BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research Center S.B. 626 89R5102 JTZ-F By: Flores Health & Human Services 3/31/2025 As Filed AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT Each inpatient mental health facility, treatment facility, or hospital that provides comprehensive medical rehabilitation services is required by current law as a condition of continued licensure to annually provide its employees a minimum of eight hours of inservice training in identifying patient abuse or neglect and illegal, unprofessional, or unethical conduct by or in the facility. This annual training requirement is redundant in content, requires employees to abandon their patients' medical care to receive training, and is costly in employee hours every year. This bill would maintain eight hours of minimum training for new employees and reduce the minimum amount of annual training hours required for continuing employees to three. This would allow employees to spend more time supplying services to patients, curbing needless repetition and inefficiency in these medical spaces, while still maintaining the intention of the required training. As proposed, S.B. 626 amends current law relating to in-service training on identifying abuse, neglect, and illegal, unprofessional, and unethical conduct in certain health care facilities. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY Rulemaking authority previously granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission is modified in SECTION 1 (Section 161.133, Health and Safety Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 161.133(a), Health and Safety Code, as follows: (a) Requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission by rule to require each inpatient mental health facility, treatment facility, or hospital that provides comprehensive medical rehabilitation services to annually provide as a condition of continued licensure a minimum of eight hours of initial in-service training for new employees and three hours of continuing in-service training for continuing employees that is designed to assist employees and health care professionals associated with the facility in identifying patient abuse or neglect and illegal, unprofessional, or unethical conduct by or in the facility. SECTION 2. Makes Section 161.133(a), Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, prospective. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.
BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 626
89R5102 JTZ-F By: Flores
Health & Human Services
3/31/2025
As Filed
Senate Research Center
S.B. 626
89R5102 JTZ-F
By: Flores
Health & Human Services
3/31/2025
As Filed
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Each inpatient mental health facility, treatment facility, or hospital that provides comprehensive medical rehabilitation services is required by current law as a condition of continued licensure to annually provide its employees a minimum of eight hours of inservice training in identifying patient abuse or neglect and illegal, unprofessional, or unethical conduct by or in the facility. This annual training requirement is redundant in content, requires employees to abandon their patients' medical care to receive training, and is costly in employee hours every year.
This bill would maintain eight hours of minimum training for new employees and reduce the minimum amount of annual training hours required for continuing employees to three. This would allow employees to spend more time supplying services to patients, curbing needless repetition and inefficiency in these medical spaces, while still maintaining the intention of the required training.
As proposed, S.B. 626 amends current law relating to in-service training on identifying abuse, neglect, and illegal, unprofessional, and unethical conduct in certain health care facilities.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
Rulemaking authority previously granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission is modified in SECTION 1 (Section 161.133, Health and Safety Code) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 161.133(a), Health and Safety Code, as follows:
(a) Requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission by rule to require each inpatient mental health facility, treatment facility, or hospital that provides comprehensive medical rehabilitation services to annually provide as a condition of continued licensure a minimum of eight hours of initial in-service training for new employees and three hours of continuing in-service training for continuing employees that is designed to assist employees and health care professionals associated with the facility in identifying patient abuse or neglect and illegal, unprofessional, or unethical conduct by or in the facility.
SECTION 2. Makes Section 161.133(a), Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, prospective.
SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.