H.B. No. 1322
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 81.001, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subdivision (4) to read as follows:
(4) "Deaf-blind" means:
(A) being legally blind and possessing a hearing
impairment of such severity that a person cannot understand most
speech even with the use of optimum amplification; or
(B) having a medical diagnosis of deteriorating
hearing and vision expected to lead to the condition described by
Paragraph (A).
SECTION 2. Sections 81.006(a) and (b), Human Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall:
(1) develop and implement a statewide program of
advocacy and education to ensure continuity of services to persons
who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing;
(2) provide direct services to persons who are deaf or
hard of hearing, including communication access, information and
referral services, advocacy services, services to elderly persons
who are deaf or hard of hearing, and training in accessing basic
life skills;
(3) work to ensure more effective coordination and
cooperation among public and nonprofit organizations providing
social and educational services to individuals who are deaf or hard
of hearing;
(4) maintain a registry of available qualified
interpreters for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing by updating
the registry at least quarterly and making the registry available
to interested persons at cost;
(5) establish a system to approve and provide courses
and workshops for the instruction and continuing education of
interpreters for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing;
(6) [annually adopt by rule a schedule of fees,
payable by the commission for interpreter services with graduated
fee amounts, that:
[(A) reflects the skill level of the interpreter;
and
[(B) applies only when the commission determines
that there is not sufficient competition among interpreter services
within a particular service region to provide interpreter services
at a fair market price;
[(7)] assist institutions of higher education in
initiating training programs for interpreters and develop
guidelines for instruction to promote uniformity of signs taught
within those programs; [and]
(7) [(8)] with the assistance of the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board [Texas Education Agency], develop
standards for evaluation of the programs described by Subdivision
(6); and
(8) develop guidelines to clarify the circumstances
under which interpreters certified by the commission are qualified
to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both
receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized
vocabulary [(7)].
(b) The commission may:
(1) appoint one or more advisory committees to consult
with and advise the commission;
(2) establish [charge] and collect training
[authorized] fees and accept gifts, grants, and donations of money,
personal property, or real property for use in expanding and
improving services to persons of this state who are deaf or hard of
hearing;
(3) adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter;
(4) contract with or provide grants to agencies,
organizations, or individuals as necessary to implement this
chapter;
(5) establish a reasonable fee and charge interpreters
[and collect a fee] for training [interpreters in a reasonable
amount to be set by the commission] to defray the cost of conducting
the training;
(6) develop guidelines for trilingual interpreter
services; and
(7) provide training programs for persons who provide
trilingual interpreter services.
SECTION 3. Sections 81.007(a), (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), and
(i), Human Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission may establish a program in accordance
with this section for the certification of interpreters who have
reached varying levels of proficiency in communication skills
necessary to facilitate communication between persons [communicate
with individuals] who are deaf or hard of hearing and persons who
are not deaf or hard of hearing.
(b) The commission shall appoint an advisory [a] board of
seven persons to assist in administering [administer] the
interpreter certification program. A board member may not receive
compensation, but is entitled to reimbursement of the travel
expenses incurred by the member while conducting the business of
the board, as provided in the General Appropriations Act.
(d) A qualified board member may serve as an evaluator under
Subsection (c), and the commission shall compensate the board
member for services performed as an evaluator [The commission shall
use the recommendations of the board in compiling a statewide
registry of interpreters by skill level. The registry must, in
addition to other pertinent information, include recommendations
relating to the appropriate selection and utilization of
interpreters for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The
registry must be made available to and recommended for adoption by
state commissions, departments, and agencies].
(e) The commission shall charge fees for written and
performance examinations [an application for certification], for
annual certificate renewal [the administration of an examination],
and for recertification [the renewal of a certificate]. The fees
must be in an amount sufficient to recover the costs of the
certification program.
(f) The commission may waive any prerequisite to obtaining a
certificate for an applicant after reviewing the applicant's
credentials and determining that the applicant holds a certificate
issued by another jurisdiction that has certification requirements
substantially equivalent to those of this state. [The commission
may waive any prerequisite to obtaining a certificate for an
applicant who holds a certificate issued by another jurisdiction
with which this state has a reciprocity agreement. The commission
may make an agreement, subject to the approval of the governor, with
another state to allow for certification by reciprocity.]
(g) The commission by rule may adopt a system under which
certificates are valid for a five-year period, subject to the
certificate holder's payment of an annual certificate renewal fee.
After expiration of the five-year period, an interpreter must be
recertified by the commission. The commission may recertify an
interpreter who:
(1) receives specified continuing education credits;
or
(2) achieves an adequate score on a specified
examination [expire on various dates during the year. For the year
in which the certificate expiration date is changed, the commission
shall prorate certificate fees on a monthly basis so that each
certificate holder pays only that portion of the certificate fee
that is allocable to the number of months during which the
certificate is valid. On renewal of the certificate on the new
expiration date, the total certificate renewal fee is payable].
(i) The commission shall determine the frequency for
conducting [with which it will conduct] the interpreter
examinations. The commission shall conduct the interpreter
examinations:
(1) in Austin at the commission's office or in other
space owned or leased by the state that can be obtained free of
charge; or
(2) in other cities in this state in space that can be
obtained free of charge.
SECTION 4. Section 81.0072, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 81.0072. REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF CERTIFICATE. (a)
The commission, based on the recommendation of the Board for
Evaluation of Interpreters, may [shall] revoke or suspend a
certificate or [,] place a certificate holder on probation [a
person whose certificate has been suspended, or reprimand an
interpreter certified by the commission] for a violation of a
statute, rule, or policy of the commission. If a certificate holder
is placed on probation [suspension is probated], the commission may
require the practitioner:
(1) to report regularly to the commission on matters
that are the basis of the probation;
(2) to limit practice to those areas prescribed by the
commission; or
(3) to continue or renew professional education until
a satisfactory degree of skill has been attained in those areas that
are the basis of the probation.
(b) If the commission proposes to suspend or revoke a
[person's] certificate or place a certificate holder on probation,
the certificate holder [person] is entitled to a hearing before the
commission or a hearings officer appointed by the commission. All
final decisions to suspend or revoke a certificate or place a
certificate holder on probation shall be made by the commission.
SECTION 5. Section 81.013, Human Resources Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 81.013. PRIVATE OUTDOOR TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN
[STUDENTS] WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING. (a) The commission may
contract with private entities to provide for the participation
[attendance] of children [students] who are deaf or hard of hearing
at outdoor recreational programs operated for the purpose of
providing skill training and recreational experiences for children
who are deaf or hard of hearing. Outdoor training programs under
this section may also provide for participation by the parents of
[or for] children who are deaf or hard of hearing [and their
parents].
(b) In selecting children [students] to attend programs
under this section, the commission shall select qualified children
from across the state [students from each regional day school
program for the deaf, students from the Texas School for the Deaf,
and other children who are deaf or hard of hearing] that the
commission thinks will benefit from the program.
(c) The commission may request criminal history record
information on any person who applies for a staff position in an
outdoor training program from the Department of Public Safety in
accordance with Section 411.1131, Government Code.
SECTION 6. Section 81.014(b), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission shall adopt rules establishing methods
by which consumers and service recipients can be notified of the
name, mailing address, and telephone number of the commission for
the purpose of directing complaints to the commission. The
commission may provide for such notification through inclusion of
the information:
(1) on each registration form, application, or written
contract for services of a person or entity regulated or authorized
by this chapter;
(2) on a sign that is prominently displayed in the
place of business of each person or entity regulated or authorized
by this chapter; or
(3) on [in] a bill for service provided by a person or
entity regulated or authorized by this chapter.
SECTION 7. Section 81.015, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The commission may advertise to promote awareness and
use of the programs, services, and activities conducted by the
commission. The commission may not use money derived from state tax
revenue to pay for advertisements under this subsection.
SECTION 8. Sections 81.016(a) and (d), Human Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Before the commission contracts with or provides [a]
grant funding to an agency, organization, or individual to provide
direct services to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, the
commission shall make reasonable efforts to notify all potential
service providers of the availability and purpose of the contract
or grant.
(d) To ensure an equitable distribution of contract or grant
funds, the commission shall develop a formula, based on population
and region, to allocate those funds among the agencies,
organizations, or individuals that are awarded the contracts or
grants.
SECTION 9. Section 81.017(a), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission and each of the following agencies shall
adopt a memorandum of understanding to coordinate the delivery of
services to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and to reduce
duplication of services:
(1) the Texas Department of Human Services;
(2) the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation;
(3) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(4) the Texas Department of Health;
(5) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
(6) the Texas Education Agency;
(7) the Texas Department on Aging;
(8) the Texas School for the Deaf;
(9) the Texas Rehabilitation Commission;
(10) the institutional division of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice; and
(11) any other state agency that provides or is
required by law to provide [involved in providing] services to
persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
SECTION 10. Section 81.019, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 81.019. SYMBOLS OR OTHER FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION FOR
HEARING IMPAIRED PERSONS. (a) The commission shall design and
provide for the issuance of a symbol or other form of identification
[device] that may be attached to a motor vehicle regularly operated
by a person who is deaf or hard of hearing.
(b) A person who is deaf or hard of hearing may apply to the
commission for the symbol or other form of identification [device].
The commission may require acceptable medical proof that a person
is deaf or hard of hearing and may set a fee for each symbol or other
form of identification [device] to defray the costs of
administering this section.
(c) The commission may contract with a state or local agency
for the distribution of the symbol or other form of identification
[device].
SECTION 11. If the Act of the 78th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2003, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and
corrections in enacted codes takes effect, Chapter 81, Human
Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 81.021 to read as
follows:
Sec. 81.021. SPECIALIZED LICENSE PLATE PROGRAM. The
commission shall develop rules and guidelines for the use of funds
collected from the sale of specialized license plates under Section
502.2722, Transportation Code, and appropriated to the commission
in accordance with that section for direct services programs,
training, and education.
SECTION 12. If the Act of the 78th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2003, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and
corrections in enacted codes does not take effect, Chapter 81,
Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 81.021 to read as
follows:
Sec. 81.021. SPECIALIZED LICENSE PLATE PROGRAM. The
commission shall develop rules and guidelines for the use of funds
collected from the sale of specialized license plates under Section
502.2735, Transportation Code, as added by Chapter 621, Acts of the
77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, and appropriated to the
commission in accordance with that section for direct services
programs, training, and education.
SECTION 13. Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.1131 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.1131. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD
INFORMATION: TEXAS COMMISSION FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING. (a)
The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is entitled to
obtain from the department criminal history record information
maintained by the department that relates to a person who is an
applicant for a staff position at an outdoor training program for
children who are deaf or hard of hearing conducted by a private
entity through a contract with the commission in accordance with
Section 81.013, Human Resources Code.
(b) Criminal history record information obtained by the
Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing under Subsection
(a) may be used only to evaluate an applicant for a staff position
at an outdoor training program for children who are deaf or hard of
hearing. The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing may
release or disclose the information to a private entity described
by Subsection (a) for that purpose.
(c) The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
may not release or disclose information obtained under Subsection
(a) except on court order and shall destroy all criminal history
record information obtained under Subsection (a) after the
information is used for its authorized purpose.
SECTION 14. Sections 81.006(c) and 81.0071(b), Human
Resources Code, are repealed.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1322 was passed by the House on April
10, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1322 was passed by the Senate on May
8, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor