By Wilson H.B. No. 3295
75R9425 PB-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the administration of certain laws regarding alcohol
1-3 and drug abuse programs, including the licensing of certain
1-4 treatment facilities.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Title 132A, Revised Statutes, is amended by
1-7 adding Article 9104 to read as follows:
1-8 Art. 9104. ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE PROGRAMS
1-9 Sec. 1. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
1-10 (1) "Chemical dependency" means:
1-11 (A) abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance;
1-12 (B) psychological or physical dependence on
1-13 alcohol or a controlled substance; or
1-14 (C) addiction to alcohol or a controlled
1-15 substance.
1-16 (2) "Commission" means the Texas Commission of
1-17 Licensing and Regulation.
1-18 (3) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of licensing
1-19 and regulation.
1-20 (4) "Controlled substance" means a:
1-21 (A) toxic inhalant; or
1-22 (B) substance designated as a controlled
1-23 substance by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled
1-24 Substances Act).
2-1 (5) "Department" means the Texas Department of
2-2 Licensing and Regulation.
2-3 (6) "Intervention" means the interruption of the onset
2-4 or progression of chemical dependency in the early stages.
2-5 (7) "Prevention" means the reduction of a person's
2-6 risk of abusing alcohol or a controlled substance or becoming
2-7 chemically dependent.
2-8 (8) "Rehabilitation" means the reestablishment of the
2-9 social and vocational life of a person after treatment.
2-10 (9) "Toxic inhalant" means a gaseous substance that is
2-11 inhaled by a person to produce a desired physical or psychological
2-12 effect and that may cause personal injury or illness to the
2-13 inhaler.
2-14 (10) "Treatment" means the initiation and promotion,
2-15 in a planned, structured, and organized manner, of a person's
2-16 chemical-free status or the maintenance of a person free of illegal
2-17 drugs.
2-18 (11) "Treatment facility" means a public or private
2-19 hospital, a detoxification facility, a primary care facility, an
2-20 intensive care facility, a long-term care facility, an outpatient
2-21 care facility, a community mental health center, a health
2-22 maintenance organization, a recovery center, a halfway house, an
2-23 ambulatory care facility, another facility that is required to be
2-24 licensed and approved by the state, or a facility licensed or
2-25 operated by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
2-26 Retardation. The term does not include an educational program for
2-27 intoxicated drivers or the individual office of a private, licensed
3-1 health care practitioner who personally renders private individual
3-2 or group services within the scope of the practitioner's license
3-3 and in the practitioner's office.
3-4 Sec. 2. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The department shall:
3-5 (1) provide for research and study of the problems of
3-6 chemical dependency in this state and seek to focus public
3-7 attention on those problems through public information and
3-8 education programs;
3-9 (2) plan, develop, coordinate, evaluate, and implement
3-10 constructive methods and programs for the prevention, intervention,
3-11 treatment, and rehabilitation of chemical dependency in cooperation
3-12 with federal and state agencies, local governments, organizations,
3-13 and persons and provide technical assistance, funds, and
3-14 consultation services for statewide and community-based services;
3-15 (3) cooperate with and enlist the assistance of:
3-16 (A) other state, federal, and local agencies;
3-17 (B) hospitals and clinics;
3-18 (C) public health, welfare, and criminal justice
3-19 system authorities;
3-20 (D) educational and medical agencies and
3-21 organizations; and
3-22 (E) other related public and private groups and
3-23 persons;
3-24 (4) expand chemical dependency services for children
3-25 when funds are available because of the long-term benefits of those
3-26 services to the state and its citizens;
3-27 (5) sponsor, promote, and conduct educational programs
4-1 on the prevention and treatment of chemical dependency and maintain
4-2 a public information clearinghouse to purchase and provide books,
4-3 literature, audiovisuals, and other educational material for the
4-4 programs;
4-5 (6) sponsor, promote, and conduct training programs
4-6 for persons delivering prevention, intervention, treatment, and
4-7 rehabilitation services and for persons in the criminal justice
4-8 system or otherwise in a position to identify chemically dependent
4-9 persons and their families in need of service;
4-10 (7) require programs rendering services to chemically
4-11 dependent persons to safeguard those persons' legal rights of
4-12 citizenship and maintain the confidentiality of client records as
4-13 required by state and federal law;
4-14 (8) maximize the use of available funds for direct
4-15 services rather than administrative services;
4-16 (9) consistently monitor the expenditure of funds and
4-17 the provision of services by all grant and contract recipients to
4-18 assure that the services are effective and properly staffed and
4-19 meet the standards adopted under this article and the Health and
4-20 Safety Code;
4-21 (10) make the monitoring reports prepared under
4-22 Subdivision (9) a matter of public record;
4-23 (11) license treatment facilities under Chapter 464,
4-24 Health and Safety Code;
4-25 (12) use funds appropriated to the department to carry
4-26 out this article and maximize the overall state allotment of
4-27 federal funds;
5-1 (13) establish minimum criteria that peer assistance
5-2 programs must meet to be governed by and entitled to the benefits
5-3 of a law that authorizes licensing and disciplinary authorities to
5-4 establish or approve peer assistance programs for impaired
5-5 professionals;
5-6 (14) plan, develop, coordinate, evaluate, and
5-7 implement constructive methods and programs to provide healthy
5-8 alternatives for youth at risk of selling controlled substances;
5-9 and
5-10 (15) submit to the federal government reports and
5-11 strategies necessary to comply with Section 1926 of the federal
5-12 Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration
5-13 Reorganization Act, Pub. L. 102-321 (42 U.S.C. Section 300x-26).
5-14 (b) The department may establish regional alcohol advisory
5-15 committees consistent with the 24 state planning regions.
5-16 (c) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
5-17 implement this article.
5-18 SECTION 2. Chapter 461, Health and Safety Code, is repealed.
5-19 SECTION 3. The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse is
5-20 abolished on the effective date of this Act. All property,
5-21 records, and equipment in the custody of the Texas Commission on
5-22 Alcohol and Drug Abuse shall be transferred to the custody of the
5-23 Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation not later than
5-24 December 1, 1997, and all duties of that commission shall be
5-25 performed by that department beginning on the effective date of
5-26 this Act.
5-27 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
6-1 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
6-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.