Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1119 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R1178 EES-D
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 1119
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to a pilot project to evaluate the use of telepractice to
8	8	provide certain services to children and adults with an autism
9	9	spectrum disorder.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Section 531.02177 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 531.02177. AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER TELEPRACTICE
14	14	PILOT PROJECT. (a) In this section, "telepractice" means the use
15	15	of telecommunications technology to facilitate a diagnosis or
16	16	intervention.
17	17	(b) The commission shall develop and implement a six-year
18	18	pilot project in which evidence-based diagnostic and intervention
19	19	services are provided to children and adults with an autism
20	20	spectrum disorder by telepractice by certain physicians and health
21	21	and other professionals.
22	22	(c) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary
23	23	to develop and implement the pilot project under this section. The
24	24	rules adopted under this section:
25	25	(1) must allow a service provider to be physically
26	26	located at and provide services from any site located in or
27	27	associated with the autism centers at the following institutions:
28	28	(A) The University of Texas Health Science Center
29	29	at Houston;
30	30	(B) Baylor College of Medicine;
31	31	(C) the University of Houston--Clear Lake;
32	32	(D) The University of Texas at Dallas and The
33	33	University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center;
34	34	(E) the University of North Texas;
35	35	(F) Texas A&M University;
36	36	(G) The University of Texas at Austin;
37	37	(H) Texas State University; and
38	38	(I) Texas Tech University;
39	39	(2) must require services to be provided by a person
40	40	authorized to provide telemedicine medical services or telehealth
41	41	services or by any of the following persons employed by or under
42	42	contract with one of the autism centers described in Subdivision
43	43	(1):
44	44	(A) a board certified behavior analyst;
45	45	(B) an occupational therapist;
46	46	(C) a speech-language therapist; or
47	47	(D) a physical therapist;
48	48	(3) must require that the scope of services that may be
49	49	provided by telepractice includes those services that may be
50	50	provided through telemedicine medical services and telehealth
51	51	services and intensive behavioral intervention, applied behavioral
52	52	analysis, and speech-language evaluation and treatment;
53	53	(4) may not require a participant in the pilot project
54	54	to submit to an in-person evaluation by a service provider before
55	55	the participant receives services by telepractice from the
56	56	provider;
57	57	(5) may not require a person to reside in a rural area
58	58	or a medically underserved area as a condition of participating in
59	59	the pilot project;
60	60	(6) must require a participant to be physically
61	61	located at and receive services at a site at which a person may
62	62	receive telemedicine medical services or telehealth services or any
63	63	of the following sites:
64	64	(A) a primary or secondary school;
65	65	(B) an alternative education center;
66	66	(C) an education service center;
67	67	(D) a licensed child-care facility;
68	68	(E) a site where Head Start or Early Head Start
69	69	program services are provided;
70	70	(F) a site where early childhood intervention
71	71	services are provided; or
72	72	(G) the participant's home;
73	73	(7) must allow the following persons to be present at a
74	74	site where a participant receives services, to introduce the
75	75	participant to the service provider, and to perform any tasks
76	76	delegated by the service provider:
77	77	(A) a person authorized to be a site presenter at
78	78	a site where a person is receiving telemedicine medical services or
79	79	telehealth services;
80	80	(B) a certified elementary or secondary school
81	81	teacher;
82	82	(C) a licensed early childhood education and care
83	83	professional;
84	84	(D) a licensed specialist in school psychology;
85	85	(E) a certified educational diagnostician;
86	86	(F) an early childhood intervention services
87	87	provider who is not credentialed to provide qualified mental health
88	88	professional community services;
89	89	(G) a registered or licensed vocational nurse who
90	90	is not credentialed to provide qualified mental health professional
91	91	community services;
92	92	(H) a board certified behavior analyst;
93	93	(I) a speech-language therapist;
94	94	(J) an occupational therapist;
95	95	(K) a physical therapist;
96	96	(L) a person who conducts home visits under the
97	97	Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; or
98	98	(M) a promotora, as defined by Section 48.001,
99	99	Health and Safety Code;
100	100	(8) must require that a service provider maintain all
101	101	records relating to the service provider's telepractice
102	102	interaction with a participant and provide copies of those records
103	103	to the participant; and
104	104	(9) may not require a person present at a site where a
105	105	participant is receiving services to maintain records relating to a
106	106	service provider's telepractice interaction with the participant
107	107	that are created at the site where the service provider is located.
108	108	(d) Not later than December 1, 2022, the commission shall
109	109	submit a report to the legislature evaluating the pilot project.
110	110	The report required by this subsection may be submitted
111	111	electronically.
112	112	(e) This section expires September 1, 2023.
113	113	SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2015, the executive
114	114	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
115	115	adopt the rules required by Section 531.02177, Government Code, as
116	116	added by this Act.
117	117	SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2016, the Health and
118	118	Human Services Commission shall ensure that the pilot project
119	119	required by Section 531.02177, Government Code, as added by this
120	120	Act, is in operation.
121	121	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
122	122	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
123	123	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
124	124	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
125	125	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.