S.B. No. 193

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.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 193 passed the Senate on March 24, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 193 passed the House on May 23, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, one present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

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Governor