By: Klick (Senate Sponsor - Kolkhorst) H.B. No. 3240
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2021;
May 11, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
Human Services; May 21, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
May 21, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3240 By: Miles
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the composition of the Long-Term Care Facilities
Council and rules related to and the imposition of administrative
penalties against certain long-term care facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 531.0581(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The executive commissioner shall establish a Long-Term
Care Facilities Council as a permanent advisory committee to the
commission. The council is composed of the following members
appointed by the executive commissioner:
(1) at least one member who is a for-profit nursing
facility provider;
(2) at least one member who is a nonprofit nursing
facility provider;
(3) at least one member who is an assisted living
services provider;
(4) at least one member responsible for survey
enforcement within the state survey and certification agency;
(5) at least one member responsible for survey
inspection within the state survey and certification agency;
(6) at least one member of the state agency
responsible for informal dispute resolution;
(7) at least one member with expertise in Medicaid
quality-based payment systems for long-term care facilities;
(8) at least one member who is a practicing medical
director of a long-term care facility; [and]
(9) at least one member who is a physician with
expertise in infectious disease or public health; and
(10) at least one member who is a community-based
provider at an intermediate care facility for individuals with
intellectual or developmental disabilities licensed under Chapter
252, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Section 252.065(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The penalty for a facility with fewer than 60 beds shall
be not less than $100 or more than $1,000 for each violation. The
penalty for a facility with 60 beds or more shall be not less than
$100 or more than $5,000 for each violation. Each day a violation
occurs or continues is a separate violation for purposes of
imposing a penalty. The total amount of penalties [a penalty]
assessed under this subsection for an on-site regulatory visit or
complaint investigation, regardless of the duration of any ongoing
violations, [for each day a violation occurs or continues] may not
exceed:
(1) $5,000 for a facility with fewer than 60 beds; and
(2) $25,000 for a facility with 60 beds or more.
SECTION 3. Section 161.089, Human Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
read as follows:
(c) After consulting with appropriate stakeholders, the
executive commissioner shall develop and adopt rules regarding the
imposition of administrative penalties under this section. The
rules must:
(1) specify the types of violations that warrant
imposition of an administrative penalty;
(2) establish a schedule of progressive
administrative penalties in accordance with the relative type,
frequency, and seriousness of a violation;
(3) prescribe reasonable amounts to be imposed for
each violation giving rise to an administrative penalty, subject to
Subdivision (4);
(4) authorize the imposition of an administrative
penalty in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for each violation;
(5) provide that a provider commits a separate
violation each day the provider continues to violate the law or
rule;
(6) ensure standard and consistent application of
administrative penalties throughout the state; [and]
(7) provide for an administrative appeals process to
adjudicate claims and appeals relating to the imposition of an
administrative penalty under this section that is in accordance
with Chapter 2001, Government Code; and
(8) ensure standard and consistent interpretation of
service delivery rules and consistent application of
administrative penalties throughout this state.
(c-1) On adoption of the rules under Subsection (c), the
executive commissioner shall develop interpretative guidelines for
regulatory staff and providers regarding the imposition of
administrative penalties under this section.
SECTION 4. Not later than December 1, 2021, the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
adopt the rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by
this Act.
SECTION 5. The Health and Human Services Commission may not
assess a penalty under Section 161.089, Human Resources Code, as
amended by this Act, until the executive commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission:
(1) adopts the rules necessary to implement Section
161.089(c)(8), Human Resources Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) develops the interpretive guidelines required by
Section 161.089(c-1), Human Resources Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. 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, 2021.
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