86R8674 JCG-D
 
  By: Landgraf H.B. No. 1865
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the licensing and regulation of massage therapy;
  requiring a student permit; authorizing fees.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 455.152, Occupations Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 455.152.  INELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSE.  [(a)] A person is
  not eligible for a license as a massage establishment, massage
  school, massage therapist, or massage therapy instructor if the
  person is an individual and has been convicted of, entered a plea of
  nolo contendere or guilty to, or received deferred adjudication for
  an offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code, or Subchapter A, Chapter
  43, Penal Code, or another sexual offense.
         [(b)     A person convicted of a violation of this chapter is
  ineligible for a license as a massage establishment, massage
  school, massage therapist, or massage therapy instructor until the
  fifth anniversary of the date of the conviction.]
         SECTION 2.  Section 455.160(h), Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (h)  On receipt of a request for a renewal of a license issued
  under this chapter, the department shall [may] conduct a criminal
  background check under Section 455.1525.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter D, Chapter 455, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 455.161 to read as follows:
         Sec. 455.161.  STUDENT PERMIT; ELIGIBILITY. (a) The
  department shall require a student enrolled in a massage school in
  this state to hold a permit stating the student's name and the name
  of the school.  The permit must be displayed in a reasonable manner
  at the school.
         (b)  The department shall issue a student permit to an
  applicant who submits an application to the department for a
  student permit accompanied by any required fee.
         (c)  An applicant for a student permit described by this
  section shall:
               (1)  submit an enrollment application to the department
  in a form and manner prescribed by the department; and
               (2)  satisfy other requirements specified by the
  department.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter E, Chapter 455, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 455.2035 to read as follows:
         Sec. 455.2035.  REPORTS TO DEPARTMENT. (a) A massage school
  shall maintain a monthly progress report regarding each student
  attending the school.  The report must certify the daily attendance
  record of each student and the number of credit hours earned by each
  student during the previous month.
         (b)  On a student's completion of a prescribed course of
  instruction, the school shall notify the department that the
  student has completed the required number of hours and is eligible
  to take the appropriate examination.
         SECTION 5.  Section 455.158, Occupations Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 6.  Not later than January 1, 2020, the Texas
  Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules necessary
  to implement the changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 455,
  Occupations Code.
         SECTION 7.  Section 455.160(h), Occupations Code, as amended
  by this Act, applies only to an application for the renewal of a
  license submitted on or after the effective date of this Act.  An
  application submitted before that date is governed by the law in
  effect on the date the application was submitted, and the former law
  is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 8.  (a) In this section, "massage school" has the
  meaning assigned by Section 455.001, Occupations Code.
         (b)  Section 455.161, Occupations Code, as added by this Act,
  applies to a student who is enrolled in a massage school on or after
  January 1, 2020.
         (c)  The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall
  adopt rules under Section 455.161, Occupations Code, as added by
  this Act, not later than November 1, 2019.
         SECTION 9.  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
  section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
         (b)  Sections 455.161 and 455.2035, Occupations Code, as
  added by this Act, take effect January 1, 2020.