By: Nichols, Hegar S.B. No. 662
(Anchia)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the State Board of
Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology; providing
an administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 401.001, Occupations Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (4) and adding Subdivision (4-a) to read as
follows:
(4) "Department" means the [Texas] Department of State
Health Services.
(4-a) "Hearing instrument" has the meaning assigned by
Section 402.001.
SECTION 2. Section 401.002, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 401.002. APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT. The State Board of
Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology is subject to
Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued
in existence as provided by that chapter, the board is abolished and
this chapter expires September 1, 2017 [2011].
SECTION 3. Section 401.101, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 401.101. BOARD WITHIN [HEALTH] DEPARTMENT. The State
Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology is
within the department [Texas Department of Health].
SECTION 4. Section 401.103, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 401.103. ELIGIBILITY OF PUBLIC MEMBERS. A person may
not be a [The two] public member [members] of the board, other than
the public member described by Section 401.102(d), if the person or
the person's spouse [who are not physicians may not]:
(1) is registered, certified, or [be] licensed by an
occupational regulatory agency in the field of health care;
(2) is [be] employed by or [and] participating in the
management of an agency or business entity that:
(A) provides health care services;
(B) [or that] sells, manufactures, or
distributes health care supplies or equipment; or
(C) receives money from the board or the
department;
(3) owns, controls [own, control], or has [have] a
direct or indirect interest of more than 10 percent in a business
entity that:
(A) provides health care services;
(B) [or that] sells, manufactures, or
distributes health care supplies or equipment; or
(C) receives money from the board or department;
or
(4) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
goods, services, or money from the board or department other than
compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for board
membership, attendance, or expenses [be an officer, employee, or
paid consultant of a trade association in the field of health care].
SECTION 5. Section 401.104, Occupations Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a) In this section, "Texas trade association" means a
cooperative and voluntarily joined statewide association of
business or professional competitors in this state designed to
assist its members and its industry or profession in dealing with
mutual business or professional problems and in promoting their
common interest [A board member may not be related within the
second degree by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under
Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Government Code, to an officer,
employee, or paid consultant of a trade association in the field of
health care].
(c) A person may not be a member of the board if:
(1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of health care;
or
(2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of health care.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 401.107, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The governor shall designate a member of the board as
the presiding officer of the board to serve in that capacity at the
will of the governor [board shall organize itself annually and
select a presiding officer, assistant presiding officer, and
secretary-treasurer].
SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Sections 401.109 and 401.110 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.109. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL. (a) It is a ground for
removal from the board that a member:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
qualifications required by Section 401.102;
(2) does not maintain during service on the board the
qualifications required by Section 401.102;
(3) is ineligible for membership under Section 401.103
or 401.104;
(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
term; or
(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend
during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
of the board.
(b) The validity of an action of the board is not affected by
the fact that the action is taken when a ground for removal of a
board member exists.
(c) If the commissioner of state health services has
knowledge that a potential ground for removal exists, the
commissioner shall notify the presiding officer of the board of the
potential ground. The presiding officer shall then notify the
governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for
removal exists. If the potential ground for removal involves the
presiding officer, the commissioner shall notify the next highest
ranking officer of the board, who shall then notify the governor and
the attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists.
Sec. 401.110. TRAINING. (a) A person who is appointed to
and qualifies for office as a member of the board may not vote,
deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of
the board until the person completes a training program that
complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) this chapter;
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
board;
(3) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
board;
(4) the requirements of laws relating to open
meetings, public information, administrative procedure, and
conflicts of interest; and
(5) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
board or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the board is entitled to
reimbursement, as provided by the General Appropriations Act, for
the travel expenses incurred in attending the training program
regardless of whether the attendance at the program occurs before
or after the person qualifies for office.
SECTION 8. Subchapter E, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 401.2021 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.2021. JOINT RULES FOR HEARING INSTRUMENTS. With
the assistance of the department, the board and the State Committee
of Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments
shall jointly adopt rules to establish requirements for each sale
of a hearing instrument. The rules must:
(1) address:
(A) the information and other provisions
required in each written contract for the purchase of a hearing
instrument;
(B) records that must be retained under this
chapter or Chapter 402; and
(C) guidelines for the 30-day trial period during
which a person may cancel the purchase of a hearing instrument; and
(2) require that the written contract and 30-day trial
period information provided to a purchaser of a hearing instrument
be in plain language designed to be easily understood by the average
consumer.
SECTION 9. Subchapter G, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 401.3041 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.3041. CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION
REQUIREMENT FOR LICENSE ISSUANCE. (a) The board shall require
that an applicant for a license submit a complete and legible set of
fingerprints, on a form prescribed by the board, to the board or to
the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of obtaining
criminal history record information from the Department of Public
Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(b) The board may not issue a license to a person who does
not comply with the requirement of Subsection (a).
(c) The board shall conduct a criminal history check of each
applicant for a license using information:
(1) provided by the individual under this section; and
(2) made available to the board by the Department of
Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other
criminal justice agency under Chapter 411, Government Code.
(d) The Department of State Health Services on behalf of the
board may:
(1) enter into an agreement with the Department of
Public Safety to administer a criminal history check required under
this section; and
(2) authorize the Department of Public Safety to
collect from each applicant the costs incurred by the Department of
Public Safety in conducting the criminal history check.
SECTION 10. Subchapter H, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 401.3521 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.3521. CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION
REQUIREMENT FOR LICENSE RENEWAL. (a) An applicant renewing a
license issued under this chapter shall submit a complete and
legible set of fingerprints for purposes of performing a criminal
history check of the applicant as provided by Section 401.3041.
(b) The board may not renew the license of a person who does
not comply with the requirement of Subsection (a).
(c) The requirements of this section do not apply to a
license holder who has previously submitted fingerprints under this
section or Section 401.3041.
(d) This section expires February 1, 2015.
SECTION 11. Subchapter J, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 401.4531 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.4531. RECUSAL OF BOARD MEMBER. (a) A board
member who participated in the investigation of a complaint or in
informal settlement negotiations regarding the complaint:
(1) may not vote on the matter at a board meeting
related to the complaint; and
(2) shall state at the meeting why the member is
prohibited from voting on the matter.
(b) A statement under Subsection (a)(2) shall be entered
into the minutes of the meeting.
SECTION 12. Subchapter K, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Sections 401.5021 and 401.5022 to read as
follows:
Sec. 401.5021. BOARD-ORDERED REFUND. The board may order
an audiologist to pay a refund to a consumer who returns a hearing
instrument during the 30-day trial period required by rules adopted
under Section 401.2021.
Sec. 401.5022. CEASE AND DESIST ORDER. (a) If it appears
to the board that a person who is not licensed under this chapter is
violating this chapter, a rule adopted under this chapter, or
another state statute or rule relating to the practice of
speech-language pathology or audiology, the board, after notice and
opportunity for a hearing, may issue a cease and desist order
prohibiting the person from engaging in the activity.
(b) A violation of an order under this section constitutes
grounds for imposing an administrative penalty under Subchapter L.
SECTION 13. (a) Not later than February 1, 2012, the State
Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
shall adopt rules necessary to implement Sections 401.3041 and
401.3521, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than May 1, 2012, the State Board of Examiners
for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and the State Committee
of Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments
shall adopt rules required by Section 401.2021, Occupations Code,
as added by this Act.
(c) The changes in law made by Sections 401.103 and 401.104,
Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 401.110,
Occupations Code, as added by this Act, regarding the prohibitions
on or qualifications of members of the State Board of Examiners for
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology do not affect the
entitlement of a member serving on the board immediately before
September 1, 2011, to continue to serve and function as a member of
the board for the remainder of the member's term. The changes in
law made by those sections apply only to a member appointed on or
after September 1, 2011.
(d) Section 401.4531, Occupations Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to a complaint filed with the State Board of
Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology on or after
the effective date of this Act. A complaint filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed
immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
(e) Sections 401.3041 and 401.3521, Occupations Code, as
added by this Act, apply only to an application for a license or
renewal of a license filed with the State Board of Examiners for
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology on or after March 1, 2012.
An application filed before that date is governed by the law in
effect at the time the application was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.