HBA-MPM C.S.H.B. 1851 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1851 By: Jones, Jesse Public Health 4/11/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Chemical dependency counselors are prohibited from practicing in Texas, unless the person is licensed by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA) as a chemical dependency counselor. Applicants for a license must pass an examination prepared and administered by TCADA. Current law prohibits an applicant who fails the examination from taking the examination more than three times. C.S.H.B. 1851 removes this provision, effectively allowing a person to take the examination more than three times. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in SECTION 1 (Section 504.157, Occupations Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1851 amends the Occupations Code by removing the provision prohibiting an applicant for a license as a chemical dependency counselor from taking the license examination more than three times. The bill requires the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse by rule to establish criteria under which an applicant may take a subsequent examination. The bill provides that the change in law applies to a person whose first attempt to pass an examination occurs before, on, or after the effective date of this Act. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1851 differs from the original by requiring the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse to establish by rule criteria under which an applicant may take a subsequent license examination.