By: Nelson S.B. No. 193
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the regulation of the practice of nursing.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 301.207, Occupations Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 301.207.  CONFIDENTIALITY OF [HEALTH] INFORMATION
  PROVIDED FOR LICENSURE. The following information [Information
  regarding a person's diagnosis or treatment for a physical
  condition, mental condition, or chemical dependency] that a [the]
  person submits to the board for a petition for a declaratory order
  of eligibility for a license or for an application for an initial
  license or a license renewal under this chapter is confidential to
  the same extent information collected on a nurse as part of an
  investigation of a complaint is confidential under Section 301.466:
               (1)  information, including diagnosis and treatment,
  regarding a person's physical or mental condition, intemperate use
  of drugs or alcohol, or chemical dependency;
               (2)  information regarding a person's criminal history;
  and
               (3)  any other information in the petition for
  declaratory order of eligibility.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (e), Section 301.261, Occupations
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (e)  The board by rule shall permit a person whose license is
  on inactive status and who was in good standing with the board on
  the date the license became inactive [is 65 years or older] to use,
  as applicable, the title "Registered Nurse Retired," "R.N.
  Retired," "Licensed Vocational Nurse Retired," "Vocational Nurse
  Retired," "L.V.N. Retired," or "V.N. Retired" or another
  appropriate title approved by the board.["]
         SECTION 3.  Subsection (b), Section 301.352, Occupations
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  An act by a person under Subsection (a) does not
  constitute a violation of this section if a nursing peer review
  committee under Chapter 303 determines:
               (1)  that the act or omission the nurse refused to
  engage in was not:
                     (A)  [not] conduct reportable to the board under
  Section 301.403;
                     (B)  a minor incident; or
                     (C)  a violation of this chapter or a board rule;
  or
               (2)  that:
                     (A)  the act or omission in which the nurse
  refused to engage was conduct reportable to the board, a minor
  incident, or a violation of this chapter or a board rule; and
                     (B)  the person:
                           (i)  rescinds any disciplinary or
  discriminatory action taken against the nurse;
                           (ii)  compensates the nurse for lost wages;
  and
                           (iii)  restores to the nurse any lost
  benefits.
         SECTION 4.  Subsection (j), Section 301.4521, Occupations
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (j)  The results of an evaluation under this section are:
               (1)  confidential and not subject to disclosure under
  Chapter 552, Government Code; and
               (2)  not subject to disclosure by discovery, subpoena,
  or other means of legal compulsion for release to anyone, except
  that the results may be:
                     (A)  introduced as evidence in a proceeding before
  the board or a hearing conducted by the State Office of
  Administrative Hearings under this chapter; [or]
                     (B)  included in the findings of fact and
  conclusions of law in a final board order; and
                     (C)  disclosed to a peer assistance program
  approved by the board under Chapter 467, Health and Safety Code, and
  to which the board has referred the nurse.
         SECTION 5.  Subsection (c), Section 301.455, Occupations
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  The State Office of Administrative Hearings shall hold a
  preliminary hearing not later than the 17th [14th] day after the
  date of the temporary suspension or restriction to determine
  whether probable cause exists that a continuing and imminent threat
  to the public welfare exists.  The probable cause hearing shall be
  conducted as a de novo hearing.
         SECTION 6.  Section 301.4551, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 301.4551.  TEMPORARY LICENSE SUSPENSION FOR DRUG OR
  ALCOHOL USE.  (a)  The board shall temporarily suspend the license
  of a nurse as provided by Section 301.455 if the nurse is under a
  board order prohibiting the use of alcohol or a drug or requiring
  the nurse to participate in a peer assistance program, and the
  nurse:
               (1)  tests positive for alcohol or a prohibited drug;
               (2)  refuses to comply with a board order to submit to a
  drug or alcohol test; or
               (3)  fails to participate in the peer assistance
  program and the program issues a letter of dismissal and referral to
  the board for noncompliance.
         (b)  For the purposes of Section 301.455(c), proof of the
  elements required for the board to suspend a license under this
  section is proof that probable cause of a continuing and imminent
  threat to the public welfare exists.
         SECTION 7.  Chapter 303, Occupations Code, is amended by
  adding Section 303.012 to read as follows:
         Sec. 303.012.  ERROR CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM. (a)  The board
  may develop a standardized error classification system for use by a
  nursing peer review committee in evaluating the conduct of a nurse.
  The board shall make the system available to the committee at no
  cost.
         (b)  Information collected as part of an error
  classification system is a record of the nursing peer review
  committee and is confidential under Section 303.006.
         (c)  A nursing peer review committee may report the
  information collected using the error classification system to the
  board. The committee may not report to the board under this section
  information that includes the identity of an individual nurse or
  patient.
         (d)  Information the board receives under this section that
  contains information identifying a specific patient, nurse, or
  health care facility, the committee, or the sponsoring organization
  of the committee is confidential and is not subject to disclosure
  under Chapter 552, Government Code.  The board must remove the
  identifying information from the information before making the
  remaining information available to the public.
         (e)  This section does not affect the obligation or authority
  of a nursing peer review committee to disclose information under
  Section 303.007.
         SECTION 8.  Section 301.355, Occupations Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 9.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act to
  Subsection (b), Section 301.352, Occupations Code, applies only to
  an act or omission that occurs on or after the effective date of
  this Act. An act or omission that occurs before the effective date
  of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the act or omission
  occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         (b)  The change in law made by this Act to Subsection (c),
  Section 301.455, Occupations Code, applies only to a temporary
  suspension or restriction of a license issued by the Texas Board of
  Nursing that is imposed on or after the effective date of this Act.
  A temporary suspension or restriction imposed before the effective
  date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the suspension
  or restriction was imposed, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         (c)  The change in law made by this Act to Section 301.4551,
  Occupations Code, applies only to a violation of an order issued by
  the Texas Board of Nursing that occurs on or after the effective
  date of this Act. A violation of an order that occurs before the
  effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
  order was violated, and the former law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.