Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2651 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Howard, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Blanco) H.B. No. 2651
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2023;
3	3	May 5, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
4	4	Human Services; May 19, 2023, reported favorably by the following
5	5	vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 19, 2023, sent to printer.)
6	6	Click here to see the committee vote
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to required training and continuing education
12	12	requirements for persons who provide medical care or other support
13	13	to survivors of sexual assault.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 420.011(c), Government Code, is amended
16	16	to read as follows:
17	17	(c) The attorney general shall adopt rules establishing
18	18	minimum standards for the certification of a sexual assault nurse
19	19	examiner and the renewal of that certification by the nurse
20	20	examiner, including standards for examiner training courses and for
21	21	the interstate reciprocity of sexual assault nurse examiners. The
22	22	certification is valid for three [two] years from the date of
23	23	issuance. The attorney general shall also adopt rules establishing
24	24	minimum standards for the suspension, decertification, or
25	25	probation of a sexual assault nurse examiner who violates this
26	26	chapter.
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 323.002(a), Health and Safety Code, is
28	28	amended to read as follows:
29	29	(a) Each health care facility that has an emergency
30	30	department shall comply with Sections 323.004 and 323.0044. At the
31	31	request of the department, a health care facility that has an
32	32	emergency department shall submit to the department for approval a
33	33	plan for providing the services required by Section 323.004 to
34	34	sexual assault survivors who arrive for treatment at the emergency
35	35	department of the health care facility. Each health care facility
36	36	that is not a SAFE-ready facility shall include in the plan
37	37	submitted under this subsection the facility's written policies
38	38	developed under Sections 323.0045(c) and 323.0046(c).
39	39	SECTION 3. Section 323.0045, Health and Safety Code, is
40	40	amended to read as follows:
41	41	Sec. 323.0045. BASIC SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EVIDENCE
42	42	COLLECTION TRAINING. (a) A person who performs a forensic medical
43	43	examination on a sexual assault survivor must complete [have] at
44	44	least two hours of basic forensic evidence collection training or
45	45	the equivalent education that conforms to the evidence collection
46	46	protocol developed by the attorney general under Section 420.031,
47	47	Government Code.
48	48	(b) A person who completes a continuing medical or nursing
49	49	education course in forensic evidence collection described by
50	50	Section 156.057, 204.1563, or 301.306, Occupations Code, that is
51	51	approved or recognized by the appropriate licensing board is
52	52	considered to have completed basic [sexual assault] forensic
53	53	evidence collection training for purposes of this chapter.
54	54	(c) Each health care facility that has an emergency
55	55	department and that is not a SAFE-ready facility shall develop a
56	56	written policy [plan] to ensure that a person described by
57	57	Subsection (a) completes training on basic [train personnel on
58	58	sexual assault] forensic evidence collection in accordance with
59	59	this section.
60	60	SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 323, Health and Safety
61	61	Code, is amended by adding Section 323.0046 to read as follows:
62	62	Sec. 323.0046. BASIC SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE POLICY AND
63	63	TRAINING FOR CERTAIN HEALTH CARE FACILITY PERSONNEL. (a) A health
64	64	care facility that has an emergency department shall provide at
65	65	least one hour of basic sexual assault response training to
66	66	facility employees who provide patient admission functions,
67	67	patient-related administrative support functions, or direct
68	68	patient care. The training must include instruction on:
69	69	(1) the provision of survivor-centered,
70	70	trauma-informed care to sexual assault survivors; and
71	71	(2) the rights of sexual assault survivors under
72	72	Chapter 56A, Code of Criminal Procedure, including:
73	73	(A) the availability of a forensic medical
74	74	examination, including an examination that is available when a
75	75	sexual assault survivor does not report the assault to a law
76	76	enforcement agency; and
77	77	(B) the role of an advocate as defined by Section
78	78	420.003, Government Code, in responding to a sexual assault
79	79	survivor.
80	80	(b) An employee described by Subsection (a) who completes a
81	81	continuing medical or nursing education course in forensic evidence
82	82	collection described by Section 156.057, 204.1563, or 301.306,
83	83	Occupations Code, that is approved or recognized by the appropriate
84	84	licensing board is considered to have completed basic sexual
85	85	assault response training for purposes of this section.
86	86	(c) Each health care facility that has an emergency
87	87	department and that is not a SAFE-ready facility shall develop a
88	88	written policy to ensure that all appropriate facility personnel
89	89	complete the basic sexual assault response training required by
90	90	Subsection (a).
91	91	SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 204, Occupations Code, is
92	92	amended by adding Section 204.1563 to read as follows:
93	93	Sec. 204.1563. CONTINUING EDUCATION IN FORENSIC EVIDENCE
94	94	COLLECTION. (a) A physician assistant licensed under this chapter
95	95	whose practice includes treating patients in an emergency room
96	96	setting shall complete at least two hours of continuing medical
97	97	education relating to:
98	98	(1) the provision of trauma-informed care to sexual
99	99	assault survivors;
100	100	(2) appropriate community referrals and prophylactic
101	101	medications;
102	102	(3) the rights of a sexual assault survivor under
103	103	Chapter 56A, Code of Criminal Procedure, including the opportunity
104	104	to request the presence of an advocate as defined by Section
105	105	420.003, Government Code, and a forensic medical examination;
106	106	(4) forensic evidence collection methods; and
107	107	(5) state law pertaining to the custody, transfer, and
108	108	tracking of forensic evidence.
109	109	(b) The content of the continuing medical education
110	110	relating to forensic evidence collection must conform to the
111	111	evidence collection protocol distributed by the attorney general
112	112	under Section 420.031, Government Code.
113	113	SECTION 6. Sections 301.306(a) and (c), Occupations Code,
114	114	are amended to read as follows:
115	115	(a) As part of continuing education requirements under
116	116	Section 301.303, a license holder who is employed to work in an
117	117	emergency room setting and who is required under board rules to
118	118	comply with this section shall complete at least two hours of
119	119	continuing education relating to:
120	120	(1) the provision of trauma-informed care to sexual
121	121	assault survivors;
122	122	(2) appropriate community referrals and prophylactic
123	123	medications;
124	124	(3) the rights of a sexual assault survivor, including
125	125	the opportunity to request the presence of an advocate as defined by
126	126	Section 420.003, Government Code, and a forensic medical
127	127	examination under Chapter 56A, Code of Criminal Procedure;
128	128	(4) forensic evidence collection methods; and
129	129	(5) state law pertaining to the custody, transfer, and
130	130	tracking of forensic evidence [relating to forensic evidence
131	131	collection not later than:
132	132	[(1) September 1, 2008; or
133	133	[(2) the second anniversary of the initial
134	134	issuance of a license under this chapter to the license holder].
135	135	(c) The board shall adopt rules to identify the license
136	136	holders who are required to complete continuing education under
137	137	Subsection (a) and to establish the content of that continuing
138	138	education. The content of the continuing education relating to
139	139	forensic evidence collection must conform to the evidence
140	140	collection protocol distributed by the attorney general under
141	141	Section 420.031, Government Code. The board may adopt other rules
142	142	to implement this section, including rules under Section 301.303(c)
143	143	for the approval of education programs and providers.
144	144	SECTION 7. Section 420.011(c), Government Code, as amended
145	145	by this Act, applies only to an application for renewal of a sexual
146	146	assault nurse examiner certificate filed on or after the effective
147	147	date of this Act. An application for renewal of a certificate filed
148	148	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
149	149	effect on the date the application was filed, and the former law is
150	150	continued in effect for that purpose.
151	151	SECTION 8. (a) Section 323.002(a), Health and Safety Code,
152	152	as amended by this Act, applies only to a report requested by the
153	153	Department of State Health Services on or after January 1, 2024.
154	154	(b) Section 323.0045(a), Health and Safety Code, as amended
155	155	by this Act, applies only to a forensic medical examination that
156	156	occurs on or after December 1, 2023. A forensic medical examination
157	157	that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
158	158	law as it existed immediately before that date, and the former law
159	159	is continued in effect for that purpose.
160	160	(c) Not later than December 1, 2023, a health care facility
161	161	that has an emergency department shall develop the written policies
162	162	required by Section 323.0045(c), Health and Safety Code, as amended
163	163	by this Act, and Section 323.0046(c), Health and Safety Code, as
164	164	added by this Act.
165	165	(d) Notwithstanding Section 323.0046(a), Health and Safety
166	166	Code, as added by this Act, a health care facility that has an
167	167	emergency department is not required to comply with that subsection
168	168	until December 1, 2023.
169	169	SECTION 9. Section 301.306, Occupations Code, as amended by
170	170	this Act, and Section 204.1563, Occupations Code, as added by this
171	171	Act, apply to an application for the renewal of a license filed on
172	172	or after September 1, 2024. An application for the renewal of a
173	173	license filed before that date is governed by the law in effect on
174	174	the date the application was filed, and the former law is continued
175	175	in effect for that purpose.
176	176	SECTION 10. Not later than June 1, 2024, the Texas Physician
177	177	Assistant Board shall adopt the rules required by Section 204.1563,
178	178	Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
179	179	SECTION 11. Not later than June 1, 2024, the Texas Board of
180	180	Nursing shall adopt the rules required by Section 301.306,
181	181	Occupations Code, as amended by this Act.
182	182	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
183	183	* * * * *