ARE NOT REQUIRED BY THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OR BY THE TEXAS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.
BUT THERE HAS BEEN A NATIONAL MOVEMENT AFOOT TO MAKE THEM REQUIRED AT PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION, LIKE AIRPORTS AND THEME PARKS AND, UH, UNIVERSITIES AND PLACES WHERE, UH, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES GO, WHERE THEY'RE LIKELY TO BE THERE FOR MORE THAN JUST A FEW MINUTES, YOU KNOW, LIKELY TO BE THERE FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS OR MORE.
AND THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE, UH, THE I B C, UH, AMENDMENTS OF 2024 INCLUDES SPECIFICATIONS ON IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE AN ADULT CHANGING TABLE, THIS IS WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE, BUT IT DOESN'T REQUIRE WHERE THEY BE PLACED.
IN ORDER TO INCLUDE THAT SCOPING, THERE WOULD NEED TO BE EITHER NATIONAL OR STATE LEGISLATION SAYING WHERE ADULT CHANGING CHA CHANGING TABLES SHOULD BE, UH, UH, REQUIRED.
AND THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE HOSTED A WEBINAR ON ADULT CHANGING TABLES, UH, BACK IN, I WANNA SAY IT WAS BACK IN MARCH, UH, TO NOT ONLY TALK ABOUT THAT POLICY ISSUE HERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, BUT AS PART OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEES, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT POLICY ISSUE AT A NATIONAL LEVEL.
UH, AT THE TOP OF YOUR SLIDE, IT SHOULD SAY HB 52 0 6 BY GOODWIN.
THIS IS A BILL RELATED TO, UH, UH, SERVICE ANIMALS AND, UH, PROHIBITING, UH, FALSELY REPRESENTING THAT A ANIMAL IS A SERVICE ANIMAL.
AND, UH, IT, UH, BOTH ADDRESSES EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS OR ESAS THAT ARE COVERED UNDER THE FAIR HOUSING ACT AND SERVICE ANIMALS, AND, UH, MAKES SOME SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF SOMEBODY IS OBTAINING MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION FROM A MEDICAL PROVIDER, UH, TO SUBSTANTIATE THEIR NEED FOR AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL, UH, FOR THEIR APARTMENT COMPLEX, IT REQUIRES THAT, UH, THE DOCTOR, UH, THAT'S WRITING THAT LETTER HAVE A CLINICAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT INDIVIDUAL AND NOT JUST TAKE THEIR 50 OR A HUNDRED DOLLARS OVER THE INTERNET.
UH, SO IT'S A PRETTY INTERESTING BILL, AND IT LINES UP VERY CLOSELY WITH, UH, THE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IN THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE'S ACCESS SECTION OF OUR BINDAL REPORT.
NEXT SLIDE IS SENATE BILL 1606 BY ZINI.
AND, UH, THIS IS RELATING TO EVIDENCE OF ORDERS, UH, REGARDING, UH, PEOPLE OF INTELLECTUAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, UH, OR, UH, MENTAL CONDITION IN CERTAIN GUARDIANSHIP, UH, PROCEEDINGS.
AND, UH, I MENTIONED WE HAD A GUARDIANSHIP, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE WITH THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE WHERE WE PULLED IN EXPERTS ON, UH, GUARDIANSHIP, UH, FROM THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
AND, UH, OUR SUBCOMMITTEES ARE NOT JUST COMPRISED OF G CCP, D COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AND, UH, GCP D STAFF.
WE CAN ALSO IDENTIFY, UH, THOSE EXPERTS ON SPECIFIC TOPICS AND INVITE THEM TO SERVE AS A SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBER.
AND, UH, THIS GROUP, UH, INCLUDED RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT TYPE OF, UH, MEDICAL EXPERTISE, UH, CAN PROVIDE EVIDENCE TO, TO A JUDGE AND TO A PROBATE COURT ON, UH, ESTABLISHING GUARDIANSHIP.
FOR EXAMPLE, A PSYCHIATRIST WOULD BE, PERHAPS AN APPROPRIATE INDIVIDUAL TO, UH, PROVIDE MEDICAL E EVIDENCE ABOUT GUARDIANSHIP.
BUT WOULD YOU WANT YOUR PODIATRIST, YOUR FOOT DOCTOR TO DO THAT? NOT NECESSARILY.
UH, SO THIS IS MAKING SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHO CAN PROVIDE THAT TYPE OF EVIDENCE.
AND THIS IS A BILL RELATING TO ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM WAGE, UH, FOR, UH, CERTAIN PERSONAL ATTENDANCE.
AND THIS IS, I DON'T WANNA SAY THIS IS DUPLICATIVE OF WHAT, UM, HOUSE BILL ONE, THE APPROPRIATION APPROPRIATIONS ACT IS DOING, BUT IT DOES ALSO ESTABLISH SOME SPECIFIC STANDARDS FOR HOW IN THE FUTURE WE WILL SUPPORT, UH, ESTABLISHING A, A LIVING WAGE FOR PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANCE, INCLUDING ESTABLISHING, UH, THAT PAY RATE IN RULE AT THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, RATHER THAN,
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UH, JUST HAVING IT OCCUR, UM, ONCE EVERY DECADE THROUGH AN APPROPRIATIONS ACT FROM THE LEGISLATURE.UH, THE LAST TIME THE LEGISLATURE RAISED THE PAY, I, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS 14 CENTS OR 40 CENTS, BUT THAT WAS, UH, SEVERAL SESSIONS AGO.
SO, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, UH, ONLY RAISING, UH, THE WAGE, UH, COUPLE OF DIMES EVERY, UH, FOUR OR EIGHT YEARS IS NOT GOING TO KEEP PACE WITH, UH, PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO HIRE, UH, PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANTS.
AND THIS IS A BILL THAT, UH, ALIGNS WITH THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE'S POLICY RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'VE CARRIED FOR THE LAST THREE SESSIONS ON ESTABLISHING A DEAFBLIND COOR PROGRAM.
SO HERE IN TEXAS, IF YOU ARE DEAF AND YOU'RE BLIND, YOU MUST HAVE A THIRD DISABILITY IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE DEAFBLIND MEDICAID WAIVER PROGRAM AT H H S C.
UH, WANNA REPEAT THAT? YOU MUST HAVE THREE DISABILITIES IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR, UH, THAT PROGRAM TO RECEIVE, UH, UH, SERVICES.
SO THIS IS A BILL THAT WOULD ESTABLISH A PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE JUST DEAFBLIND AND PROVIDE THEM WITH A MINIMUM SERVICE LEVEL OF 20 HOURS PER WEEK, UH, OF A COOR.
AND A COOR IS AN INDIVIDUAL THAT CAN PROVIDE CITED GUIDE TO SOMEBODY WHO'S BLIND AND PROTAL COMMUNICATION, OR AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE TO THAT PERSON WHO'S BLIND AND DEAF-BLIND.
AND THIS HELPS THEM, FOR EXAMPLE, GO GROCERY SHOPPING OR READ THEIR MAIL OR ATTEND A PUBLIC, UH, MEETING LIKE THE DALLAS COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES, OR ATTEND A FAMILY FUNERAL.
UH, SO, UM, THIS BILL HAS RECEIVED A HEARING.
IT'S PROGRESSING QUITE WELL THROUGH THE SESSION, BUT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE NEVER DONE TILL WE'RE DONE, UH, LAST TIME WE GOT, UH, NEARLY THIS FAR AND RAN OUT OF TIME ON THE CALENDAR.
AND THEN FINALLY, SENATE BILL 2223.
THIS IS RELATING TO ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM, UH, TO OFFER ASSISTANCE FOR OLDER ADULTS, UH, DIAGNOSED WITH SEVERE VISION LOSS.
UH, WE HAVE AN AGING TSUNAMI IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE OLDER BLIND TEXANS, UH, WHO ARE RECEIVING SERVICES THROUGH THE O I B PROGRAM AT THE TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION, UH, ARE HAVING A LONG PERIOD TO WAIT FOR GETTING SUBSTANTIAL SERVICES, UH, JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CASE WORKERS TO GO AROUND FOR SERVING THE VERY LARGE, UH, POPULATION OF, UH, OLDER BLIND TEXANS.
AND, UH, THIS BILL PROPOSES TO FUND, UH, A PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE GROUP SERVICES IN A REHABILITATION SETTING.
AND, AND I BELIEVE ONE OF THE PILOT PROGRAMS IS GONNA BE UP IN THE DALLAS AREA, UM, AS, UH, YOU CAN IMAGINE THERE'S OVER 700,000, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE LEGALLY BLIND OR HAVE SUBSTANTIAL VISION LOSS HERE IN TEXAS ALONE.
AND, UH, IF YOU ONLY HAVE 14 CASE WORKERS, YOU'RE ONLY ABLE TO SPREAD THOSE SERVICES SO FAR.
SO THIS, UH, TAKES A REALLY GOOD STEP TOWARDS ADDRESSING THAT.
FINALLY, UH, ACCESSIBLE VOTING.
I INCLUDED THIS IN HERE BECAUSE ALL CITIES AND COUNTIES, UH, RUN THEIR OWN ELECTIONS.
AND THIS IS SENATE BILL 40 77 BY ZINI IN HOUSE BILL 2379 BY MESA.
THEIR FIRST, UH, BILL, UH, PRIORITIZES VOTING FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE A MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT THAT MAY BE STANDING IN A VERY LONG LINE, UH, AND, UH, NEED PRIORITY TO BE ABLE TO, UH, VOTE FOR US.
AND, UH, MANY OF US HAVE GONE TO BOTH EARLY VOTING AND VOTING ON ELECTION DAY, WHERE THE LINE IS WRAPPING AROUND THE PRECINCT, UH, WHETHER IT'S AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR A RECREATION CENTER, AND ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S, UH, PARKING, UH, BEYOND JUST THE DESIGNATED ACCESSIBLE PARKING AT THAT FACILITY.
AND THEN HOUSE BILL, UH, 2379, UH, RELATES TO THE ABILITY OF, UH, VOTERS, UH, WITH CERTAIN, UH, DISABILITIES TO, UH, CAST A SECRET BALLOT.
AND, FOR EXAMPLE, VOTERS WHO ARE BLIND WHEN THEY WANNA CAST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT, UH, THEY'RE MAILED A BALLOT IN PRINT, AND THEN THEY MAY HAVE TO, IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY, HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE READ THAT BALLOT TO THEM AND MARKET FOR THEM, AND THEN HAVE IT MAILED BACK TO THE COUNTY.
THIS WOULD CREATE A ACCESSIBLE BALLOT MARKING SYSTEM.
UH, SO ONCE AGAIN, NOBODY WOULD BE VOTING, UH, DIGITALLY.
UH, BUT INSTEAD, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO MARK THEIR BALLOT USING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY AND A, A PORTAL WHERE THEY WOULD ACCESS THEIR BALLOT THROUGH TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION.
AND OF COURSE, THE SECRETARY OF STATE WOULD'VE TO DEVELOP THE, THE RULES AROUND THIS, BUT THEN THEY WOULD PRINT OUT THEIR BALLOT AND RETURN IT A AFTER SIGNING IT LIKE ANYBODY ELSE.
SO THIS JUST GIVES, UH, VOTERS, WHETHER IT BE A VOTER WITH CEREBRAL PALSY THAT CAN'T MARK THEIR BALLOT USING A PEN OR A PENCIL, OR, UH, A A VOTER WHO'S BLIND, WHO CAN'T MARK THEIR BALLOT.
THIS GIVES THEM AN ACCESSIBLE ALTERNATIVE.
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THE LEAD ON TRANSIT.I MENTIONED, UH, THAT THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE FUNDED THE, UH, BUILDING OF A ACCESSIBLE PICKUP AND DROP-OFF STATION AT THE CAPITOL.
AND THIS IS LITERALLY THE CLOSEST YOU CAN GET TO THE CAPITOL IF YOU USE A WHEELCHAIR, UH, TO ANY PLACE IN THE CAPITOL COMPLEX.
IT, UH, HAS THE ABILITY FOR PEOPLE, UH, TO SIMULTANEOUSLY PICK UP AND DROP OFF USING TWO DIFFERENT WHEELCHAIR VANS.
AND IT HAS AN ACCESSIBLE PATH OF TRAVEL TO THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CAPITOL.
WE RAN OUTTA MONEY TO PUT A WATER FOUNTAIN FOR BOTH HUMANS AND SERVICE ANIMALS.
THAT WAS GONNA BE JUST TO THE LEFT OF THAT PICTURE OF THE TRANSIT AMENITY.
BUT, UM, AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, OUR FIRST CHAIR AND THE FATHER OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT IS JUSTIN DART.
AND JUSTIN DART, UH, WHO PASSED SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
UH, HE WENT, UH, WHEN HE WAS CLOSEST PASSING, HE TOLD HIS FAMILY HE DIDN'T WANNA HAVE ANYTHING NAMED AFTER HIM.
HE DIDN'T WANNA HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, A JUSTIN DART TRANSIT AMENITY.
BUT, UH, HIS FAMILY IS SUPPORTIVE OF HAVING THIS NAMED THE LEAD ON TRANSIT STATION AT THE CAPITOL LEAD ON WAS A, A CALL THAT JUSTIN DART PUT AT THE END OF ALL OF HIS WRITINGS, UH, UH, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO LEAD ON.
AND OF COURSE, ONE OF HIS OTHER COMMON SAYINGS WAS, GET INVOLVED IN POLITICS AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT, BECAUSE IT DOES.
AND SO, UH, WE'RE HOPING THAT THERE WILL BE A SENATE RESOLUTION THAT WILL OFFICIALLY NAME ANYTIME YOU NAME A STATE BUILDING OR A STATE ANYTHING, IT HAS TO GO THROUGH THE TEXAS FACILITIES COMMISSION, AND IT HAS TO BE NAMED BY, UH, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
UH, AND OF COURSE, ANY ONE OF YOU CAN CONTACT YOUR SENATOR IF YOU WANT THEM TO SPONSOR THAT RESOLUTION.
ALL RIGHT, WRAPPING UP, OUR NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING IS GOING TO BE IN TYLER, TEXAS ON JUNE 6TH AND SEVENTH.
UH, AND THE GOOD NEWS IS, IF YOU CAN'T DRIVE TO TYLER, BUT YOU WANNA ATTEND OUR MEETING, ALL OF OUR MEETINGS ARE ACCESSIBLE THROUGH ZOOM.
SO YOU CAN WATCH US JUST AS IF, UH, I WERE PARTICIPATING IN THIS MEETING WITH YOU RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, WE ALSO WELCOME PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR MEETINGS IN THE SAME WAY THAT YOU DO.
AND SO YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT IN WRITING OR CONNECT VIA ZOOM AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR MEETING TO GIVE COMMENT.
UM, THIS LAST SLIDE IS ONCE AGAIN MY CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE AND MY TALENTED STAFF.
AND WITH THAT, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE DELL'S COMMISSION ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
I JUST WANNA ADD, UH, WE SENT YOU A LITTLE PRESENT, UH, IN HONOR OF THE INAUGURATION OF YOUR COMMITTEE.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF LATOYA HAS IT THERE, UH, TO HOLD UP TO THE CAMERA.
UH, LATOYA, DO YOU HAVE THAT AVAILABLE? UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT IN OUR OFFICE YET.
IT HAS NOT ARRIVED, SO I'LL ALLOW YOU TO TELL THEM OKAY.
SO, UM, WE RECENTLY HAD A FLAG FLOWN OVER THE STATE CAPITOL IN HONOR OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE DALLAS COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES, AND, UH, HAD THAT PUT IN A VERY NICE BOX WITH A VERY NICE LETTER ADDRESSED TO YOUR CHAIR.
AND, UH, WE'RE HOPING IF FEDEX DIDN'T LOSE IT, THAT IT WILL ARRIVE SOON AND, UH, PERHAPS IT CAN BE PULLED OUT AT YOUR NEXT MEETING AND, UH, FLOWN, UH, ON A PARTICULAR DAY IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR, UH, COMMISSION TO RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS.
UH, SO IF, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU WANNA FLY THAT OVER CITY HALL ON JULY 26TH, THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ADA.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I'LL, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS, BUT, UH, WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE.
SO, MR. UM, LUCY, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THANK YOU FOR THE TIME THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES HERE IN DALLAS, TEXAS.
I DO AS CHAIR, HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
WE ALWAYS HAVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
AND THEN, UM, WHATEVER, UM, YOU MAY HAVE THE INFORMATION TO ANSWER FOR ME.
UM, AND THEN AFTER, UH, THOSE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS, I'M GOING TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR OUR COMMISSIONERS TO, IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
MY FIRST QUESTION WOULD BE FOR PAGE EIGHT, WHICH ALSO IS TITLED, UH, KEY SERVICES.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU MAY HAVE THIS INFORMATION, BUT THE FOURTH CHECK MARK INDICATES, RECOGNIZES EMPLOYERS FOR HIRING AND RETAINING EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES.
WOULD YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY EMPLOYERS FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS THAT, UM, RETAINS AND HIRES INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES? WE SHOULD, WE, UH, HONOR THOSE EMPLOYERS AND WE KEEP THE, THE PAST EMPLOYMENT AWARD WINNERS UP ON OUR, OUR GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE WEBSITE.
SO I'M GONNA ASK NORMAN, KIKI TO TAKE A NOTE TO GO THROUGH OUR LIST OF PAST WINNERS, AND WE CAN EMAIL THOSE TO YOU.
UM, OF COURSE, WHEN THAT COMPANY IS RECOGNIZED, PERHAPS
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AS THE LARGE EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR OR THE MEDIUM EMPLOYER, IT'S FOR THE EXEMPLARY WORK THAT THEY DID THAT SPECIFIC YEAR.UH, AND WE ALWAYS HOPE THAT AS ROLE MODELS, THEY WILL CONTINUE THAT WORK, BUT THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT, UH, THAT WORK DID CONTINUE.
WE'LL, WE'LL BE GLAD TO SEND YOU WHAT WE HAVE.
MY NEXT QUESTION IS ON PAGE NINE, ALSO IN REFERENCE TO THE CITY OF DALLAS.
UM, PAGE NINE IS TITLED AWARDS AND N D E M POSTER.
UH, AND, UM, THE LAST TIME THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HELD THE LEED AND EMPLOYMENT AWARDS, I ACTUALLY WENT TO THAT, UH, BECAUSE, UH, I WAS THE CHAIR OF THE AUSTIN MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND WE WERE RECEIVING A MARTHA ARBUCKLE AWARD.
AND I WANNA SAY IT WAS AROUND IN, I MAY HAVE NOT BEEN CHAIR, BUT I, I WAS A MEMBER.
SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT'S BEEN TOO LONG.
AND, UH, WE'RE GLAD TO RECTIFY THAT.
UH, WE ALL TOOK ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF OR TWO YEARS OFF FROM PUBLIC MEETINGS DUE TO COVID, AND SO IT'S KEPT US AWAY FROM GOING TO MORE TEXAS CITIES, UH, THAN WE WOULD'VE PREFERRED.
BUT, UH, IT WOULD BE AN HONOR FOR US TO, UH, TRAVEL UP TO DALLAS TO HOLD A MEETING UP THERE AT SOME POINT.
BECAUSE PER OUR MAYOR, ERIC JOHNSON, WE HAVE BIG DALLAS ENERGY.
SO THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE CAN COLLABORATE ON THAT.
UM, PAGE 12, GCPD CAN DOT, DOT, DOT.
UM, IT, IT WAS MENTIONED ABOUT, AGAIN, THE, THE COMMITTEES ON DISABILITIES, HOUSTON AND, AND, AND OTHER CITIES.
UM, HOUSTON HAS HAD THEIR COMMITTEE SINCE 1993.
SO TO YOUR POINT, UH, LEARNING AND, UM, BEING AWARE OF THE INFORMATION THAT THOSE OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS HAVE IMPLEMENTED SO THAT WE CAN ALSO CONTINUE TO GROW AND BUILD OUR COMMISSIONER DISABILITIES WOULD BE, UH, UH, GREAT AS WELL TO IDENTIFY WHAT THOSE NEEDS, I'M SORRY, TO, TO IDENTIFY WHAT THOSE NEEDS AND RESOURCES WERE TO ALSO ADD TO OURS.
I WILL COMMIT THIS YEAR, HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE NEXT, UH, THREE MONTHS TO HOLDING, UH, A, OUR FIRST QUARTERLY MEETING OF MANY WHERE WE INVITE THE CHAIR, VICE-CHAIR, OR MEMBERS OF ALL OF THE LOCAL COMMITTEES TO COME TOGETHER IN AN ORGANIZED FASHION TO HAVE AN, AN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS.
I, I THINK IT'S PAST DUE TIME.
I EVEN LIKE TO SEE A LITTLE BIT OF HEALTHY COMPETITION BETWEEN THE LOCAL COMMITTEES, UH, SOME BRAGGING AND STEALING.
UH, AND SO, UH, I I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, TEXAS IS A HOME RULE STATE AND, UH, THE, UH, CAPITAL HAS, UH, THE PROBLEMS, BUT I THINK THE COMMUNITIES HAVE THE SOLUTIONS AND, UH, UM, AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T VIOLATE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW, THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT SOLUTIONS OUT THERE.
I REMEMBER, UH, AUSTIN, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, NORMAN AND I WERE BOTH ON THE AUSTIN MAYORS COMMITTEE.
WE PASSED A VISITABILITY ORDINANCE TO, UH, REQUIRE THAT ALL NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND DUPLEXES BE BUILT TO A VISITABILITY STANDARD, WHICH DOESN'T MAKE THE HOME FULLY ACCESSIBLE, BUT IT, IT DOES MAKE IT SO THAT A PERSON WITH A MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT CAN VISIT IT.
AND ALTHOUGH THAT SOLUTION MAY NOT BE RIGHT FOR ALL OF THE COMMUNITIES OF TEXAS, IT WAS RIGHT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, WE DON'T THINK THAT THAT LAW WOULD BE A LAW THAT WOULD PASS THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, BUT IT COULD BE AN ORDINANCE THAT WOULD BE RIGHT FOR A PARTICULAR CITY.
SO, UH, THOSE ARE CHOICES THAT LOCAL CITY COUNCILS AND LOCAL MAYORS MAKE WITH THE ADVICE OF GROUPS LIKE YOURS.
THE, UM, NEXT, UH, MENTION IN OUR COMMENT ON SENATE BILL SB 2326, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE I PRONOUNCE THIS CORRECTLY, IS THAT FARINI YOU MENTIONED IN REFERENCE TO GUARDIANSHIP, THAT A PSYCHIATRIST WOULD BE, UH, NOTED AS THE INDIVIDUAL TO GIVE THAT INFORMATION.
I ALSO WANTED TO ADD TO THAT, SOMETIMES INDIVIDUALS, IF NOT MOST TIMES, THEY DON'T NECESSARILY SEE JUST A PSYCHIATRIST.
IT COULD BE A PSYCHOLOGIST AND OR A NEUROLOGIST, UM, IN REFERENCE TO THAT GUARDIANSHIP PROCESS.
AND THAT GUARDIANSHIP PROCESS COULD BE, UH, TEMPORARILY BEING A, A GUARDIAN AND OR A PERMANENT GUARDIANSHIP.
SO THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT, UH, VARIATIONS, BUT IT DOES HAVE TO BE A SPECIALTY DOCTOR.
SO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LISTENING, UM, PARENTS, GUARDIANS AND CAREGIVERS, UM, WHO HAVE CHILDREN
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AND ARE YOUNG ADULTS, OR EVEN THEIR PARENTS WHO HAVE DISABILITIES, THAT I DON'T WANT THEM TO PRESUME THAT IT ONLY HAS TO BE A PSYCHIATRIST.THAT WAS, THAT WAS INTENDED AS AN EXAMPLE, BUT NOT AN EXCLUSIVE EXAMPLE.
OUR WORK GROUP WAS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF ALTERNATIVES TO GUARDIANSHIP, INCLUDING SUPPORTED DECISION MAKING.
IT'S A BIG STEP WHEN SOMEBODY, UH, BECOMES AWARD AND IS APPOINTED A GUARDIAN BECAUSE THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY LOSING ALL OF THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS, THEIR ABILITY TO OWN PROPERTY, SIGN CONTRACTS, GET MARRIED, VOTE.
AND SO TAKING AWAY SOMEBODY'S RIGHTS THROUGH GUARDIANSHIP, UH, SHOULD NOT BE THE FIRST THING THAT PEOPLE LOOK AT.
IT SHOULD BE THE LAST THING THEY LOOK AT.
ON, UM, HOUSE BILL ONE 40, I HAVE A GRAVE CONCERN, AS I'M SURE MOST INDIVIDUALS DO, WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT THESE LONG CHECKLIST OF WHY WE HAVE TO BE, UM, ONLY HAVING CERTAIN DISABILITIES BECAUSE WHEN SOMEONE IS, UH, VISUALLY AND HEARING IMPAIRED TO TELL 'EM THAT THEY NEED A THIRD DISABILITY TO QUALIFY FOR SERVICES.
CAN YOU KIND OF GIVE ME JUST A SMALL, REALLY QUICK SYNOPSIS? UM, I DO HAVE TWO MORE QUESTIONS, AND THEN I WANT TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR MY VICE-CHAIR AND ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
WHY HAS THAT, OR IS IT AN ISSUE? BECAUSE THEN IT GOES INTO ANOTHER CONVERSATION OF MEDICAID, MEDICARE, AND EVEN SSI AND S S A.
SO THE VARIOUS MEDICAID WAIVER PROGRAMS WHEN, WHEN THE, UH, C M S, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND, AND AS YOU KNOW, MEDICAID IS JOINTLY ADMINISTERED BY THE STATES AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WHEN THEY GIVE STATES, UH, THE FLEXIBILITY TO DEVELOP MEDICAID WAIVER PROGRAMS, THESE WAIVERS ARE INTENDED TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF INSTITUTIONS LIKE NURSING HOMES AND PROVIDES SERVICES FOR THEM TO LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND A LOT OF THESE WAIVER PROGRAMS, THEY HAVE, UH, THEY CALL THEM INTEREST LISTS, BUT LET'S JUST CALL THEM WHAT THEY ARE.
AND THEY WERE ENACTED BY DIFFERENT LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS GOING BACK, YOU KNOW, TO THE 72ND LEGISLATURE OR THE 79TH.
AND, AND, UH, EACH LEGISLATURE VIEWS THE PROBLEMS OF THAT SESSION THROUGH THEIR OWN UNIQUE LENS.
AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE THREE DISABILITIES TO QUALIFY FOR ANY OF THESE WAIVERS, BUT FOR THE D B M D OR DEAF BLIND MULTIPLE DISABILITY WAIVER, YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY AS WELL AS BE DEAF AND BLIND.
AND THAT'S THE WAIVER THAT WAS CARVED OUT SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT POPULATION.
AND IN THAT POPULATION, UM, THE NUMBER OF NEW WAIVER SLOTS THAT ARE ADDED BY THE LEGISLATURE HAS BARELY KEPT PACE WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GRADUATING FROM PUBLIC SCHOOL, AGING OUT AT AGE 22, AND NEED THOSE SERVICES TO CONTINUE TO SUCCEED IN THE COMMUNITY WITH THEIR FAMILY.
UH, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAFBLIND BUT DON'T HAVE AN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY, THEY NEED HELP TOO.
BUT IT'S A, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT'S A TR TREMENDOUSLY CHALLENGING DISABILITY TO HAVE DUAL SENSORY, UH, LOSS OF VISION LOSS AND HEARING LOSS, AND, UH, JUST PROVIDING THAT LITTLE EXTRA BIT OF HELP.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE WERE MADE AWARE OF THIS WHEN GOVERNOR ABBOTT ASKED US TO MEET WITH THE DEAF GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT BACK IN 2016.
AND THAT DAY, UM, MY STAFF AND I, WE MET WITH OVER 200 DEAF TEXANS OUT ON THE SOUTH LAWN OF THE CAPITOL, AND MANY OF THEM WERE DEAF-BLIND TEXANS.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY OPENED OUR, OUR HEAD AND OUR HEART TO, UH, THEIR PLIGHT.
AND ALTHOUGH IT HAS TAKEN SEVERAL SESSIONS TO GET AS FAR AS WE HAVE, I REMAIN HOPEFUL AND OPTIMISTIC THAT THIS SESSION, THAT PROGRAM WILL FINALLY BE ENACTED.
I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION, AND THEN I'M GONNA TURN OVER THE QUESTION TO MY VICE CHAIR.
AND I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A CONVERSATION ONGOING, AND NOT JUST, UM, IN OUR CITY OF DALLAS, BUT ALSO ON SURROUNDING CITIES.
YOU MENTIONED IN VOTING, SO ON ACCESSIBLE VOTING, THE PAGE TITLED ACCESSIBLE VOTING, I KNOW THAT CITY BUILDINGS AND COUNTY BUILDINGS HAVE THEIR DIFFERENT RULES AND REGULATIONS AND PROPOSITIONS AND SUCH FORTH MM-HMM.
MOST OF THE CHURCHES, UNFORTUNATELY, DON'T HAVE ACCESSIBILITY IN ACCOMMODATIONS.
HOW WOULD WE HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE IF YOU HA, MAY HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT? UM, AND WHAT ARE THOSE REQUIREMENTS AND WHO DO WE SPEAK TO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CHURCHES ARE ALSO BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE ACCOMMODATION FOR OUR VOTERS? SURE.
WELL, INTERESTINGLY, HERE IN TEXAS, WE ACTUALLY GO BEYOND THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE ADA,
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UH, THE TEXAS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS, WHICH IS THE BUILDING CODE STANDARD, UH, OR ACCESSIBILITY STANDARD THAT'S, UH, REGULATED BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF EN LICENSING AND REGULATION, OR T D L R, UH, THAT HAD TO BE CERTIFIED BY THE US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AS EQUIVALENT TO THE, UH, A D A GUIDELINES.AND THE TEXAS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS GO BEYOND THE A D A AND THAT THEY ALSO APPLY TO CHURCHES, UH, WITH ONE MINOR EXCEPTION, THAT, UH, SPECIFIC AREAS OF RELIGIOUS RITUAL MAY BE EXEMPT, UH, BY CHURCHES FOR THOSE ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.
THAT MEANS FOR MOST AREAS OF PUBLIC USE AT A CHURCH LIKE PARKING LOTS, UH, RESTROOMS, AND, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSROOMS AND PLACES LIKE THAT, THEY'RE GOING TO BE ACCESSIBLE AND THEY'RE GONNA BE ACCESSIBLE TO THE SAME STANDARDS AS ANY OTHER PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION LIKE A LIBRARY.
NOW, THE PLACE OF RELIGIOUS RITUAL MAY REFER TO THE, UH, AREA WHERE THERE'S THE BAPTISMAL, UH, AREA.
IF YOU'RE BAPTIST, THEY DO THE DUNKING.
THEY WOULDN'T REQUIRE THAT THEY PUT A WHEELCHAIR LIFT FOR THAT, THAT DUNKING AREA FOR THE BAPTISM OR PLACES LIKE THAT.
BUT, UH, ULTIMATELY WHERE, UH, VOTING OCCURS IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUR COUNTY CLERK AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUR CITY CLERK, IF IT'S JUST THE CITY ELECTION.
AND THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT ONLY PICKING A VOTING SITE THAT WORKS FOR THAT, THAT, UH, VOTING DISTRICT, OR, I'M SORRY, THAT PRECINCT OR, OR THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
BUT THEY'RE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR PICKING A LOCATION THAT'S ACCESSIBLE AND, UH, THAT USUALLY WORKS PRETTY WELL IN MOST COMMUNITIES.
UH, AND WE KNOW THAT MOST, UH, ISSUES LIKE THIS ARE COMPLAINT DRIVEN, UH, BUT THEY SHOULDN'T BE.
THERE SHOULD ALSO, THEY SHOULD ALSO BE PROACTIVE IN REVIEWING THEIR LIST OF, UH, PRECINCT VOTING LOCATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GOING IN THERE WITH A CHECKLIST.
UH, AND, UH, NORMAN KIKI, WHO WORKS ON OUR STAFF, WHO'S ALSO YOUR LIAISON FOR THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE WITH LOCAL COMMITTEES, HE HAS TRAINED A NETWORK OF TEXAS, UH, REGISTERED ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALIST OR RAS.
AND THESE ARE EXPERTS THAT, UH, CAN HELP DO AN INSPECTION TO FIND OUT IF, UH, A SITE IS ACCESSIBLE.
I KNOW KRISTY AVELOS WITH ACCESS IS WORKING WITH YOUR COMMISSION UP THERE IN DALLAS, AND SHE CAN ALSO SPEAK TO HOW THOSE STANDARDS CAN BE EVALUATED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS.
I'M GONNA TURN OVER ANY QUESTIONS THAT MY VICE CHAIR PAUL CONNIE MAY HAVE.
UM, MR. LUCY, I WISH TO SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOUR INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION.
UH, IT IS VERY NICE SPEAKING WITH YOU REMOTELY.
AS I HAVE BEEN, UH, A PUBLIC COMMENTATOR IN PAST GCP D MEETINGS.
MY QUESTION SPECIFICALLY IS REGARDING CHILDREN WHO ARE RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
UM, THIS IS AN ONGOING CONVERSATION, NOT ONLY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, BUT ALSO THROUGHOUT THE STATES.
AND AS I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT CHILDREN WITH ALL KINDS OF DISABILITIES ARE GETTING THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT I AM REALLY CONCERNED, HOWEVER, IS WHEN IT COMES TO ADDRESSING BEHAVIOR ISSUES, UM, I HAVE READ IN, IN INCIDENTS WHERE, UM, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ARE GOING OVERBOARD WHEN THEY ADDRESS BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, SUCH AS WITH STRANGLING KIDS.
AND I'M AFRAID THAT'S GOING TO CAUSE A SAFETY HAZARD, UH, AND THAT CHILDREN MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BREATHE.
AND I'M ALSO A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR MAKING SURE THAT CAMERAS ARE PLACED IN CLASSROOMS TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE INCIDENTS CAN BE AVOIDED, AND SO THAT THE PARENTS CAN MAKE SURE THAT THEIR CHILDREN ARE BEING SAFE IN THE CLASSROOM AND THAT THEY ARE BEING TREATED PROPERLY.
SO MY QUESTION REGARDING THIS ISSUE IS, WHAT IS THE, THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DOING TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE? AND HAVE THERE BEEN ANY EFFORTS IN, UH, THAT YOU ALL ENGAGED IN, IN THE PAST TO ADDRESS THIS? THANK YOU.
I, I HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS FOR YOU.
UH, PROBABLY THE, THE STRONGEST SECTION OF IBAN I REPORT IS OUR EDUCATION SECTION.
AND, UH, WE SHARE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, SCHOOL SAFETY FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
AND SO YOU'LL FIND IN OUR BILINGUAL REPORT SEVERAL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UH, STRENGTHEN CAMERAS IN CLASSROOMS, UH, ALSO INCLUDING ACCESS TO, UH, THAT VIDEO FOOTAGE FOR PARENTS, UH, THAT, UH, STRENGTHEN STANDARDS FOR WHEN RESTRAINT CAN BE USED AND BY WHOM, UH, PLACING, UH, HUGE LIMITS ON WHEN RESTRAINTS, UH, ARE USED IN SCHOOLS.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, OUR POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, PROHIBIT RESTRAINTS, UH, FOR, UH, STUDENTS, UH, TO PROTECT THEM FROM DAMAGING PROPERTY.
YOU, YOU DON'T DOG PILE A STUDENT FOR TRYING TO, UH,
[01:20:01]
BREAK A, A, UH, A FIGURINE ON A TEACHER'S DESK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.UH, WE ALSO INCLUDE IN A BON EAGLE REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS ON STRENGTHENING THE DO NOT HIRE LIST FOR, UH, UH, FACULTY, STAFF OR CLASSIFIED, UH, STAFF THAT, UH, UH, MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN, UH, SOME TYPE OF ABUSE, UH, AT ANOTHER SCHOOL.
WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT SOMEBODY LEAVES, UH, ONE SCHOOL ONLY TO GET HIRED BY ANOTHER SCHOOL IF THEY'VE, UH, ABUSED A, A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.
SO, UH, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK THROUGH OUR BINDAL REPORT.
THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN SEVERAL BILLS FILED TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
OUR PARTNERS AT DISABILITY RIGHTS, TEXAS AND THE COALITION OF TEXAN WITH DISABILITIES HAVE BEEN UPFRONT ABOUT THESE ISSUES.
AND, UH, THE ISSUES HAVE RECEIVED THE UNANIMOUS SUPPORT OF THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
AND ALSO, UH, MADE IT THROUGH THE, THE GAUNTLET OF, UH, UH, APPROVAL WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR THROUGH OUR BUDGET AND POLICY TEAM AND, AND THOSE ADVISORS AND, UH, GOVERNOR ABBOT'S SENIOR STAFF.
SO, UH, I'M OPTIMISTIC THAT MANY OF THESE BILLS, AND NOT EVERY BILL MAKES IT TO THE FINISH LINE, BUT I'M OPTIMISTIC THAT SEVERAL OF THESE BILLS THAT LINE UP WITH THESE POLICIES WILL MAKE IT TO THE FINISH LINE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ADDRESSING THIS, MR. LUCY.
IF, ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONS WHO MAY HAVE A QUICK QUESTION AND OR A COMMENT? YES, MA'AM.
UM, I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM YOU.
ON THE WEBSITE, THE LIST OF LOCAL DISABILITY COMMITTEES, IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A LINK TO DALLAS.
AND ONE OTHER COMMENT ON, UM, THIS IS HOUSE BILL 5 2 0 6, RELATING TO PEOPLE FALSELY REPRESENTING THAT AN ANIMAL IS A SERVICE ANIMAL.
I HAVE LIVED IN APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND SEE THIS ABUSE, I'M SO GLAD IT'S BEING ADDRESSED.
BUT THE E S A IS DEFINED AS A CANINE IN THE PILL.
I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE BRING IN AND WANT TO HAVE ADMITTED AS A SERVICE ANIMAL SUPPORT ANIMAL DOGS, CATS, AND IN ONE CASE, A VERY LARGE PARROT.
YOU ARE CORRECT IN THAT UNDER THE FAIR HOUSING ACT, AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A CANINE.
AND, UH, HAVING CONSISTENT, UH, LEGAL LANGUAGE RELATED TO ASSISTANCE ANIMALS, SERVICE ANIMALS, AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS HAS BEEN CHALLENGING BECAUSE WE HAVE, UH, THE FEDERAL FAIR HOUSING ACT, THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, RIGHT.
TEXAS HUMAN RESOURCES CODE CHAPTER 1 21, WHICH KIND OF MADE A MESS OF ALL OF IT, UH, BY USING THE TERM ASSISTANCE ANIMAL.
AND IT NOT BEING CLEAR, WHETHER IT'S, IT APPLIES TO A SERVICE ANIMAL OR AN ESA.
AND I, I, I GUESS WHAT I CAN SAY IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS DULY NOTED AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE EXPERTS THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A COMPREHENSIVE CLEANUP OF HUMAN RESOURCES CODE CHAPTER 1 21.
THAT BEING SAID, I DON'T THINK THE FRAUD IS RELATED TO YOUR AVERAGE CITIZEN READING TEXAS HUMAN RESOURCES CODE AND THEN SAYING, AHA, I'M NOT GONNA TAKE MY SCENE ICAT TO THE GROCERY STORE, OR I'M GONNA, YOU KNOW, TAKE MY PET AND GO TO KROGER AND CALL IT A SERVICE ANIMAL.
I THINK THE PROLIFERATION OF FRAUD IS DUE TO A LOT OF FACTORS, INCLUDING LACK OF ENFORCEMENT, UH, AND CERTAINLY A AFTER THE SESSION, THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO DO MORE WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, PUBLIC AWARENESS AND, UH, CERTAINLY LIKE TO WORK WITH THE LOCAL COMMITTEES ON THAT AS WELL.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WHO MAY HAVE A QUESTION AND OR A COMMENT FOR MR. LUCY? ANYONE? I DO THANK YOU AGAIN.
COULD YOU PLEASE, UH, LET US KNOW WHO WE'RE SPEAKING WITH? YES.
THIS IS MY FIRST MEETING AS A COMMISSIONER.
UM, SO THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT PRESENTATION.
ONE, IS THERE A, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER FROM WHEN I USED TO WORK AT THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, IS THERE A, A LOBBY DAY THAT YOU ALL ARE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO CALL AND EXPRESS SUPPORT ON THESE BILLS? OR IS IT REALLY ANY DAY IN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION? REALLY ANY DAY, AND, AND I HAVE TO SAY, BECAUSE I'M A STATE EMPLOYEE, I CANNOT LOBBY IN FAVOR OR AGAINST ANY LEGISLATION.
I CAN ONLY PROVIDE RESOURCE INFORMATION.
BUT DIFFERENT ADVOCACY GROUPS HAVE THEIR DIFFERENT, UH, CAPITAL DAYS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE ARC OF, UH, TEXAS RECENTLY HAD THEIR CAPITAL DAY A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AND THEY WERE OFFERING COLD BREW COFFEE TO STAFF MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE TO COME BY AND LEARN ABOUT
[01:25:01]
THE, THE BILLS THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO THE ARC OF TEXAS.UH, AND I THINK A LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY DAY IS A GREAT WAY TO RAISE AWARENESS ON, UH, DISABILITY POLICY ISSUES.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING SPECIFICALLY THAT WE DO, BUT, UH, WE ALWAYS, UH, LIKE TO SUPPORT, UH, THOSE DISABILITY ADVOCATES BY PROVIDING OUR POLICY INFORMATION AND SUPPORT AND RESOURCE TESTIMONY WHEN APPROPRIATE.
AND I SHOULD HAVE USED LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY.
I KNOW THE LORD LOBBY IS A, IS A LAWYER.
THERE ARE SOME LOBBYISTS OUT THERE TOO, AND THEY DO IMPORTANT WORK.
UM, SO, UH, MY SECOND QUESTION IS, AND I, I DON'T WANT THIS, THIS COULD PROBABLY CAUSE A SEVERAL HOUR DEBATE AND I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY, UM, EFFORTS TO EXPAND FUNDING FOR MEDICAID? I JUST, BECAUSE AS A FIRST TIME PARENT WHO JUST GOT ON THE MEDICAID WAIVER LIST, I JUST FOUND OUT MY DAUGHTER WHO'S DEAF-BLIND WITH MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY, WE'RE LOOKING AT A FIVE TO 15 YEAR WAIT LIST.
AND SO WHEN I ASKED WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS, THEY SAID, OH, GO CALL YOUR TEXAS LEGISLATOR.
UM, SO IS THERE ANY EFFORT ON, ON EXPANSION? THE ANSWER IS YES.
UH, THE, THE CURRENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL WILL ADD FUNDING TO MEDICAID.
AND, UH, WHAT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A, A LOT OF THE FUNDING IS GOING TO INCREASE REIMBURSEMENT RATES.
UH, YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH 10% INFLATION, UH, THAT, UM, WHAT YOU COULD PER WHAT HEALTHCARE SERVICES YOU COULD PURCHASE IN THE LAST BIUM, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PURCHASE IN THE NEXT BIUM.
THE NUMBER OF PROVIDERS THAT ARE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT RATES IS SHRINKING AS THOSE RATES REMAIN FLAT.
UH, SO, UH, THAT THAT'S ONE ISSUE.
UM, THE, THE EXPANSION OF, UH, THE WAIVER SLOTS, THAT'S NOT HAPPENING THE WAY ADVOCATES WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT HAPPEN.
UH, SO, UH, YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT IN EDUCATING YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT THAT.
AND, UH, UH, SO, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT BIAN AND THAT THERE'S MORE OF A BUDGET SURPLUS THIS YEAR THAN IN ANY TIME IN RECENT MEMORY.
AND HOW THAT MONEY IS SPENT IS, IS UP TO THE VOTERS AND THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WHO MAY HAVE A QUESTION AND OR A COMMENT FOR MR. LUCY? NO HANDS.
THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. LUCY, FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR QUESTIONS AND OR YOUR COMMENTS.
IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS STAFF REPORTS OF MS. JACKSON AND MR. COPELAND IN THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
DO ANY ONE OF YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? VERY QUICKLY.
SH UH, CHAIR, WE WANTED TO SHARE THAT THE, UM, ADA COORDINATOR POSITION WAS POSTED THAT POSTING CLOSED ON THE 18TH.
AND SO WE ARE AWAITING, UM, THE REVIEW OF APPLICANTS SO THAT THEY COULD BE SENT TO US FOR CONTINUED PROCESSING, INCLUDING INTERVIEWS.
SO THAT WAS ONE ITEM, AND BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH DISCUSSION AROUND VOTING, VOTING LOCATIONS, UM, MR. PARDON OF THE INTERRUPTION, COULD YOU PLEASE PUT YOUR MOUTH CLOSER TO THE MIC SO THEY, SOME PEOPLE MAKE SURE EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU? UM, YES, MA'AM.
SO, UM, MR. COPELAND AND I, UM, DID CONDUCTED SITE VISITS WITH A SAMPLING OF THE LOCATIONS FOR, UM, THAT WERE CITY OWNED PROPERTIES.
SO THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 15 CITY OWNED PROPERTIES THAT WERE BEING USED AS, UH, VOTING LOCATIONS DURING, UM, THIS, THIS PERIOD, UM, AS PEOPLE PREPARE TO VOTE FOR THEIR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
EARLY VOTING STARTED MONDAY JUST IN CASE ANYONE NEEDED THAT REMINDER.
UM, AND SO WE DID A SAMPLING AND WENT TO FOUR LOCATIONS IN DALLAS COUNTY, ONE LOCATION IN COLLIN COUNTY TO CONDUCT THE CHECKLIST THAT MR. LUCY JUST REFERENCED, UM, FOR OUR POLLING LOCATION.
SO I WANTED TO LET, UM, YOU ALL KNOW ABOUT THAT WORK TO ENSURE THAT INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES HAD EQUAL AND ADEQUATE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE, UM, AND TO, UM, TO VOTE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. JACKSON FOR THAT INFORMATION.
MR. COPELAND, DO YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS TO SHARE? NO.
AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO ANNOUNCEMENTS.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS TIME AS CHAIR TO RECOGNIZE THAT APRIL IS AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH.
A FEW OF OUR COMMISSIONERS WERE ABLE TO MEET WITH, UH, OUR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF DALLAS, MAYOR ERIC JOHNSON ON, UH, LAST WEEK, LAST WEDNESDAY AS A PROCLAMATION WAS PRESENTED FOR AUTISM
[01:30:01]
AWARENESS MONTH.AND WE DO HAVE SOME PHOTOS THAT WE HAVE POSTED.
I WANNA THANK THOSE WHO WERE AT ATTENDANCE.
I WANNA FIRST START WITH THE COMMISSIONERS WHO WERE ABLE TO ATTEND, AND THIS WAS NOT A MANDATORY, UH, MEETING IN OUR VISIT IN OUR PHOTO, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL UNDERSTAND.
THIS WAS, UM, IF YOU WERE AVAILABLE.
OUR VICE CHAIR, UH, COMMISSIONER JOHN CALK WAS IN ATTENDANCE.
OUR COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER SUSIE SHAW WAS IN ATTENDANCE.
MYSELF, CHAIR COMMISSIONER CHRISTINA POWE WITH AN ATTENDANCE.
AND WE DID HAVE TWO OTHER INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE WITH DAVID W. CARTER HIGH SCHOOL IN DALLAS, I S D, WHICH IS IN DISTRICT EIGHT OF THE CITY OF DALLAS, DISTRICT SIX FOR DALLAS, I S D.
AND THOSE TWO INDIVIDUALS WOULD BE NATASHA STEVENS, WHICH WHO IS SHE? SHE'S A SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT CHAIR FOR THAT SCHOOL.
AND MR. DEREK KNIGHTON IS THE SPECIAL EDUCATION LEAD INSTRUCTOR ON THAT CAMPUS.
I WANTED TO ALSO RECOGNIZE THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS U N T, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS AT DALLAS, BECAUSE THE BOOK DOESN'T JUST, UM, START IN HIGH SCHOOL.
IT CONTINUES INTO COLLEGE AND OR UNIVERSITIES.
AND U NT DALLAS DOES HAVE A DISABILITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND PROGRAM, WHICH PROVIDES INCLUSION SERVICES FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
SO THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMISSIONERS WHO WERE AVAILABLE FOR THIS EVENT.
AND AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL, ALL COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES HERE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
APRIL IS ALSO PARKINSON'S AWARENESS MONTH.
ACCORDING TO PARKINSON'S FOUNDATION, NEARLY 2 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES ARE LIVING WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE, MAKING IT THE SECOND MOST COMMON NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE.
FINALLY, WE WANT TO BRING AWARENESS TO LIMB LOSS AND LIMB DIFFERENCE AWARENESS MONTH.
THE AMPUTEE COALITION SHOWS INSPIRED TO ELEVATE AS A THEME FOR THE, WITH THE FOUR ELEMENTS WOULD BE ELEVATE YOUR STORY, ELEVATE YOUR VOICE, ELEVATE YOUR COMMUNITY, AND ELEVATE YOUR POTENTIAL.
MORE THAN 2.7 MILLION PEOPLE LIVE WITH LIMB LOSS OR LIMB DIFFERENCE IN THE UNITED STATES.
THOSE ARE MY ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR TODAY.
UM, IF ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER WOULD LIKE SOMETHING TO SHARE, PLEASE DO AT THIS TIME.
WE HAVE CONCLUDED OUR BUSINESS AS STATED ON THE AGENDA.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? THIS IS VICE JAR, UH, JOHN CAL CONLEY.
I MAKE A MOTION THAT THIS MEETING BE ADJOURNED.
MAY I HAVE A SECOND? SECONDED COMMISSIONERS.
BEFORE YOU SECOND A MOTION TO ADJOURN, PLEASE ALSO STATE YOUR TITLE.
UM, COMMISSIONER, WHO'S SPEAKING, PLEASE? NICOLE MUNO.
SO WHEN WE INTRODUCE OURSELVES, UM, NOTED FOR BEST PRACTICE, WE DO SAY COMMISSIONER.
AND YOU ARE A COMMISSIONER, SO WELCOME.
SO I DO HAVE A SECOND TO ADJOURN.
IT HAS BEEN MOVED IN SECOND THAT THE MEETING FOR THE COMMISSIONER ON DISABILITIES HAS BEEN ADJOURNED.
IT IS NOW 3:43 PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, AND I CALL THIS MEETING TO AN END.
THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE.