Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3145 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Naishtat, Perry (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 3145
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2011;
3	3	May 9, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
4	4	and Human Services; May 18, 2011, reported favorably by the
5	5	following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 18, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the regulation of chemical dependency counselors.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 467.004(a), Health and Safety Code, is
13	13	amended to read as follows:
14	14	(a) Except as provided by Section 467.0041(b) of this code
15	15	and Section 504.058, Occupations Code, a licensing or disciplinary
16	16	authority may add a surcharge of not more than $10 to its license or
17	17	license renewal fee to fund an approved peer assistance program.
18	18	The authority must adopt the surcharge in accordance with the
19	19	procedure that the authority uses to initiate and adopt an increase
20	20	in its license or license renewal fee.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 504.002(b), Occupations Code, is amended
22	22	to read as follows:
23	23	(b) This chapter does not apply to an activity or service of
24	24	a person who:
25	25	(1) is employed as a counselor by a federal
26	26	institution and is providing chemical dependency counseling within
27	27	the scope of the person's employment;
28	28	(2) except as provided by Section 504.1515, is a
29	29	student, intern, or trainee pursuing a supervised course of study
30	30	in counseling at a regionally accredited institution of higher
31	31	education or training institution, if the person:
32	32	(A) is designated as a "counselor intern"; and
33	33	(B) is engaging in the activity or providing the
34	34	service as part of the course of study;
35	35	(3) is not a resident of this state, if the person:
36	36	(A) engages in the activity or provides the
37	37	service in this state for not more than 30 days during any year; and
38	38	(B) is authorized to engage in the activity or
39	39	provide the service under the law of the state of the person's
40	40	residence;
41	41	(4) is a licensed physician, psychologist,
42	42	professional counselor, or social worker;
43	43	(5) is a religious leader of a congregation providing
44	44	pastoral chemical dependency counseling within the scope of the
45	45	person's duties;
46	46	(6) is working for or providing counseling with a
47	47	program exempt under Subchapter C, Chapter 464, Health and Safety
48	48	Code; [or]
49	49	(7) is a school counselor certified by the State Board
50	50	for Educator Certification; or
51	51	(8) provides chemical dependency counseling through a
52	52	program or in a facility that receives funding from the Texas
53	53	Department of Criminal Justice and who is credentialed as:
54	54	(A) a certified criminal justice addictions
55	55	professional by the International Certification and Reciprocity
56	56	Consortium; or
57	57	(B) having certified criminal justice
58	58	professional applicant status issued by the Texas Certification
59	59	Board of Addiction Professionals.
60	60	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 504, Occupations Code, is
61	61	amended by adding Section 504.058 to read as follows:
62	62	Sec. 504.058. FUNDING FOR CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY COUNSELOR
63	63	PROGRAMS. (a) The executive commissioner shall add a surcharge of
64	64	not more than $10 to the license or license renewal fee for a
65	65	license under this chapter to fund approved peer assistance
66	66	programs for chemical dependency counselors. Money collected from
67	67	the surcharge shall be remitted to the comptroller for deposit to
68	68	the credit of the chemical dependency counselor account. The
69	69	chemical dependency counselor account is an account in the general
70	70	revenue fund.
71	71	(b) Subject to the General Appropriations Act, the
72	72	department may use the money from the surcharge collected under
73	73	this section and deposited in the chemical dependency counselor
74	74	account only to fund approved peer assistance programs and to pay
75	75	the administrative costs incurred by the department that are
76	76	related to the programs.
77	77	SECTION 4. Section 504.152, Occupations Code, is amended to
78	78	read as follows:
79	79	Sec. 504.152. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) To be
80	80	eligible for a license under this chapter, a person must:
81	81	(1) be at least 18 years of age;
82	82	(2) hold an associate degree or a more advanced
83	83	degree;
84	84	(3) have completed:
85	85	(A) 135 hours, or nine semester hours, specific
86	86	to substance abuse disorders and treatment and an additional 135
87	87	hours, or nine semester hours, specific or related to chemical
88	88	dependency counseling;
89	89	(B) 4,000 hours of approved supervised
90	90	experience working with chemically dependent persons; and
91	91	(C) 300 hours of approved supervised field work
92	92	practicum;
93	93	(4) provide two letters of reference from chemical
94	94	dependency counselors;
95	95	(5) pass a written examination approved by the
96	96	department;
97	97	(6) submit a case presentation to the test
98	98	administrator;
99	99	(7) [pass an oral examination approved by the
100	100	department;
101	101	[(8)] be determined by the department to be worthy of
102	102	the public trust and confidence;
103	103	(8) [(9)] successfully complete the chemical
104	104	dependency counselor examination under Section 504.156;
105	105	(9) [(10)] sign a written agreement to comply with the
106	106	standards of ethics approved by the department; and
107	107	(10) [(11)] provide to the department written
108	108	assurance that the applicant has access to a peer assistance
109	109	program.
110	110	(b) The department may waive the requirement under
111	111	Subsection (a)(10) [(a)(11)] if the department determines that a
112	112	peer assistance program is not reasonably available to the license
113	113	holder.
114	114	SECTION 5. Sections 504.1525(a) and (b), Occupations Code,
115	115	are amended to read as follows:
116	116	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the department may
117	117	not issue a license, registration, or certification under this
118	118	chapter to an applicant who has been:
119	119	(1) convicted or placed on community supervision
120	120	during the three [five] years preceding the date of application in
121	121	any jurisdiction for an offense equal to a Class B misdemeanor
122	122	specified by executive commissioner rule;
123	123	(2) convicted or placed on community supervision in
124	124	any jurisdiction for an offense equal to or greater than a Class A
125	125	misdemeanor specified by executive commissioner rule; or
126	126	(3) found to be incapacitated by a court on the basis
127	127	of a mental defect or disease.
128	128	(b) The department may issue a license, registration, or
129	129	certification to a person convicted or placed on community
130	130	supervision in any jurisdiction for a drug or alcohol offense
131	131	described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2) if the department determines
132	132	that the applicant has successfully completed participation in an
133	133	approved peer assistance program.
134	134	SECTION 6. (a) The executive commissioner of the Health and
135	135	Human Services Commission shall adopt rules to implement the
136	136	changes in law made by this Act not later than December 1, 2011.
137	137	(b) Section 504.058, Occupations Code, as added by this Act,
138	138	and Sections 504.152 and 504.1525, Occupations Code, as amended by
139	139	this Act, apply only to an application for an original or renewal
140	140	license, registration, or certification submitted to the
141	141	Department of State Health Services on or after December 1, 2011. An
142	142	application submitted before December 1, 2011, is governed by the
143	143	law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the
144	144	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
145	145	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
146	146	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
147	147	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
148	148	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
149	149	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
150	150	* * * * *