Source: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/archive/December92016/Proposed%20Rules/22.EXAMINING%20BOARDS.html
Timestamp: 2018-01-21 02:59:28
Document Index: 156908507

Matched Legal Cases: ['§153', '§1103', '§153', '§53', '§53', '§211', '§301', '§301', '§211', '§2006', '§301', '§301', '§211', '§214', '§301', '§301', '§214', '§214', '§214', '§214', '§214', '§214', '§301', '§301', '§214', '§215', '§301', '§301', '§215', '§215', '§215', '§215', '§215', '§215', '§301', '§301', '§215', '§341', '§341', '§341', '§341', '§341']

The Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB or Board) proposes amendments to §153.19, Licensing for Persons with Criminal History. The proposed amendments add language to the caption of the rule and change the language in subsection (f) from criminal history evaluation to moral character determination to align the rule with statutory requirements in Chapter 1103, Texas Occupations Code, and current Board practice.
The amendments are proposed under Texas Occupations Code §§1103.151 - 1103.152, which authorize TALCB to: adopt rules relating to certificates and licenses and prescribe qualifications for appraisers that are consistent with the qualifications established by the Appraiser Qualifications Board.
§153.19.Licensing for Persons with Criminal History and Moral Character Determination.
(a) No currently incarcerated individual is eligible to obtain or renew a license. A person's license will be revoked upon the person's imprisonment following a felony conviction, felony probation revocation, revocation of parole, or revocation of mandatory suspension.
(b) The Board may suspend or revoke an existing valid license, disqualify an individual from receiving a license, deny to a person the opportunity to be examined for a license or deny any application for a license, if the person has been convicted of a felony, had their felony probation revoked, had their parole revoked, or had their mandatory supervision revoked. Any such action shall be made after consideration of the factors detailed in Texas Occupations Code §53.022 and subsection (d) of this section.
(c) A license holder must conduct himself or herself with honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness. Thus, the Board has considered the factors in Texas Occupations Code §53.022 and deems the following crimes to be directly related to the occupation of appraiser or appraiser trainee:
(2) offenses against real or personal property belonging to another, if committed knowingly or intentionally;
(3) offenses against public administration;
(4) offenses involving the sale or other disposition of real or personal property belonging to another without authorization of law;
(5) offenses involving moral turpitude; and
(6) offenses of attempting or conspiring to commit any of the foregoing offenses.
(d) In determining the present fitness of an applicant or license holder who has been convicted of a crime, the Board will consider the following evidence:
(e) It shall be the responsibility of the applicant or license holder to the extent possible to secure and provide the Board the recommendations of the prosecution, law enforcement, and correctional authorities, as well as evidence, in the form required by the Board, relating to whether the applicant has maintained a record of steady employment, has supported his or her dependents and otherwise maintained a record of good conduct, and is current on the payment of all outstanding court costs, supervision fees, fines, and restitution as may have been ordered in all criminal cases in which the person has been convicted.
(f) Moral Character Determination [Criminal History Evaluation]. Before applying for a license, a person [with a criminal history] may request the Board to determine if [evaluate] the prospective applicant's moral character satisfies the Board’s requirements for licensing [criminal history] by submitting the request form approved by the Board and paying the required fee. Upon receiving such a request, the Board may request additional supporting materials. Requests will be processed under the same standards as applications for a license. [In responding to a request, the Board shall address each offense listed in the request.]
TRD-201606036
The Texas Board of Nursing (Board) proposes amendments to §211.7, concerning Executive Director by adding new subsection (j). The amendments are proposed under the authority of the Occupations Code §301.151 and §301.101(b).
The proposed amendments are necessary to authorize the Executive Director of the Board to accept the voluntary closure of a vocational nursing education program or a professional nursing education program without the need for Board ratification. These amendments are being proposed simultaneously with other proposed changes to Board Rules 214.3 and 215.3 and are necessary for consistency with those proposed changes. Those proposed amendments are being published elsewhere in this issue of the Texas Register.
The proposed amendments were considered and approved by the Board at its regularly scheduled October 2016 meeting.
Proposed new §211.7(j) provides that the Executive Director of the Board is authorized to accept the voluntary closure of a vocational nursing education program or a professional nursing education program without Board ratification. Further, the proposed new subsection requires the Executive Director to report summaries of these types of voluntary education program closures to the Board at its regular meetings.
Fiscal Note. Katherine Thomas, Executive Director, has determined that for each year of the first five years the proposed amendments will be in effect, there will be no fiscal impact to state or local governments.
Public Benefit/Cost Note. Ms. Thomas has also determined that for each year of the first five years the proposed amendments are in effect, the anticipated public benefit will be the adoption of rules that promote efficient regulation. Permitting a program to submit a voluntary closure to the Board’s Executive Director reduces the amount of time the program must wait until it is eligible to submit a new proposal for approval from the Board at a later date. Additionally, appearing before the Board in open meeting can be a difficult experience for some programs that are ceasing their operations. Offering these programs an alternative to appearing before the Board in an open meeting may ease some anxiety during the closure process, and appearing before the Board is not necessary in order for the program to complete its teach out process.
Potential Costs of Compliance. The proposed amendments provide an alternative option for nursing education programs to submit voluntary closures to the Executive Director for approval. The Board does not anticipate any costs of compliance associated with the proposal.
Economic Impact Statement and Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small and Micro Businesses. The Board has determined it is not required to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis under the Government Code §2006.002(c) and (f) because there are no anticipated costs associated with the proposal.
Request for Public Comment. To be considered, written comments on the proposal or any request for a public hearing must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 8, 2017 to Kristin Benton, Director of Nursing, 333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-460, Austin, Texas 78701, or by e-mail to kristin.benton@bon.texas.gov, or faxed to (512) 305-8101 and James W. Johnston, General Counsel, Texas Board of Nursing, 333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-460, Austin, Texas 78701, or by e-mail to dusty.johnston@bon.texas.gov, or faxed to (512) 305-8101. If a hearing is held, written and oral comments presented at the hearing will be considered.
Statutory Authority. The amendments are proposed under the authority of the Occupations Code §301.151 and §301.101(b).
Section 301.101(b) provides that under the direction of the Board, the Executive Director shall perform the duties required by this chapter or designated by the Board.
§211.7.Executive Director.
(j) The Executive Director is authorized to accept the voluntary closure of a vocational nursing education program or a professional nursing education program. Board ratification is not required. The Executive Director will report summaries of such closures to the Board at its regular meetings.
TRD-201606056
For further information, please call: (512) 305-7400
The Texas Board of Nursing (Board) proposes amendments to §214.3, concerning Program Development, Expansion and Closure. The amendments are proposed under the authority of the Occupations Code §301.151 and §301.157.
The proposed amendments allow the Executive Director of the Board to accept a nursing education program's voluntary closure without the need for Board ratification. Since September 1, 2015, the Board has received four voluntary closures from nursing education programs. From January 2014 through July 2015, there were nine schools that were experiencing potential withdrawal of program approval, board action regarding the status of the program, or voluntary program closure. The Board's current rules do not contemplate the voluntary closure of a program. Under the Board's current structure, a program must wait for the Board to vote to close a program at one of its quarterly Board meetings. As such, this can be a difficult and lengthy period of time for a program. The proposed amendments will shorten the time period a program must wait to begin its teach out and submit a new program proposal for approval, should it choose to do so. However, the proposal does not, in any way, relieve a program of its obligations to complete an appropriate teach out for its students and to meet the other requirements of the chapter.
Further, the proposed amendments clarify that a nursing education program that submits its voluntary closure must wait one calendar year (12 months) from the date its voluntary closure is accepted by the Executive Director before submitting a new nursing education program proposal to the Board for approval. This time frame is consistent with current Board policy and rule (§214.4(c)(12)) that require a one year time out period for programs whose proposals are denied or whose approval is withdrawn by the Board.
The amendments to §214.3 are being proposed simultaneously with other proposed changes to Board Rules 215.3 and 211.7 and are necessary for consistency with those proposed changes. Those proposed amendments are being published elsewhere in this issue of the Texas Register. The proposed amendments to §214.3 were considered and approved by the Board at its regularly scheduled October 2016 meeting.
Proposed amended §214.3(d)(4) provides that a program's voluntary closure may be accepted by the Executive Director of the Board without requirement of Board ratification. Further, notice of a program's accepted closure will be sent to the director or coordinator and others as determined by the Board. The chief administrative officer of the governing entity will also be notified by the Board when the program's closure is accepted by the Executive Director. Once the program's voluntary closure has been accepted by the Executive Director, the program shall then be removed from the list of Board approved professional nursing education programs.
Proposed amended §214.3(d)(5) permits a program that has voluntarily closed to reapply for approval. However, the new proposal may not be submitted to the Board until at least twelve (12) calendar months have elapsed from the date the program's closure was accepted by the Executive Director.
Proposed amended §214.3(d)(6) ensures that a program submitting its voluntary closure to the Board must comply with all of the other requirements of the section, including requirements related to a student teach out.
Public Benefit/Cost Note. Ms. Thomas has also determined that for each year of the first five years the proposed amendments are in effect, the anticipated public benefit will be the adoption of rules that promote efficient regulation. Permitting a program to submit a voluntary closure to the Board's Executive Director reduces the amount of time the program must wait until it is eligible to submit a new proposal for approval from the Board at a later date. Additionally, appearing before the Board in open meeting can be a difficult experience for some programs that are ceasing their operations. Offering these programs an alternative to appearing before the Board in an open meeting may ease some anxiety during the closure process, and appearing before the Board is not necessary in order for the program to begin and complete its teach out process. Further, the proposed amendments ensure that the program must continue to comply with the other requirements of the section. Finally, the proposed amendments do not foreclose the possibility that the program may seek approval of a new nursing education program at a later date. Rather, the proposed amendments provide an avenue for a program to reapply for approval of a new program once twelve calendar months have passed since its closure was accepted by the Executive Director.
Potential Costs of Compliance. The proposed amendments merely provide an alternative option for nursing education programs to submit voluntary closures to the Executive Director for approval. As such, the Board does not anticipate any costs of compliance associated with the proposal, as such submissions will be voluntary and will be based on the program's own assessment of its probability for success and/or need for closure.
Request for Public Comment. To be considered, written comments on the proposal or any request for a public hearing must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 8, 2017, to Kristin Benton, Director of Nursing, 333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-460, Austin, Texas 78701, or by e-mail to kristin.benton@bon.texas.gov, or faxed to (512) 305-8101 and James W. Johnston, General Counsel, Texas Board of Nursing, 333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-460, Austin, Texas 78701, or by e-mail to dusty.johnston@bon.texas.gov, or faxed to (512) 305-8101. If a hearing is held, written and oral comments presented at the hearing will be considered.
The amendments are proposed under the authority of the Occupations Code §301.151 and §301.157.
§214.3.Program Development, Expansion and Closure.
(d) Closing a Program.
(4) A program's voluntary closure under this section may be accepted by the Executive Director of the Board without requirement of Board ratification. Notice of a program's accepted closure shall be sent to the director or coordinator and others as determined by the Board. The chief administrative officer of the governing entity shall be notified by the Board when the program's closure is accepted by the Executive Director. The program shall then be removed from the list of Board approved vocational nursing education programs.
(5) A program that has voluntarily closed under this section may reapply for approval. However, a new proposal may not be submitted to the Board until at least twelve (12) calendar months from the date the program's closure was accepted by the Executive Director have elapsed.
(6) A program submitting its voluntary closure under this section must comply with all of the requirements of this section.
TRD-201606057
The Texas Board of Nursing (Board) proposes amendments to §215.3, concerning Program Development, Expansion and Closure. The amendments are proposed under the authority of the Occupations Code §301.151 and §301.157.
Further, the proposed amendments clarify that a nursing education program that submits its voluntary closure must wait one calendar year (12 months) from the date its voluntary closure is accepted by the Executive Director before submitting a new nursing education program proposal to the Board for approval. This time frame is consistent with current Board policy and rule (§215.4(c)(12)) that require a one year time out period for programs whose proposals are denied or whose approval is withdrawn by the Board.
The amendments to §215.3 are being proposed simultaneously with other proposed changes to Board Rules 214.3 and 211.7 and are necessary for consistency with those proposed changes. Those proposed amendments are being published elsewhere in this issue of the Texas Register. The proposed amendments to §215.3 were considered and approved by the Board at its regularly scheduled October 2016 meeting.
Proposed amended §215.3(d)(4) provides that a program's voluntary closure may be accepted by the Executive Director of the Board without requirement of Board ratification. Further, notice of a program's accepted closure will be sent to the director or coordinator and others as determined by the Board. The chief administrative officer of the governing entity will also be notified by the Board when the program's closure is accepted by the Executive Director. Once the program's voluntary closure has been accepted by the Executive Director, the program shall then be removed from the list of Board approved professional nursing education programs.
Proposed amended §215.3(d)(5) permits a program that has voluntarily closed to reapply for approval. However, the new proposal may not be submitted to the Board until at least twelve (12) calendar months have elapsed from the date the program's closure was accepted by the Executive Director.
Proposed amended §215.3(d)(6) ensures that a program submitting its voluntary closure to the Board must comply with all of the other requirements of the section, including requirements related to a student teach out.
Statutory Authority. The amendments are proposed under the authority of the Occupations Code §301.151 and §301.157.
§215.3.Program Development, Expansion and Closure.
(4) A program's voluntary closure under this section may be accepted by the Executive Director of the Board without requirement of Board ratification. Notice of a program's accepted closure shall be sent to the director or coordinator and others as determined by the Board. The chief administrative officer of the governing entity shall be notified by the Board when the program's closure is accepted by the Executive Director. The program shall then be removed from the list of Board approved professional nursing education programs.
TRD-201606058
The Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners proposes amendments to §341.3, Qualifying Continuing Competence Activities and §341.6, License Restoration.
The amendments are proposed to eliminate the Practice Review Tool (PRT) as a qualifying continuing competence (CC) activity in §341.3(5)(E) and as a method of demonstrating competency for restoration in §341.6(d)(1)(E), as the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (Federation) is retiring both the General PRT and the Orthopedic PRT on November 30, 2016. Additionally, the Federation’s self-assessment tool oPTion has been proposed as a qualifying CC activity in §341.3(5)(E) with an assigned value of 3 continuing competence units (CCUs).
Mr. Maline has determined that there will be no costs or adverse economic effects to small or micro businesses, therefore an economic impact statement or regulatory flexibility analysis is not required for the amendment. There are no anticipated costs to individuals who are required to comply with the rule as proposed.
(E) The self-assessment tool oPTion [Practice Review Tool (PRT)] of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT). This activity type is automatically approved and is assigned a standard approval number by the board-approved organization.
(i) Completion of oPTion [a PRT] is valued at 3 [15] CCUs.
[(iii) For PTs only: successful completion of a board-approved practice review tool and 30 CCUs of board-approved continuing competence activities within the previous 24 month;]
[(iv) For PTs only: 480 hours on-site supervised clinical practice completed over a continuous 12 month period and 30 CCUs of board-approved continuing competence activities within the previous 24 months.]
[(v) For PTAs only: 320 hours on-site supervised clinical practice completed over a continuous 12 month period and 20 CCUs of board-approved continuing competence activities within the previous 24 months.]
TRD-201606039