Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB804 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R6931 MM-D
2	2	By: Schwertner S.B. No. 804
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) A mental health professional may also establish
31	31	eligibility for the repayment assistance under this subchapter by
32	32	satisfying the requirements of this subsection. To establish
33	33	eligibility under this subsection, the mental health professional
34	34	must:
35	35	(1) apply to the board;
36	36	(2) provide mental health services to:
37	37	(A) patients in a state hospital, as defined by
38	38	Section 552.0011, Health and Safety Code; or
39	39	(B) individuals receiving community-based mental
40	40	health services from a local mental health authority that provides
41	41	the services in accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 534, Health
42	42	and Safety Code; and
43	43	(3) have completed one, two, three, four, or five
44	44	consecutive years of practice in this state as described by
45	45	Subdivision (2).
46	46	(c) In addition to satisfying the requirements under
47	47	Subsection (a) or (b), for a licensed physician to be eligible to
48	48	receive repayment assistance under this subchapter after the
49	49	physician's third consecutive year of practice described under
50	50	Subsection (a)(2) or (b)(3), as applicable, the physician must be
51	51	certified in psychiatry by:
52	52	(1) the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; or
53	53	(2) the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and
54	54	Psychiatry.
55	55	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section
56	56	61.603, Education Code, applies only to a person who first
57	57	establishes eligibility for loan repayment assistance under
58	58	Subchapter K, Chapter 61, Education Code, as amended by this Act, on
59	59	the basis of an application submitted on or after September 1, 2023.
60	60	A person who first establishes eligibility on the basis of an
61	61	application submitted before September 1, 2023, is governed by the
62	62	law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the
63	63	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
64	64	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.