1. (a) The department shall establish the Task Force of Border Health Officials to advise the commissioner:

   1. (1) on policy priorities addressing major issues affecting the border region residents' health and health conditions;
   2. (2) on raising public awareness of the issues described by Subdivision (1); and

   3. (3) on other health issues impacting the border region as determined by the commissioner, including:

      1. (A) barriers to accessing health care;

      2. (B) health problems affecting the region, including:

         1. (i) diabetes;
         2. (ii) infant mortality;
         3. (iii) heart disease and stroke;
         4. (iv) obesity;
         5. (v) cervical cancer; and
         6. (vi) communicable diseases, including tuberculosis;

      3. (C) factors that impede access to health care, including:

         1. (i) socioeconomic conditions;
         2. (ii) linguistic and cultural barriers;
         3. (iii) low population density; and
         4. (iv) lack of health insurance;
      4. (D) surveillance and tracking of communicable diseases, environmental factors, and other factors negatively influencing health;
      5. (E) standardization of data to ensure compatibility with data collected by border states on both sides of the international border with Mexico;
      6. (F) public health infrastructure that includes education and research institutions to train culturally competent health care providers;
      7. (G) establishment of local and regional public health programs that build on local resources and maximize the use of public dollars to address the needs of the indigent population; and
      8. (H) collaboration and cooperation with Mexican counterparts of the task force at the state and federal level, and collaboration with federal counterparts in the United States.
2. (b) The task force shall study and make recommendations relating to the health problems, conditions, challenges, and needs of the population in the border region.
3. (c) The task force shall submit a report of recommendations to the commissioner for short-term and long-term border plans, as described by Subchapter C, not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year.

Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 754 (S.B. 1680), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.