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By: Truitt, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Janek) H.B. No. 3126
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2003;
May 8, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on
Administration; May 13, 2003, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 13, 2003, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to educating health professionals, the composition and
authority of the statewide health coordinating council, and certain
health planning data collected by the department of health.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter U, Chapter 61, Education Code, as
added by Chapter 1489, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001, is amended by adding Sections 61.9627 and 61.9628 to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.9627. DISBURSEMENT AND ACCOUNTING OF APPROPRIATED
FUNDS. (a) The board shall adopt procedures for assuring that
money appropriated by the legislature specifically to fund
enrollment growth in a professional nursing program is:
(1) distributed in a timely manner, including the
forfeiture and reallocation of money if an institution fails to
provide in a timely manner the information required for the money to
be disbursed and if that failure prevents the timely disbursement
of money to other institutions; and
(2) expended on the professional nursing program by
institutions receiving the money.
(b) The procedures adopted under Subsection (a) must
require each professional nursing program receiving money to file a
report annually with the board accounting for all money received.
Sec. 61.9628. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. A reasonable amount,
not to exceed five percent, of the money appropriated by the
legislature to increase enrollments in professional nursing
programs may be used by the board to pay administrative costs of
implementing this subchapter or administering the money.
SECTION 2. Sections 63.202(f) and (g), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding the limitation provided by Subsection
(b), [in awarding] grants awarded under Subsection (c) for the
state fiscal biennium ending on August 31, 2005, and the fiscal
biennium ending on August 31, 2007, by [2003,] the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall be awarded[:
[(1) may make awards] to programs [any program]
preparing students for initial licensure as registered nurses or
programs preparing qualified faculty members with a master's or
doctoral degree for the program, including programs at two-year
institutions of higher education, four-year general academic
teaching institutions, health science centers, and independent or
private institutions of higher education. In awarding grants under
this subsection, the coordinating board may:
(1) give priority to[;
[(2) shall give priority in awarding grants to:
[(A)] institutions proposing to address the
shortage of registered nurses by promoting innovation in education,
recruitment, and retention of nursing students and qualified
faculty;
(2) award grants on a competitive basis [and
[(B) institutions seeking to increase
enrollments in their nursing programs through financial incentives
to faculty to provide clinical and classroom instruction in
addition to carrying a full teaching load]; and
(3) [may] consider the availability of matching funds
[in awarding grants].
(g) Subsection (f) and this subsection expire September 1,
2007 [2003].
SECTION 3. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, as
added by Chapter 1590, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is amended by adding Section 56.3075 to read as
follows:
Sec. 56.3075. HEALTH CARE PROFESSION STUDENT GRANT. (a)
The coordinating board may award a grant in an amount not more than
three times the amount that may be awarded under Section 56.307 to a
student who:
(1) is enrolled in a program that fulfills the
educational requirements for licensure or certification by the
state in a health care profession that the coordinating board, in
consultation with the Texas Workforce Commission and the statewide
health coordinating council, has identified as having a critical
shortage in the number of license holders needed in this state;
(2) has completed at least one-half of the work toward
a degree or certificate that fulfills the educational requirement
for licensure or certification; and
(3) meets all the requirements to receive a grant
award under Section 56.307.
(b) In awarding a grant under Subsection (a), the
coordinating board may:
(1) give priority to students from a group
underrepresented in the programs preparing students for licensure
or certification by the state; and
(2) award different amounts based on the amount of
course work a student has completed toward earning the degree
required for licensure or certification.
SECTION 4. Subchapter O, Chapter 56, Education Code, as
added by Chapter 624, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001, is amended by adding Section 56.3575 to read as
follows:
Sec. 56.3575. HEALTH CARE PROFESSION STUDENT GRANT. (a)
The coordinating board may award a grant in an amount not more than
three times the amount that may be awarded under Section 56.357, as
added by Chapter 624, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001, to a student who:
(1) is enrolled in a program that fulfills the
educational requirements for licensure or certification by the
state in a health care profession that the coordinating board, in
consultation with the Texas Workforce Commission and the statewide
health coordinating council, has identified as having a critical
shortage in the number of license holders needed in this state;
(2) has completed at least one-half of the work toward
a degree or certificate that fulfills the educational requirement
for licensure or certification; and
(3) meets all the requirements to receive a grant
award under Section 56.357, as added by Chapter 624, Acts of the
77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001.
(b) In awarding a grant under Subsection (a), the
coordinating board may:
(1) give priority to students from a group
underrepresented in the programs preparing students for licensure
or certification by the state; and
(2) award different amounts based on the amount of
course work a student has completed toward earning the degree
required for licensure or certification.
SECTION 5. Section 104.011(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The statewide health coordinating council is composed
of 18 [17] members determined as follows:
(1) the commissioner of health and human services or a
representative designated by the commissioner;
(2) the presiding officer of the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board or a representative designated by the
presiding officer;
(3) the presiding officer of the department or a
representative designated by the presiding officer;
(4) the presiding officer of the Texas Health Care
Information Council or a representative designated by the presiding
officer;
(5) the presiding officer of the Texas Department of
Mental Health and Mental Retardation or a representative designated
by the presiding officer; and
(6) the following members appointed by the governor:
(A) three health care professionals from the
allied health, dental, medical, mental health, [nursing,] and
pharmacy professions, no two of whom may be from the same
profession;
(B) one registered nurse;
(C) two representatives of a university or
health-related institution of higher education;
(D) [(C)] one representative of a junior or
community college that has a nursing program;
(E) [(D)] one hospital administrator;
(F) [(E)] one managed care administrator; and
(G) [(F)] four public members.
SECTION 6. Section 104.0115(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Members of the council serve for staggered six-year
terms, with the terms of four or five members expiring August 31 of
each odd-numbered year.
SECTION 7. Subchapter B, Chapter 104, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 104.0155 to read as follows:
Sec. 104.0155. NURSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The
statewide health coordinating council shall form a nursing advisory
committee the majority of the members of which must be nurses. The
committee:
(1) must include:
(A) members of associations that represent
nurses, educators of nurses, and employers of nurses;
(B) members who represent nurse licensing
boards; and
(C) a nurse researcher; and
(2) may include other members who are health care
experts from the public or private sector, nurses, nurse educators,
employers of nurses, or consumers of nursing services.
(b) The committee shall:
(1) review policy matters on the collection of data
and reports performed under Chapter 105 that relate to the nursing
profession;
(2) subject to approval of the council, develop
priorities and an operations plan for the nursing resource section
under Section 105.002(b); and
(3) review reports and information before
dissemination.
(c) A nurse member of the committee and a nurse member of the
statewide health coordinating council shall cochair the committee.
(d) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the
committee formed under this section.
(e) Meetings of the committee under this section are subject
to Chapter 551, Government Code.
SECTION 8. Section 104.042(e), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) Data received by the department under this section
containing information identifying specific persons or health care
facilities [patients] is confidential, is not subject to disclosure
under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be released unless
all identifying information [the information identifying the
patient] is removed.
SECTION 9. Section 105.002, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 105.002. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER. (a) In conjunction
with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and in such a way
as to avoid duplication of effort, the council shall establish a
comprehensive health professions resource center for the
collection and analysis of educational and employment trends for
health professions in this state.
(b) In conjunction with the committee formed under Section
104.0155, to avoid duplication of effort, and to the extent funding
is available through fees collected under Sections 301.155(c) and
302.153(d), Occupations Code, the council shall establish a nursing
resource section within the center for the collection and analysis
of educational and employment trends for nurses in this state.
(c) If the nursing resource section established under
Subsection (b) is funded from surcharges collected under Sections
301.155(c) and 302.153(d), Occupations Code, the council shall
provide the Board of Nurse Examiners and the Board of Vocational
Nurse Examiners, as applicable, with an annual accounting of the
money received from those boards. The council may expend a
reasonable amount of the money to pay administrative costs of
maintaining the nursing resource section.
SECTION 10. Section 105.003, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) To the extent feasible, the council shall use a
researcher with a doctorate in nursing to collect, analyze, and
disseminate nursing data that may be used to predict supply and
demand for nursing personnel in this state using appropriate
federal or state supply-and-demand models. The nursing data must
at least:
(1) include demographics, areas of practice, supply,
demand, and migration; and
(2) be analyzed to identify trends relating to numbers
and geographical distribution, practice setting, and area of
practice and, to the extent possible, compare those trends with
corresponding national trends.
(e) Data received by the department under this section that
contains information identifying specific persons or health care
facilities is confidential, is not subject to disclosure under
Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be released unless all
identifying information is removed.
SECTION 11. Section 105.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 105.004. REPORTS. (a) The council may use the data
collected and analyzed under this chapter to publish reports
regarding:
(1) the educational and employment trends for health
professions;
(2) the supply and demand of health professions; and
(3) other issues, as necessary, concerning health
professions in this state.
(b) The council shall publish reports regarding the data
collected and analyzed under this chapter related to:
(1) the educational and employment trends of nursing
professionals;
(2) the supply and demand of nursing professionals;
and
(3) other issues, as determined necessary by the
council, concerning nursing professionals in this state.
SECTION 12. Section 301.155, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The board shall assess a $3 surcharge to the fee
established by the board under Subsection (a) for a license holder
to renew a license under this chapter. The board may use nine cents
of the surcharge to cover the administrative costs of collecting
and depositing the surcharge. The board quarterly shall transmit
$2.91 of the surcharge to the Texas Department of Health to be used
only to implement the nursing resource section under Section
105.002, Health and Safety Code. The board is not required to
collect the surcharge if the board determines the funds collected
are not appropriated for the purpose of funding the nursing
resource section.
SECTION 13. Section 302.153, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) The board shall assess a $2 surcharge to the fee
established by the board under Subsection (a) for a license holder
to renew a license under this chapter. The board may use six cents
of the surcharge to cover the administrative costs of collecting
and depositing the surcharge. The board quarterly shall transmit
$1.94 of the surcharge to the Texas Department of Health to be used
only to implement the nursing resource section under Section
105.002, Health and Safety Code. The board is not required to
collect the surcharge if the board determines the funds collected
are not appropriated for the purpose of funding the nursing
resource section.
SECTION 14. Chapter 304, Occupations Code, as added by
Chapter 1489, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001,
is 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.
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