HBA-NLM H.B. 1261 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1261
By: Hill
Human Services
3/22/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, in order to discipline a nurse aide who is accused of a crime,
such as fondling or abuse, three things must be proven.  In order to
register an infraction, the aide must have knowledge of the law, there must
be willful intent in an action, and actual harm must be proven.  However,
since many residents may not be able to communicate or testify, an
employee's name may never be submitted in the registry record. 

H.B. 1261 requires the Texas Department of Human Services (department) to
list, as a separate category in the central registry, the names and any
other necessary identifying information of certain nurse aides involved in
a report of abuse or neglect of a resident. The information must be listed
in the registry if the department does not find that the nurse aide
committed an act of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of the resident but
finds that at least two of the following three factors occurred: the nurse
aide's treatment of the resident was unlawful and either intentional or
reckless; the nurse aide knew or should have known that the nurse aide's
treatment of the resident was unlawful; and the resident was harmed by the
nurse aide's treatment of the resident. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
.
SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter E, Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, by
adding Section 242.1301, as follows: 

Sec. 242.1301.  CENTRAL REGISTRY TREATMENT OF CERTAIN REPORTS OF ABUSE,
NEGLECT, OR MISTREATMENT; NURSE AIDES.  (a)  Provides that for the purpose
of this section "nurse aide registry" has the meaning assigned by Section
250.001 (Definitions). 

(b)  Requires the Texas Department of Human Services (department) to list,
as a separate category in the central registry maintained under Section
242.130 (Central Registry), the names and any other necessary identifying
information of all nurse aides involved in a report of abuse or neglect of
a resident in which any related proceedings and investigations conducted by
the department: 

(1) do not warrant designation in the nurse aide registry that the nurse
aide has been found by the department to have committed an act of abuse,
neglect, or mistreatment of the resident; but 

(2) do warrant a finding by the department that at least two of the
following three factors were present in the nurse aide's treatment of the
resident: the nurse aide's treatment of the resident was unlawful and
either intentional or reckless; the nurse aide knew or should have known
that the nurse aide's treatment of the resident was unlawful; and the
resident was harmed by the nurse aide's treatment of the resident. 

 (c)  Requires the department to allow a nurse aide to petition the
department for the removal of the nurse aide's name and other necessary
identifying information from the central registry category established
under Subsection (b).  Requires the department to use the same federally
required or used standards and procedures for a petition to remove a
designation of a finding of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment from the nurse
aide registry. 

(d)  Requires the department to maintain the central registry category
established under Subsection (b) in a manner that clearly indicates to a
person who inspects or receives a copy of all or part of the information in
the central registry category that: 

(1)  the central registry category is distinct from the nurse aide registry;


(2)  inspection of information in the central registry category does not
satisfy any legal requirement to verify whether information is contained in
the nurse aide registry; and  

(3)  Section 250.003 (Verification of Employability; Discharge), Health and
Safety Code, applies only in relation to information that is contained in
the nurse aide registry. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.