BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2512

By: Morrison

Public Health

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current state law governing the practice of athletic training is outdated and is too restrictive with respect to the services an athletic trainer provides and the types of injuries an athletic trainer may treat. Making this practice less restrictive would allow physically active Texans greater access to the health care services an athletic trainer provides under the direction of a licensed physician or other applicable licensed health professional. C.S.H.B. 2512 seeks to allow greater access to an athletic trainer's services under such supervision and increase employment opportunities for athletic trainers by revising the definitions of "athletic training" and "athletic injury" to reflect the current language included in the domains of athletic training education and practice.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2512 amends the Occupations Code to change the form of health care that is considered athletic training for purposes of provisions governing athletic trainers from the form of health care that includes the practice of preventing, recognizing, assessing, managing, treating, disposing of, and reconditioning athletic injuries to the form of health care that includes principles and methods for managing and treating athletic injuries for athletic individuals in good general health. The bill establishes that athletic training consists of the following:

· managing the risk of an athletic injury or illness;

· preventing an athletic injury or illness;

· assessing an athletic injury or illness;

· providing immediate emergency care;

· providing therapeutic intervention for an athletic injury; and

· reconditioning an athletic injury or illness.

C.S.H.B. 2512 includes the following injuries among the injuries considered an athletic injury:

· an injury sustained by a person as a result of physical activity or exercise; and

· an injury sustained by a person as a result of the person's participation in recreational sports activities.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2512 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

While both the introduced and the substitute revise the definition of "athletic training," the bill versions differ in their approaches as follows:

· the substitute establishes that the form of health care considered athletic training is the form of health care that includes principles and methods for managing and treating athletic injuries for athletic individuals in good general health, and the introduced did not;

·  the introduced replaced the specification that the form of health care considered athletic training is the form of health care under the direction of a physician licensed in Texas or another qualified, licensed health professional who is authorized to refer for health care services within the scope of the person's license with a specification that it is the form of health care that is provided under the direction or delegated authority of a physician licensed in Texas, which the substitute does not; and

· whereas the introduced specified the term includes managing the risk of injury or illness, preventing injury or illness, assessing an injury or illness, providing immediate emergency care and therapeutic intervention for an injury or illness, reconditioning an injury or illness, and administering other health care, the substitute specifies that the term consists of managing the risk of an athletic injury or illness, preventing an athletic injury or illness, assessing an athletic injury or illness, providing immediate emergency care, providing therapeutic intervention for an athletic injury, and reconditioning an athletic injury or illness.

The substitute contains a provision absent from the introduced including the following injuries among the injuries considered an athletic injury:

· an injury sustained by a person as a result of physical activity or exercise; and

· an injury sustained by a person as a result of the person's participation in recreational sports activities.

The substitute omits provisions that were in the introduced and that did the following:

· repealed the definition of "athletic injury";

· established the following alternative methods for satisfying eligibility requirements for an athletic trainer license:

o have completed, or have 30 credit hours or less remaining to complete, the athletic training curriculum requirements of a college or university that is accredited by a nationally recognized athletic training accrediting organization and approved by the Advisory Board of Athletic Trainers; or

o have completed, or have 30 credit hours or less remaining to complete, a baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degree from a college or university that requires not fewer than 24 credit hours related to the practice of athletic training and completion of an apprenticeship program in athletic training clinical practice consisting of not fewer than 1,800 hours completed over the course of not fewer than five separate semesters, at least 1,500 hours of which must be completed while the applicant is a student at the college or university; and

· established that the bill applied only to an application for an original athletic trainer license submitted on or after the bill's effective date.