Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB519 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Schwertner S.B. No. 519
2		-	(Crownover)
	1	+	S.B. No. 519
3	2
4	3
5		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	4		AN ACT
7	5		relating to the registration of dental support organizations;
8	6		imposing a fee; requiring an occupational registration; providing a
9	7		civil penalty.
10	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	9		SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is
12	10		amended by adding Chapter 73 to read as follows:
13	11		CHAPTER 73. REGISTRATION OF DENTAL SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS
14	12		Sec. 73.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	13		(1) "Business support services" means business,
16	14		management, consulting, or administrative services, facilities, or
17	15		staff provided for a dentist, including:
18	16		(A) office space, furnishings, and equipment;
19	17		(B) staff employed by the dental support
20	18		organization;
21	19		(C) regulatory compliance;
22	20		(D) inventory or supplies, including dental
23	21		equipment and supplies;
24	22		(E) information systems;
25	23		(F) marketing and advertising;
26	24		(G) financial services;
27	25		(H) accounting, bookkeeping, or monitoring or
28	26		payment of accounts receivable;
29	27		(I) payroll or benefits administration;
30	28		(J) billing and collection for services and
31	29		products;
32	30		(K) reporting and payment of federal or state
33	31		taxes;
34	32		(L) administration of interest expense or
35	33		indebtedness incurred to finance the operation of a business; or
36	34		(M) insurance services.
37	35		(2) "Dental support organization" means an entity
38	36		that, under an agreement, provides two or more business support
39	37		services to a dentist.
40	38		(3) "Dentist" means an individual licensed to practice
41	39		dentistry in this state.
42	40		Sec. 73.002. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. (a) A dental support
43	41		organization shall annually register with the secretary of state.
44	42		(b) A dental support organization's registration under this
45	43		section is considered registration of any subsidiary, contractor,
46	44		or affiliate of the dental support organization through or with
47	45		which the dental support organization provides business support
48	46		services.
49	47		Sec. 73.003. EXEMPTIONS. This chapter does not require
50	48		registration by:
51	49		(1) an accountant providing only accounting services;
52	50		(2) an attorney providing only legal counsel;
53	51		(3) an insurance company or insurance agent providing
54	52		only insurance policies to a business; and
55	53		(4) entities providing only investment and financial
56	54		advisory services.
57	55		Sec. 73.004. CONTENTS OF REGISTRATION; FEE. (a) The
58	56		registration required by Section 73.002 must include:
59	57		(1) the name and business address of the dental
60	58		support organization;
61	59		(2) the name and business address of each dentist in
62	60		this state with which the dental support organization has entered
63	61		into an agreement to provide two or more business support services;
64	62		(3) the name of each dentist who owns 10 percent or
65	63		more of the dental support organization;
66	64		(4) the name of each person who is not a dentist and
67	65		owns 10 percent or more of the dental support organization; and
68	66		(5) a list of all business support services provided
69	67		to each dentist.
70	68		(b) A registration and each corrected registration must be
71	69		accompanied by a fee set by the secretary of state in an amount
72	70		necessary to recover the costs of administering this chapter.
73	71		(c) A registration or corrected registration is not
74	72		effective until the dental support organization pays the fee
75	73		required by this section.
76	74		Sec. 73.005. TIMING OF REGISTRATION; CORRECTION REQUIRED.
77	75		(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the registration
78	76		required by Section 73.002 must be filed with the secretary of state
79	77		not later than January 31 of each year for which the registration is
80	78		effective.
81	79		(b) A dental support organization that initially meets the
82	80		requirement for registration under Section 73.002 after January 31
83	81		shall file the registration required by that section not later than
84	82		the 90th day after the date an agreement to provide business support
85	83		services is executed.
86	84		(c) A dental support organization shall file a corrected
87	85		registration each quarter as necessary.
88	86		Sec. 73.006. FAILURE TO FILE REGISTRATION OR CORRECTION.
89	87		(a) A person who fails to file a registration or a corrected
90	88		registration as required by this chapter is liable to the state for
91	89		a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000.
92	90		(b) Each day a violation continues or occurs is a separate
93	91		violation for the purpose of imposing the civil penalty.
94	92		(c) The attorney general shall file suit to collect the
95	93		civil penalty provided by this section. The suit may be filed in
96	94		Travis County or any county where the dental support organization
97	95		provides business support services.
98	96		Sec. 73.007. INTERAGENCY MEMORANDUM. The secretary of
99	97		state and the State Board of Dental Examiners shall enter into an
100	98		interagency memorandum to share the information collected by the
101	99		secretary of state under this chapter with the board.
102	100		Sec. 73.008. APPLICABILITY. This chapter does not limit
103	101		nonclinical business support services that may be provided to a
104	102		dentist by a dental support organization.
105	103		SECTION 2. Sections 254.019(a), (b), and (c), Occupations
106	104		Code, are amended to read as follows:
107	105		(a) In this section:
108	106		(1) "Business support services" has the meaning
109	107		assigned by Section 73.001, Business & Commerce Code ["Dental
110	108		service agreement" means an agreement between a dental service
111	109		organization and a dentist under which the dental service
112	110		organization will:
113	111		[(A) provide services related to the nonclinical
114	112		business aspects of a dental practice, including arranging or
115	113		providing financing, performing billing or payroll tasks,
116	114		processing patient insurance claims, scheduling or otherwise
117	115		interacting with patients, and performing other administrative
118	116		tasks;
119	117		[(B) supervise or manage the employees or
120	118		contractors of the dentist; or
121	119		[(C) employ or otherwise contract with a dentist
122	120		in the dentist's capacity as a dentist].
123	121		(2) "Dental support [service] organization" has the
124	122		meaning assigned by Section 73.001, Business & Commerce Code [means
125	123		an entity that:
126	124		[(A) is owned wholly or partly by a person who is
127	125		or is not a dentist; and
128	126		[(B) under a dental service agreement, provides
129	127		or offers to provide services to a dentist or employs or otherwise
130	128		contracts with a dentist in the dentist's capacity as a dentist].
131	129		(b) The board shall collect the following information from
132	130		dentists licensed by the board in conjunction with the issuance and
133	131		renewal of each dental license:
134	132		(1) the number and type of dentists employed by the
135	133		license holder, if any;
136	134		(2) the name under which the license holder provides
137	135		dental services and each location at which those services are
138	136		provided by that license holder;
139	137		(3) whether the license holder is a participating
140	138		provider under the Medicaid program operated under Chapter 32,
141	139		Human Resources Code, or the child health plan program operated
142	140		under Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code;
143	141		(4) whether the license holder [is employed by or]
144	142		contracts or enters into an agreement for business support services
145	143		with a dental support [service] organization and, if so, the name
146	144		and address of the dental support [service] organization;
147	145		(5) whether the license holder owns all or part of a
148	146		dental support [service] organization and, if so, the name and
149	147		address of the dental support [service] organization and of each
150	148		dental office at which the dental support [service] organization
151	149		provides services to patients;
152	150		(6) whether the license holder is a party to a dental
153	151		support [service] agreement and, if so, the name and address of the
154	152		dental support [service] organization that provides services under
155	153		the agreement; and
156	154		(7) if the license holder owns all or part of a dental
157	155		support [service] organization, whether the license holder's
158	156		[that] practice is a party to a dental support [service] agreement
159	157		and, if so, the name and address of the dental support [service]
160	158		organization that provides services under the agreement.
161	159		(c) If requested by the board, a dental support [service]
162	160		organization shall provide to the board the address of the
163	161		locations where the organization provides business support
164	162		[dental] services in this state and the name of each dentist
165	163		providing dental services at each location.
166	164		SECTION 3. Notwithstanding Section 73.002, Business &
167	165		Commerce Code, as added by this Act, a dental support organization
168	166		is not required to register under that section before February 1,
169	167		2016.
170	168		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	169	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	170	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	171	+	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 519 passed the Senate on
	172	+	April 1, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays 4.
	173	+	______________________________
	174	+	Secretary of the Senate
	175	+	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 519 passed the House on
	176	+	May 23, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 94, Nays 48, one
	177	+	present not voting.
	178	+	______________________________
	179	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	180	+	Approved:
	181	+	______________________________
	182	+	Date
	183	+	______________________________
	184	+	Governor