Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB955 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R3062 MM-D
2	2	By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 955
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to eligibility requirements for student loan repayment
8	8	assistance for certain mental health professionals.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 61.603, Education Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 61.603. ELIGIBILITY. (a) Except as provided by
13	13	Subsection (b), to [To] be eligible to receive repayment assistance
14	14	under this subchapter, a mental health professional must:
15	15	(1) apply to the board;
16	16	(2) have completed one, two, three, four, or five
17	17	consecutive years of practice in a mental health professional
18	18	shortage area designated by the Department of State Health
19	19	Services; and
20	20	(3) provide mental health services in this state to:
21	21	(A) recipients under the medical assistance
22	22	program authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code;
23	23	(B) enrollees under the child health plan program
24	24	authorized by Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code; or
25	25	(C) persons committed to a secure correctional
26	26	facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile
27	27	Justice Department or persons confined in a secure correctional
28	28	facility operated by or under contract with any division of the
29	29	Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
30	30	(b) To be eligible to receive repayment assistance under
31	31	this subchapter, a mental health professional described by Section
32	32	61.601(1) who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of
33	33	psychiatric and associated behavioral health issues affecting
34	34	children must:
35	35	(1) apply to the board;
36	36	(2) provide mental health services to children in this
37	37	state; and
38	38	(3) have completed one, two, three, four, or five
39	39	consecutive years of practice in this state as described by
40	40	Subdivision (2), including a practice that consists solely of the
41	41	remote diagnosis and treatment of children.
42	42	(c) In addition to satisfying the requirements under
43	43	Subsection (a) or (b), as applicable, for a licensed physician to be
44	44	eligible to receive repayment assistance under this subchapter
45	45	after the physician's third consecutive year of practice described
46	46	under Subsection (a)(2) or (b), as applicable, the physician must
47	47	be certified in psychiatry by:
48	48	(1) the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; or
49	49	(2) the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and
50	50	Psychiatry.
51	51	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section
52	52	61.603, Education Code, applies only to a person who first
53	53	establishes eligibility for loan repayment assistance under
54	54	Subchapter K, Chapter 61, Education Code, as amended by this Act, on
55	55	the basis of an application submitted on or after September 1, 2019.
56	56	A person who first establishes eligibility on the basis of an
57	57	application submitted before September 1, 2019, is governed by the
58	58	law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the
59	59	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
60	60	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.