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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