SRC-MKV H.B. 1124 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   H.B. 1124
By: Turner, Bob (Moncrief)
Health & Human Services
5/11/2001
Engrossed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

In rural areas, health care practitioner recruitment and retention rates
are significantly lower than those in urban and suburban areas, creating a
shortage of physicians, nurses, and therapists for residents in rural
areas. Identifying young people from those areas with an interest in a
health care career is one path to effectuating change. Supporting a young
person's interest in a health care profession may help to reinforce and
cultivate those interests and lead to his or her willingness to practice in
a rural setting in the future. H.B. 1124 establishes a community healthcare
awareness and mentoring program to identify, encourage, and support
potential health care professionals from rural and underserved urban areas.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 106, Health and Safety Code, by adding
Subchapter H, as follows: 

SUBCHAPTER H.  COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE AWARENESS AND
MENTORING PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS

Sec. 106.251.  DEFINITIONS.  Defines "health care professional," "program,"
and "underserved urban area."  

Sec. 106.252.  COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE AWARENESS AND MENTORING PROGRAM FOR
STUDENTS.  (a)  Requires the executive committee of the Center for Rural
Health Initiatives (executive committee) to establish a community
healthcare awareness and mentoring program for students to perform certain
functions. 
  
(b)  Requires that in connection with the program, the Center for Rural
Health Initiatives (center) establish and maintain an updated medical
resource library that contains information relating to medical careers.
Requires the center to make the library available to school counselors,
students, and parents of students. 

Sec. 106.253.  ADMINISTRATION.  (a)  Requires the center to administer or
contract for the administration of the program. 

 (b)  Authorizes the center to solicit and accept gifts, grants, donations,
and contributions to support the program. 

 (c)  Authorizes the center to administer the program in cooperation with
other public and private entities. 

 (d)  Requires the center to coordinate the program with similar programs,
including  programs relating to workforce development, scholarships for
education, and employment of students, that are administered by other
agencies, such as the Texas Workforce Commission and local workforce
development boards. 

Sec. 106.254.  GRANTS; ELIGIBILITY. (a)  Requires the executive committee,
subject to available funds, to develop and implement, as a component of the
program, a  grant  program to support employment opportunities in rural and
underserved urban areas in this state for students participating in
training or educational programs to become health care professionals. 

 (b)  Requires that in awarding grants under the program, the executive
committee give first priority to grants to training or educational programs
that provide internships to students. 

(c)  Requires a person to meet certain requirements to be eligible to
receive a grant under the grant program. 

 (d)  Requires that as a condition of receiving a grant under the program
the student agree to repay the amount of the grant, plus a penalty in an
amount established by rule of the executive committee not to exceed two
times the amount of the grant, if the student becomes licensed as a health
care professional and fails to practice or work for at least one year as a
health care professional in a rural or underserved urban area in this
state. 
 
SECTION 2.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2001.