85R4818 KKR-D
By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 3469
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the licensing and registration of certain assisted
living facilities and group home facilities; authorizing the
imposition of a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 247.002, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (4-b) to
read as follows:
(1) "Assisted living facility" means an establishment
that:
(A) furnishes, in one or more facilities, food
and shelter to:
(i) four or more persons who are unrelated
to the proprietor of the establishment; or
(ii) at least one and fewer than four
persons who are unrelated to the proprietor of the establishment
and at least one of whom has Alzheimer's disease or dementia;
(B) provides:
(i) personal care services; or
(ii) administration of medication by a
person licensed or otherwise authorized in this state to administer
the medication;
(C) may provide assistance with or supervision of
the administration of medication; and
(D) may provide skilled nursing services for the
following limited purposes:
(i) coordination of resident care with
outside home and community support services agencies and other
health care professionals;
(ii) provision or delegation of personal
care services and medication administration as described by this
subdivision;
(iii) assessment of residents to determine
the care required; and
(iv) for periods of time as established by
commission [department] rule, delivery of temporary skilled
nursing treatment for a minor illness, injury, or emergency.
(4-b) "Group home facility" means an establishment
that otherwise meets the definition of an assisted living facility,
except that the establishment furnishes food and shelter to three
or fewer persons who are unrelated to the proprietor of the
establishment.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 247, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 247.02101 to read as follows:
Sec. 247.02101. GROUP HOME FACILITY; REGISTRATION
REQUIRED. (a) A group home facility shall register with the
commission in the form and manner provided by commission rule.
(b) A group home facility that fails to register with the
commission under this section is subject to a civil penalty under
Section 247.045.
SECTION 3. Section 247.029, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (e) and
(f) to read as follows:
(d) The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt
definitions [a definition] of "Alzheimer's disease and related
disorders[,]" and "dementia," and may adopt by reference a
definition published in a generally accepted clinical resource for
medical professionals. The executive commissioner shall modify the
definition as necessary to conform to changes in medical practice.
(e) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules providing
for the licensing and operation of an assisted living facility
described by Section 247.002(1)(A)(ii). The rules must require a
facility to:
(1) employ at least one caregiver who:
(A) has training or experience in providing care
to persons with Alzheimer's disease or dementia; and
(B) is able to provide adequate treatment and
care for each resident with Alzheimer's disease or dementia at the
facility;
(2) implement security measures to ensure that
residents with Alzheimer's disease or dementia do not leave the
institution unaccompanied or unassisted;
(3) ensure that a resident leaves the facility only
when accompanied by:
(A) a person authorized to accompany the resident
by the individual responsible for the resident; or
(B) a medical transportation provider who is
transporting a resident for scheduled health care services;
(4) maintain an operational nonwireless telephone
line at the facility with a telephone number listed in the name of
the facility or of the controlling person;
(5) provide:
(A) bedrooms with sufficient square footage and
floor space;
(B) a social-diversional area; and
(C) appropriate activities for residents;
(6) obtain permission from the individual responsible
for a resident before handling the resident's personal finances or
accepting from a resident money or gifts of financial value;
(7) maintain regular contact with the individual
responsible for the resident; and
(8) refrain from contacting a former resident, an
individual responsible for a former resident, or an assisted living
facility where a former resident currently resides.
(f) An assisted living facility described by Section
247.002(1)(A)(ii) may not have residing at the facility
simultaneously a resident with a severe mental illness and a
resident with Alzheimer's disease or dementia.
SECTION 4. Section 247.050, Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 5. The executive commissioner of the Health and
Human Services Commission shall adopt rules:
(1) necessary to implement Section 247.02101, Health
and Safety Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1,
2018; and
(2) required by Section 247.029, Health and Safety
Code, as amended by this Act, not later than June 1, 2018.
SECTION 6. A person is not required to comply with:
(1) Section 247.02101, Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, until January 1, 2018; and
(2) Section 247.029, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by this Act, until June 1, 2018.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.