85R7657 SRS-D
By: Campbell, Hinojosa, Perry S.B. No. 1455
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a rural resident physician grant
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 58A, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. RURAL RESIDENT PHYSICIAN GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 58A.081. RURAL RESIDENT PHYSICIAN GRANT PROGRAM. (a)
The board shall administer the Rural Resident Physician Grant
Program as a competitive grant program to encourage the creation of
new graduate medical education positions in rural and
nonmetropolitan areas, with particular emphasis on the creation of
rural training tracks. The board shall award grants to new or
expanded physician residency programs at teaching hospitals and
other appropriate health care entities according to the program
criteria established under this section.
(b) The board shall establish criteria for the grant program
in consultation with one or more physicians, including a physician
who practices in a rural area of this state, teaching hospitals,
medical schools, and independent physician residency programs, and
with other persons considered appropriate by the board. The
program criteria must take into account whether a rural or
nonmetropolitan area has the resources sufficient to support a
physician residency program in a manner that would satisfy
applicable residency program accreditation requirements.
(c) The board may provide grants only to support a physician
residency program:
(1) that provides the level of medical care that is
most needed in a rural or nonmetropolitan area; and
(2) until the program becomes eligible for federal
grant funding.
(d) Grant funds awarded under this section may be used only
to pay direct costs associated with creating or maintaining a
residency position, including the salary of the resident physician.
(e) Each grant application must:
(1) specify the number of residency positions expected
to be created or maintained with the grant money;
(2) specify the grant amount requested for each year;
(3) include documentation of infrastructure and
staffing to satisfy applicable residency program accreditation
requirements;
(4) include documentation that the residency program
will set a primary goal of producing physicians who are prepared for
practice in a rural area; and
(5) include evidence of support for residency training
by sponsoring institutions and the community.
(f) The board shall award grants for all residency positions
awarded a grant under this section in the preceding year before
awarding a grant for a residency position that did not receive a
grant in the preceding year, provided that the applicable grant
recipient from the preceding year complies with all conditions of
the grant as described by Subsection (g) and satisfies the grant
eligibility requirements.
(g) The board shall monitor physician residency programs
receiving grants as necessary to ensure compliance with the grant
program and shall require the return of any unused grant money by,
or shall decline to award additional grants to, a residency program
that receives a grant but fails to:
(1) create and fill, within a reasonable period, the
number of residency positions proposed in the program's grant
application; or
(2) satisfy any other conditions of the grant imposed
by the board.
(h) The board shall use money forfeited under Subsection (g)
to award grants to other eligible applicants. With respect to the
physician residency program forfeiting the grant, the board may
restore grant money or award additional grants, as applicable, to
the program as soon as practicable after the program satisfies all
conditions of the grant.
(i) The board shall adopt rules for the administration of
the grant program. The rules must include:
(1) administrative provisions governing:
(A) eligibility criteria for grant applicants;
(B) grant application procedures;
(C) guidelines relating to grant amounts;
(D) guidelines relating to the number of grants
to be awarded each year, subject to available funds;
(E) procedures for evaluating grant
applications;
(F) procedures for monitoring the use of grants;
and
(G) reporting requirements for grant recipients;
(2) methods for tracking the effectiveness of grants;
and
(3) any conditions relating to the receipt and use of a
grant as considered appropriate by the board.
SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules for the implementation and administration of the
grant program established under Subchapter E, Chapter 58A,
Education Code, as added by this Act. The board may adopt the
initial rules in the manner provided by law for emergency rules.
(b) Not later than October 1, 2017, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall establish the grant program
required by Subchapter E, Chapter 58A, Education Code, as added by
this Act, and shall begin to award grants under that program not
later than January 1, 2018.
SECTION 3. 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, 2017.