83R20757 JSC/KLA-D
By: N. Gonzalez of El Paso H.B. No. 1829
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1829:
By: Raymond C.S.H.B. No. 1829
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to safe patient handling and movement practices at
hospitals and nursing homes and to a franchise tax credit for
equipment related to those practices for use in those facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 256.002(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The policy shall [establish a process that, at a
minimum, includes]:
(1) include an analysis of the risk of injury to
[both] patients, [and] nurses, and other direct-care staff members
posed by the patient handling needs of the patient populations
served by the hospital or nursing home and the physical environment
in which patient handling and movement occurs;
(2) require education of nurses and other
direct-care staff members in the identification, assessment, and
control of risks of injury to patients, [and] nurses, and other
direct-care staff members during patient handling and movement,
including training on:
(A) the proper use of lifting devices and
equipment;
(B) proper manual lifting technique;
(C) the benefit of team lifts and potential risks
of single-person lifts; and
(D) [(3) evaluation of] alternative ways to
reduce risks associated with patient handling, including the use
[evaluation] of equipment for moving patients and the use of the
environment;
(3) restrict [(4) restriction], to the extent
feasible with existing equipment and aids, [of] manual patient
handling or movement of all or most of a patient's weight to
emergency, life-threatening, or otherwise exceptional
circumstances;
(4) provide for [(5)] collaboration with and annual
report to the nurse staffing committee;
(5) prohibit retaliation or discrimination against a
direct-care staff member who refuses [(6) procedures for nurses to
refuse] to perform or be involved in patient handling or movement
that the direct-care staff member [nurse] believes in good faith
will expose a patient or a direct-care staff member [nurse] to an
unacceptable risk of injury;
(6) require [(7)] submission of an annual report to
the governing body or the quality assurance committee on activities
related to the identification, assessment, and development of
strategies to control risk of injury to patients, [and] nurses, and
other direct-care staff members associated with the lifting,
transferring, repositioning, or movement of a patient; and
(7) [(8)] in the development of [developing]
architectural plans for constructing or remodeling a hospital or
nursing home or a unit of a hospital or nursing home in which
patient handling and movement occurs, require consideration of the
feasibility of incorporating patient handling equipment or the
physical space and construction design needed to incorporate that
equipment at a later date.
SECTION 2. Chapter 171, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter U to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER U. TAX CREDIT FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
Sec. 171.891. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "powered
lift equipment" means a device or other equipment that is designed
to use electrical or mechanical energy, instead of human energy
only, to assist in lifting an individual.
Sec. 171.892. ENTITLEMENT TO CREDIT. A taxable entity is
entitled to a credit in the amount and under the conditions and
limitations provided by this subchapter against the tax imposed
under this chapter.
Sec. 171.893. QUALIFICATION. A taxable entity qualifies
for a credit under this subchapter if:
(1) the taxable entity is a for-profit hospital or
nursing home and the taxable entity purchases powered lift
equipment for use in lifting patients at the hospital or residents
of the nursing home, as applicable; or
(2) the taxable entity donates money to a nonprofit
hospital or nursing home to be used to purchase powered lift
equipment for the purpose described by Subdivision (1).
Sec. 171.894. AMOUNT OF CREDIT. (a) Subject to Section
171.895, the amount of the credit for a taxable entity that
qualifies for a credit under Section 171.893(1) is equal to the
total of the sales prices of each powered lift equipment item that
was purchased during the period on which the report is based.
(b) Subject to Section 171.895, the amount of the credit for
a taxable entity that qualifies for a credit under Section
171.893(2) is the total amount of money donated during the period on
which the report is based for use as described by that subdivision.
(c) The burden of establishing entitlement to and the value
of the credit is on the taxable entity.
Sec. 171.895. LIMITATION. (a) The amount of a credit
claimed under this subchapter on a report may not exceed the amount
of franchise tax due after applying any other applicable credits.
(b) A taxable entity may not carry forward the amount of a
credit that is unused because the amount of the credit exceeds the
limitation of this section.
Sec. 171.896. APPLICATION FOR CREDIT. A taxable entity
must apply for a credit under this subchapter on or with the tax
report for the period for which the credit is claimed.
Sec. 171.897. RULES; PROCEDURES. The comptroller shall
adopt rules and procedures to implement, administer, and enforce
this subchapter, including rules regarding:
(1) the specific items that qualify as powered lift
equipment for purposes of this subchapter; and
(2) the proof required for a taxable entity to
demonstrate that a donation of money for which a credit is claimed
under Section 171.893(2) is to be used for the purpose required by
that subdivision.
Sec. 171.898. ASSIGNMENT PROHIBITED; EXCEPTION. A taxable
entity may not convey, assign, or transfer the credit allowed under
this subchapter to another taxable entity unless all assets of the
taxable entity are conveyed, assigned, or transferred in the same
transaction.
SECTION 3. A hospital or nursing home shall adopt and
implement a policy required by Section 256.002(b), Health and
Safety Code, as amended by this Act, not later than January 1, 2014.
SECTION 4. Subchapter U, Chapter 171, Tax Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a report originally due on or after
January 1, 2014.
SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a
vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
(b) Subchapter U, Chapter 171, Tax Code, as added by this
Act, takes effect January 1, 2014.