86R3062 MM-D
By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 955
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to eligibility requirements for student loan repayment
assistance for certain mental health professionals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.603, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.603. ELIGIBILITY. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), to [To] be eligible to receive repayment assistance
under this subchapter, a mental health professional must:
(1) apply to the board;
(2) have completed one, two, three, four, or five
consecutive years of practice in a mental health professional
shortage area designated by the Department of State Health
Services; and
(3) provide mental health services in this state to:
(A) recipients under the medical assistance
program authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code;
(B) enrollees under the child health plan program
authorized by Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code; or
(C) persons committed to a secure correctional
facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department or persons confined in a secure correctional
facility operated by or under contract with any division of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
(b) To be eligible to receive repayment assistance under
this subchapter, a mental health professional described by Section
61.601(1) who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of
psychiatric and associated behavioral health issues affecting
children must:
(1) apply to the board;
(2) provide mental health services to children in this
state; and
(3) have completed one, two, three, four, or five
consecutive years of practice in this state as described by
Subdivision (2), including a practice that consists solely of the
remote diagnosis and treatment of children.
(c) In addition to satisfying the requirements under
Subsection (a) or (b), as applicable, for a licensed physician to be
eligible to receive repayment assistance under this subchapter
after the physician's third consecutive year of practice described
under Subsection (a)(2) or (b), as applicable, the physician must
be certified in psychiatry by:
(1) the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; or
(2) the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and
Psychiatry.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section
61.603, Education Code, applies only to a person who first
establishes eligibility for loan repayment assistance under
Subchapter K, Chapter 61, Education Code, as amended by this Act, on
the basis of an application submitted on or after September 1, 2019.
A person who first establishes eligibility on the basis of an
application submitted before September 1, 2019, is governed by the
law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.