Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1549 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	83R15923 SLB-D
2	2	By: Laubenberg H.B. No. 1549
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1549:
4	4	By: Kolkhorst C.S.H.B. No. 1549
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the regulation of speech-language pathology and
10	10	audiology and the fitting and dispensing of hearing instruments.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 401.057, Occupations Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 401.057. HEARING CONSERVATION PROGRAM. This chapter
15	15	does not prevent a person in an industrial setting from engaging in
16	16	hearing testing as a part of a hearing conservation program in
17	17	compliance with federal Occupational Safety and Health
18	18	Administration regulations [if the person is certified by an agency
19	19	acceptable to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration].
20	20	SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
21	21	amended by adding Section 401.2022 to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 401.2022. JOINT RULES FOR FITTING AND DISPENSING OF
23	23	HEARING INSTRUMENTS BY TELEPRACTICE. With the assistance of the
24	24	department, the board and the State Committee of Examiners in the
25	25	Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments shall jointly adopt
26	26	rules to establish requirements for the fitting and dispensing of
27	27	hearing instruments by the use of telepractice.
28	28	SECTION 3. Section 401.304(a), Occupations Code, is amended
29	29	to read as follows:
30	30	(a) To be eligible for licensing as a speech-language
31	31	pathologist or audiologist, an applicant must:
32	32	(1) if the application is for a license in:
33	33	(A) speech-language pathology, possess at least
34	34	a master's degree with a major in at least one of the areas of
35	35	communicative sciences or disorders from a program accredited by a
36	36	national accrediting organization that is approved by the board and
37	37	recognized by the United States secretary of education under the
38	38	Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1001 et seq.) in an
39	39	accredited or approved college or university; or
40	40	(B) audiology, possess at least a doctoral degree
41	41	in audiology or a related hearing science from a program accredited
42	42	by a national accrediting organization that is approved by the
43	43	board and recognized by the United States secretary of education
44	44	under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1001 et
45	45	seq.) in an accredited or approved college or university;
46	46	(2) submit a transcript from a public or private
47	47	institution of higher learning showing successful completion of
48	48	course work in amounts set by the board in:
49	49	(A) normal development and use of speech,
50	50	language, and hearing;
51	51	(B) evaluation, habilitation, and rehabilitation
52	52	of speech, language, and hearing disorders; and
53	53	(C) related fields that augment the work of
54	54	clinical practitioners of speech-language pathology and audiology;
55	55	(3) have successfully completed at least 36 semester
56	56	hours in courses that are acceptable toward a graduate degree by the
57	57	college or university in which the courses are taken, at least 24 of
58	58	which must be in the professional area for which the license is
59	59	requested [and at least six of which must be:
60	60	[(A) in audiology if the application is for a
61	61	speech-language pathology license; or
62	62	[(B) in speech-language pathology if the
63	63	application is for an audiology license];
64	64	(4) have completed the minimum number of hours,
65	65	established by the board, of supervised clinical experience with
66	66	persons who present a variety of communication disorders; and
67	67	(5) have completed the full-time supervised
68	68	professional experience, as defined by board rule, in which
69	69	clinical work has been accomplished in the major professional area
70	70	for which the license is being sought.
71	71	SECTION 4. Section 401.306(a), Occupations Code, is amended
72	72	to read as follows:
73	73	(a) [The board shall notify each examinee of the results of
74	74	the examination not later than the 30th day after the date the
75	75	examination is administered.] If an examination is graded or
76	76	reviewed by a national or state testing service that does not
77	77	directly notify examinees of the examination results, the board
78	78	shall notify each examinee of the results not later than the 14th
79	79	day after the date the board receives the results from the testing
80	80	service.
81	81	SECTION 5. Subchapter G, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
82	82	amended by adding Section 401.315 to read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 401.315. LICENSING FOR MILITARY SPOUSES. (a) In this
84	84	section:
85	85	(1) "Military service member" means a person who is
86	86	currently serving in the armed forces of the United States, in a
87	87	reserve component of the armed forces of the United States,
88	88	including the National Guard, or in the state military service of
89	89	any state.
90	90	(2) "Military spouse" means a person who is married to
91	91	a military service member.
92	92	(b) The board shall issue a license to a military spouse
93	93	who:
94	94	(1) was licensed in good standing as a speech-language
95	95	pathologist or audiologist in another state as of the date of the
96	96	application;
97	97	(2) holds a master's degree in at least one of the
98	98	areas of communicative sciences or disorders from a program
99	99	accredited by a national accrediting organization that is:
100	100	(A) approved by the board; and
101	101	(B) recognized by the United States secretary of
102	102	education under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section
103	103	1001 et seq.); and
104	104	(3) has not been the subject of a disciplinary action
105	105	in any jurisdiction in which the applicant is or has been licensed.
106	106	SECTION 6. Subchapter I, Chapter 401, Occupations Code, is
107	107	amended by adding Section 401.405 to read as follows:
108	108	Sec. 401.405. TELEPRACTICE. (a) In this section,
109	109	"telepractice" means the use of telecommunications technology by a
110	110	license holder for an assessment, intervention, or consultation
111	111	regarding a speech-language pathology or audiology client.
112	112	(b) The board may adopt rules consistent with the joint
113	113	rules under Section 401.2022 to provide for the practice of
114	114	speech-language pathology or audiology by the use of telepractice
115	115	by a person licensed under this chapter, including rules that
116	116	establish the qualifications and duties of license holders who use
117	117	telepractice.
118	118	SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 402, Occupations Code, is
119	119	amended by adding Section 402.1023 to read as follows:
120	120	Sec. 402.1023. JOINT RULES FOR FITTING AND DISPENSING OF
121	121	HEARING INSTRUMENTS BY TELEPRACTICE. With the assistance of the
122	122	department, the committee and the State Board of Examiners for
123	123	Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall jointly adopt rules
124	124	to establish requirements for the fitting and dispensing of hearing
125	125	instruments by the use of telepractice.
126	126	SECTION 8. Subchapter H, Chapter 402, Occupations Code, is
127	127	amended by adding Section 402.354 to read as follows:
128	128	Sec. 402.354. TELEPRACTICE. (a) In this section,
129	129	"telepractice" means the use of telecommunications technology by a
130	130	license holder for the fitting and dispensing of hearing
131	131	instruments.
132	132	(b) The committee may adopt rules consistent with the joint
133	133	rules under Section 402.1023 to provide for the fitting and
134	134	dispensing of hearing instruments by the use of telepractice,
135	135	including rules that establish the qualifications and duties of
136	136	license holders who use telepractice.
137	137	SECTION 9. The following provisions of the Occupations Code
138	138	are repealed:
139	139	(1) Section 401.309;
140	140	(2) Section 401.314; and
141	141	(3) Section 401.355(c).
142	142	SECTION 10. The State Board of Examiners for
143	143	Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology by rule may establish a
144	144	procedure to issue an audiologist license to a person who submits an
145	145	application before September 1, 2014, and who:
146	146	(1) has a master's degree in audiology; and
147	147	(2) was licensed as an audiologist in this state
148	148	between September 1, 2007, and September 1, 2011.
149	149	SECTION 11. Section 401.304, Occupations Code, as amended
150	150	by this Act, applies only to an application for a license filed on
151	151	or after January 1, 2015. An application for a license filed before
152	152	January 1, 2015, is governed by the law in effect on the date the
153	153	application was filed, and that law is continued in effect for that
154	154	purpose.
155	155	SECTION 12. (a) The State Board of Examiners for
156	156	Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and the State Committee of
157	157	Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments
158	158	shall jointly adopt rules under Sections 401.2022 and 402.1023,
159	159	Occupations Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1,
160	160	2014.
161	161	(b) The State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language
162	162	Pathology and Audiology shall adopt any rules necessary to
163	163	implement Section 401.304, Occupations Code, as amended by this
164	164	Act, and Section 401.405, Occupations Code, as added by this Act,
165	165	not later than January 1, 2014.
166	166	(c) The State Committee of Examiners in the Fitting and
167	167	Dispensing of Hearing Instruments shall adopt any rules necessary
168	168	to implement Section 402.354, Occupations Code, as added by this
169	169	Act, not later than January 1, 2014.
170	170	SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.