HBA-JRA S.B. 1377 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1377 By: Shapleigh Public Health 4/30/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Lay health promoters, or promotoras, serve as bilingual liaisons between health care providers and their patients along the Texas-Mexico border. Uniform training and certification programs for promotoras may improve health care in border communities and enable clinics, hospitals, and patients to know what type of training promotoras have received. The Health Education Training Centers Alliance of Texas has developed a uniform curriculum for training and educating promotoras, but the state does not currently offer training or certification programs for them. S.B. 1377 requires the Texas Department of Health to establish voluntary training and certification programs for promotoras. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Board of Health in SECTION 1 (Section 46.003, Health and Safety Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subtitle B, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, by adding Chapter 46, as follows: CHAPTER 46. TRAINING AND REGULATION OF PROMOTORAS Sec. 46.001. DEFINITION. Defines "promotora" as a person who, with or without compensation, provides a bilingual liaison between health care providers and patients through a variety of activities. Sec. 46.002. PROMOTORA TRAINING PROGRAM. Requires the Texas Department of Health (TDH) to establish and operate a program designed to train and educate promotoras using the uniform curriculum for training and educating promotoras developed by the Health Education Training Centers Alliance of Texas as a resource to the extent possible. Provides that participation in a training and education program established under this section is voluntary. Sec. 46.003. CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FOR PROMOTORAS. Requires TDH to establish and operate a certification program for promotoras. Requires the Texas Board of Health (board) to adopt rules that provide minimum standards and guidelines, including participation in the training and education program under Section 46.002, for issuance of a certificate. Prohibits the receipt of a certificate issued under this section from being a requirement for acting as a promotora. SECTION 2. (a) Effective date: September 1, 1999. (b) Requires TDH to establish the promotora training and certification program by January 1, 2000. Requires the board to adopt rules as necessary under this Act by December 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.