Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2972 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 2972
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to licensing of certain health facilities.
6	6	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
7	7	SECTION 1. Section 242.0021, Health and Safety Code, is
8	8	amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
9	9	(b-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
10	10	for purposes of this chapter, a controlling person of an
11	11	institution or of a management company or other business entity
12	12	described by Subsection (b)(1) that is a publicly traded
13	13	corporation or is controlled by a publicly traded corporation means
14	14	an officer or director of the corporation. The term does not
15	15	include a shareholder or lender of the publicly traded corporation.
16	16	SECTION 2. Section 242.039, Health and Safety Code, is
17	17	amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
18	18	(g) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
19	19	Services Commission shall adopt rules to implement an expedited
20	20	inspection process that allows an applicant for a license or for a
21	21	renewal of a license to obtain a life safety code and physical plant
22	22	inspection not later than the 15th day after the date the request is
23	23	made. The department may charge a fee to recover the cost of the
24	24	expedited inspection. The rules must permit the department to set
25	25	different fee amounts based on the size and type of institution.
26	26	SECTION 3. Section 247.005, Health and Safety Code, is
27	27	amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
28	28	(b-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
29	29	for purposes of this chapter, a controlling person of an assisted
30	30	living facility or of a management company or other business entity
31	31	described by Subsection (b)(1) that is a publicly traded
32	32	corporation or is controlled by a publicly traded corporation means
33	33	an officer or director of the corporation. The term does not
34	34	include a shareholder or lender of the publicly traded corporation.
35	35	SECTION 4. Section 247.021, Health and Safety Code, is
36	36	amended by amending Subsections (d), (g), and (h) and adding
37	37	Subsections (d-1), (d-2), and (d-3) to read as follows:
38	38	(d) The department by rule shall establish procedures to
39	39	issue a six-month provisional license to existing facilities with
40	40	residents. The department may issue a provisional license [only]
41	41	if:
42	42	(1) the facility is in compliance with resident care
43	43	standards;
44	44	(2) the facility voluntarily discloses that the
45	45	facility needs additional time to comply with life safety code and
46	46	physical plant standards;
47	47	(3) the disclosure is made in writing by certified
48	48	mail to the department;
49	49	(4) an investigation of the violation was not
50	50	initiated and the violation was not independently detected by the
51	51	department; and
52	52	(5) the disclosure is made promptly after knowledge of
53	53	the information disclosed is obtained by the facility.
54	54	(d-1) A provisional license expires the earlier of:
55	55	(1) the 180th day after the effective date of the
56	56	provisional license or the end of any extension period granted by
57	57	the department, in the department's sole discretion; or
58	58	(2) the date a license is issued to the provisional
59	59	license holder under Subsection (d-3).
60	60	(d-2) The department shall conduct a life safety code
61	61	inspection of the facility as soon as reasonably possible after the
62	62	department issues a provisional license.
63	63	(d-3) After conducting a life safety code inspection, the
64	64	department shall issue a license under Section 247.023 to the
65	65	provisional license holder if the facility passes the inspection
66	66	and the applicant meets all requirements for a license. A license
67	67	issued under this subsection has the same effective date as the
68	68	provisional license.
69	69	(g) The [Notwithstanding Subsection (f), the] department
70	70	shall, upon submission of a written request by the applicant, [may]
71	71	automatically issue a provisional license to a newly constructed
72	72	facility if:
73	73	(1) the facility is in compliance with resident care
74	74	standards;
75	75	(2) all local approvals have been obtained;
76	76	(3) a complete license application is submitted within
77	77	30 days of receipt of all local approvals; [and]
78	78	(4) the license fee has been paid;
79	79	(5) before beginning construction, the license
80	80	applicant submits working drawings and specifications to the
81	81	department for review; and
82	82	(6) the department determines that the license
83	83	applicant constructed another facility in this state that complies
84	84	with the department's life safety code standards.
85	85	(h) The [Notwithstanding Subsection (f), the] department
86	86	may automatically issue a provisional license in the case of a
87	87	corporate change of ownership of a facility.
88	88	SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 247, Health and Safety
89	89	Code, is amended by adding Section 247.0211 to read as follows:
90	90	Sec. 247.0211. EXPEDITED LIFE SAFETY CODE INSPECTION. (a)
91	91	The executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services
92	92	Commission shall adopt rules to implement an expedited inspection
93	93	process that allows an applicant for an assisted living facility
94	94	license or for a renewal of a license to obtain a life safety code
95	95	and physical plant inspection not later than the 15th day after the
96	96	date the request is made.
97	97	(b) The department may charge a fee to recover the cost of
98	98	the expedited inspection.
99	99	SECTION 6. Section 247.022, Health and Safety Code, is
100	100	amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
101	101	(b-1) If the department conducts more than two life safety
102	102	code inspections at the applicant's facility, the department may
103	103	collect a fee in addition to the fee under Subsection (b) for the
104	104	application for the license.
105	105	SECTION 7. Subchapter B, Chapter 247, Health and Safety
106	106	Code, is amended by adding Section 247.0262 to read as follows:
107	107	Sec. 247.0262. REPORT ON LIFE SAFETY CODE SURVEYS. (a) The
108	108	department shall annually report the number of life safety code
109	109	surveys for an initial assisted living facility license with
110	110	respect to which the department first visits the facility to
111	111	conduct the survey more than 60 days after the date the applicant
112	112	notifies the department that the applicant is ready for the initial
113	113	survey.
114	114	(b) The department may report other data related to the
115	115	timeliness of life safety code surveys or the processing time of
116	116	license applications.
117	117	(c) The department may include the information described by
118	118	Subsections (a) and (b) in any required annual regulatory report.
119	119	SECTION 8. Section 247.032(a), Health and Safety Code, is
120	120	amended to read as follows:
121	121	(a) In this section, "accreditation commission" means the
122	122	Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, [or] the
123	123	Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, or
124	124	another organization approved by the executive commissioner of the
125	125	Health and Human Services Commission.
126	126	SECTION 9. Sections 247.021(e) and (f), Health and Safety
127	127	Code, are repealed.
128	128	SECTION 10. Not later than June 1, 2010, the executive
129	129	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
130	130	adopt rules to implement the expedited inspection processes as
131	131	required by Sections 242.039(g) and 247.0211, Health and Safety
132	132	Code, as added by this Act.
133	133	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
134	134	______________________________ ______________________________
135	135	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
136	136	I certify that H.B. No. 2972 was passed by the House on May 4,
137	137	2009, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, 1 present, not
138	138	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
139	139	No. 2972 on May 23, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0,
140	140	1 present, not voting.
141	141	______________________________
142	142	Chief Clerk of the House
143	143	I certify that H.B. No. 2972 was passed by the Senate, with
144	144	amendments, on May 19, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
145	145	0.
146	146	______________________________
147	147	Secretary of the Senate
148	148	APPROVED: __________________
149	149	Date
150	150	__________________
151	151	Governor