State Rep. John Davis (R-Texas) on Tuesday introduced a bill (HB 2049) that would ease SCHIP enrollment restrictions imposed by lawmakers in 2003, the Houston Chronicle reports.
The state Legislature in 2003 passed legislation that shortened the SCHIP enrollment period from one year to six months and included a stricter asset test for SCHIP enrollment, among other changes. The restrictions, which were adopted to help close a $10 billion state revenue shortfall while avoiding tax increases, have been attributed to an enrollment decline from more than 500,000 in 2003 to about 290,000 in April 2006 (Robinson/Markley, Houston Chronicle, 2/28). Davis' bill would: