83R12798 NC-D
 
  By: Naishtat H.B. No. 591
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 591:
 
  By:  Zerwas C.S.H.B. No. 591
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the health professions resource center; increasing a
  fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 105.002, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
         (d)  To the extent funding is available through fees
  collected under Section 505.203(d), Occupations Code, the council
  shall establish a social work resource section within the center
  for the collection and analysis of educational and employment
  trends for social workers in this state.
         (e)  If the social work resource section established under
  Subsection (d) is funded from surcharges collected under Section
  505.203(d), Occupations Code, the council shall provide the Texas
  State Board of Social Worker Examiners with an annual accounting of
  the money received from the board.  The council may expend a
  reasonable amount of the money to pay administrative costs of
  maintaining the social work resource section.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 105.003(a), (c-1), (d), and (e), Health
  and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The council shall place a high priority on collecting
  and disseminating data on health professions demonstrating an acute
  shortage in this state, including:
               (1)  data concerning nursing personnel; [and]
               (2)  data concerning social workers; and
               (3)  data concerning the health professions in which
  shortages occur in rural areas and areas near the international
  border.
         (c-1)  The Department of Information Resources, through the
  state electronic Internet portal and in consultation with the
  council and the Health Professions Council, shall add the following
  fields on an application or renewal form for a license,
  certificate, or registration for a person subject to Subsection
  (c-2):
               (1)  date and place of birth;
               (2)  sex;
               (3)  race and ethnicity;
               (4)  location of high school;
               (5)  mailing address of primary practice;
               (6)  number of hours per week spent at primary practice
  location;
               (7)  description of primary practice setting;
               (8)  primary practice information, including primary
  specialty practice, practice location zip code, and county; [and]
               (9)  information regarding any additional practice,
  including description of practice setting, practice location zip
  code, and county; and
               (10)  a description of the person's language fluency.
         (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.  To the extent feasible,
  the council shall use a researcher with a degree from a master's
  social work program accredited by the Council on Social Work
  Education and a doctorate in social work to collect, analyze, and
  disseminate social work data that may be used to predict supply and
  demand for social work personnel in this state using appropriate
  federal or state supply-and-demand models. The nursing and social
  work 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 under this section by the nursing resource
  section or the social work resource section established under
  Section 105.002 that contains information identifying specific
  patients 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 3.  Section 105.004(b), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (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
  and social work professionals;
               (2)  the supply and demand of nursing and social work
  professionals; and
               (3)  other issues, as determined necessary by the
  council, concerning nursing or social work professionals in this
  state.
         SECTION 4.  Section 505.203, Occupations Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
  amount of the fee to renew a social worker license is increased by
  $10.  The board may use six cents from the amount of the surcharge
  under this subsection to cover the administrative costs of
  collecting and depositing the surcharge.  The board quarterly shall
  transmit the remainder of each surcharge to the Department of State
  Health Services to be used only to fund the social work resource
  section under Section 105.002, Health and Safety Code.  The board is
  not required to collect the surcharge if the board determines that
  the money collected is not appropriated to fund the social work
  resource section.
         SECTION 5.  Section 505.203(d), Occupations Code, as added
  by this Act, applies only to a license renewed on or after the
  effective date of this Act. A license renewed before the effective
  date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
  license was renewed, and the former law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.