Texas governor says situation with state MR institutions an "emergency"

From the News-Journal in Longview, Texas:

Gov. Rick Perry on Feb. 3 declared improving Texas’ 13 institutions for people with mental retardation an emergency.

A bill State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, plans to file Feb. 3 would create an independent ombudsman for the troubled institutions, which are known as state schools, according to her office.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported in December that the state’s 13 institutions — home to about 5,000 Texas — fail to protect residents from harm.

Perry’s emergency declaration, reported by the Dallas Morning News this morning, allows lawmakers to begin considering the issue during the first 60 days of the legislative session. The governor, who announced the emergency declaration in a press release this morning, did not specify how exactly state schools should be improved.

Nelson’s bill, her office said, would:

— Authorize the governor to appoint an independent ombudsman to oversee state schools and to talk to members of the public about concerns with the institutions.

— Require annual audits of each state school.

— Require video cameras to be placed in common areas at state schools.

— Change the name “state schools” to “state developmental centers.”

— Implement new fingerprint background checks and random drug tests of employees.

— Create a toll-free abuse, neglect and exploitation hotline.

The legislation does not propose closing or consolidating state schools, Nelson’s office said. That’s something that state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, and state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, have proposed.