Two state lawmakers filed legislation on Monday that calls for closing some institutions for people with mental disabilities and reforming the entire system of services for such Texans.

Texas officials shouldn't "wait until the federal government has a club against our heads or a lawsuit forces us to do what we know we need to do," said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, who proposed the reforms with state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs.

The 13 residential institutions known as state schools have been under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice, which reported in December that the short-staffed facilities fail to protect Texans from harm. The report found that at least 53 people died of preventable conditions in the past year at the facilities.

Ellis called the findings "horrific atrocities perpetrated against our most vulnerable Texas citizens."

The proposal doesn't designate which institutions — or how many — would close. Instead, it calls for state officials to heed recommendations of a steering committee that would consist of lawmakers, state school employees and state school residents and their families.

Today, a Senate panel will hold a public hearing on a separate proposal that calls for an independent ombudsman for state schools. That measure reflects the concerns of Gov. Rick Perry, who earlier this year declared the need to fix the facilities an emergency.

Meanwhile, the measure mandating closure of some state schools is certain to spark debate at the Capitol. Many family members of state school residents say the facilities are the best place for their relatives.

That includes Charles Ferguson, whose 54-year-old daughter, Rachel, has lived at Denton State School since she was 9.

"She loves it there," Ferguson said. "My daughter is not capable of being out in the street in the community by herself. She cannot manage traffic; she can't manage a predator or someone who might take advantage of her."

It's been more than a decade since Texas closed a state school. Fort Worth State School closed in 1995, and Travis State School in 1996.

Though the Ellis/Rose proposal is designed to reduce the state's reliance on institutions and shift people to community homes, it also seeks to improve the state schools for those who want to stay. Neither Ellis nor Rose supports a moratorium on admissions to the schools, each said.

"We need to maintain choice," said Rose, chairman of the House Committee on Human Services.

Ellis said that although shifting people to community care would cost less than serving them at state schools, "this bill is not about closing state schools purely for the sake of saving money."