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Office of the Texas Governor, Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities
Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities to Meet in Houston, Texas on January 23-24, 2025

The Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD) welcomes all Texans to join us for our quarterly meeting on January 23-24, 2025, at the Lighthouse of Houston. Attendees have the options of joining the meeting in person or virtually. To participate virtually, registration through the Zoom links below for each day is required.

January 23 & 24, 2025

Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Friday 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The Lighthouse of Houston Board Room

3602 West Dallas Street, Houston, TX 77019

Zoom Links:

January 23: [link removed]

January 24: [link removed]

A public meeting of the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities will be conducted under Texas Government Code Section 551.127, related to meetings involving members joining by videoconference call. It is the intent of the Committee to have the chairperson present in Houston, Texas. This location will be open to the public during the open portions of the meeting. Other members of the Committee will join by videoconference from separate locations.

Members of the public will have access to a live audiovisual stream of the meeting in addition to the option to be physically present at the location. The Committee will record the video and audio of the meeting and make the recording available upon request. For questions, contact (512) 463-5739 or email [email protected] <[email protected]>.

To provide public comment related to disability related topics during the designated public comment time, you can choose to speak directly to the committee or email [email protected] <[email protected]> in advance a brief written testimony addressed to the committee. GCPD does not accept registration for public comment until the day of the meeting. If you wish to give public comment in-person, please sign in at the registration table. For others who will be participating virtually, Zoom has a Q&A tool that you can use at the beginning of the meeting to state your intention to make public comment.

All available meeting materials will be posted at: [link removed]

In accordance with the Open Meetings Act, the meeting agenda [ [link removed] ] is posted in the Texas Register on the Secretary of State’s website.

*January 23, 2025*

*1. Call to Order/ Roll Call (begin recording) / Introductions –* Richard Martinez, Chair

*2. Welcoming Remarks from Houston Lighthouse for the Blind –* Jenna Dhayer, President

*3. Approval of Committee Member Absences as Submitted* (Discussion/Possible Action)

*4. Approval of Summary Minutes for October 2024* (Discussion/Possible Action)

*5. Listening to the Houston Disability Community*
a. Houston Center for Independent Living, Dr. Stephanie Simmons, Executive Director
b. Houston Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, Angel Ponce, Director and Houston Commission on Disabilities, Meredith Silcox, Chair

*6. Debriefing the Impact of Hurricane Beryl on People with Disabilities in the Greater Houston Area and Emergency Plans for DME Back-up Power*
a. Stephanie Duke, Supervising Attorney, Disaster Resilience and Outreach Team, Houston
b. Eric Cote, Power Outage Partners, Project Director

*7. Public Comment *(3 minutes per presentation)

*BREAK*

*8. Reports from Invited Exofficio Agency Representatives, includes follow up topics from previous meetings* (Discussion/Possible Action)
a. Department of Family and Protective Services – Brock Boudreau
b. Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Emily Eisenman
c. Texas Education Agency – Elyse Lieberman
d. Texas Workforce Commission – Claudia Peden
e. Health and Human Services Commission – Clair Benitez

*LUNCH*

*9. Policy Recommendation to Address Timely Repair of Durable Medical Equipment* – Nancy Crowther, ADAPT of Texas

*10. Cerebral / Cortical Vision Impairment Policy Proposal* – Mara LaViola, Texas Parent to Parent & Texans for Special Education Reform

*11. Policy Discussion from Past Public Comment, Discussions, and Meetings*

*12. Executive Director Report*
a. Review and Discuss Biennial Report to 89th Texas Legislature
b. GCPD Staff Activities – Ron Lucey
c. GCPD Subcommittee and Workgroup Reports

*BREAK*

*13. GCPD Administrative Policy Recommendations and Recommendations to the 90th Legislature* (Discussion/Possible Action)

*14. Recess* – Richard Martinez, Chair

*15. Reconvene –* Richard Martinez, Chair

*16. Public Comment *(3 minutes per presentation)

*17. Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health Legislative Recommendations* - Kristi Taylor, J.D., Executive Director, JCMH

*18. Texas Commission on Jail Standards IDD Subcommittee Legislative Recommendations* – Brandon Wood, Executive Director

*BREAK*

*19. Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS) Waiver Carve Out* – Tim Joniec, Parent Advocate

*20. Recommendations to Amend the 19115c Waiver's Annual Renewal Process* – Vivecca Hartman, President, DBMAT and Linda Litzinger, Advocacy and Policy Director, Texas Parent to Parent

*21. Demonstration of Indoor Wayfinding Technology for People with Disabilities* – Terry Vaughn, Jr., VP, The Lighthouse of Houston and Idan Meir, Founder, Right Hear

*22. GCPD Policy Development and Discussion*

*23. Future Agenda Items and Meeting* (Discussion/Possible Action)

*24. Adjournment* – Richard Martinez, Chair

*Notice of Assistance at Public Meetings*
The Committee will provide Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) and American Sign Language Interpretation for this meeting. Persons with disabilities who plan to attend this meeting and who may need assistance, such as materials in an alternate format, contact the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities at least five (5) working days prior to the meeting. 512-463-5739. Use the Relay Option of Your Choice. E-mail: [email protected] <[email protected]>



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