HBA-NRS H.B. 2383 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2383
By: Allen
Public Health
7/10/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

State law authorizes an applicant for a license to practice chemical
dependency counseling to be checked for prohibitive criminal history by the
Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA) before a license is
issued. Prior to the 77th Legislature, state law did not provide for
further criminal background checks until the license was renewed two years
later. TCADA investigates many complaints involving abuse of and improper
conduct toward patients, many of whom are children and minors, in drug and
alcohol abuse treatment centers. House Bill 2383 establishes grounds by
which TCADA can refuse to issue a license to practice chemical dependency
counseling and authorizes TCADA to obtain criminal history record
information relating to an applicant.  

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 2 (Section 504.057, Occupations Code), SECTION 3
(Section 504.1525, Occupations Code), and SECTION 7 (Section 504.255,
Occupations Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2383 amends the Occupations Code to authorize the Texas
Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA) to obtain criminal history
record information relating to a counselor intern from the Department of
Public Safety (DPS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The bill
authorizes TCADA to adopt rules to implement TCADA's authority in obtaining
criminal history record information on counselor interns, including rules
that restrict the ability of a counselor intern to engage in chemical
dependency counseling if the person has been convicted or placed on
community supervision for an offense equal to or greater than a Class B
misdemeanor as specified by TCADA rule.  

The bill prohibits TCADA from issuing a license to practice chemical
dependency counseling (license) to an applicant who has been convicted or
placed on community supervision for an offense equal to a Class B
misdemeanor specified by TCADA rule during the five years before the date
of the application, convicted or placed on community supervision for an
offense equal to or greater than a Class A misdemeanor specified by TCADA
rule, or found to be incapacitated by a court on the basis of a mental
defect or disease. This prohibition does not apply to an applicant who has
received a full pardon based on the person's wrongful conviction or been
found by a court to no longer be incapacitated.  

The bill requires TCADA to refuse to renew a license on receipt of
information from DPS or another law enforcement agency that the person has
been convicted, placed on community supervision, or  found to be
incapacitated. The bill requires TCADA to suspend a license if TCADA
receives written notice from DPS or another law enforcement agency that the
license holder has been charged, indicted, or placed on deferred
adjudication, community supervision, or probation, or convicted of an
offense.  The bill provides that for TCADA to initiate a proceeding to
suspend a license upon written notice from DPS or another law enforcement
agency, TCADA must serve notice on the license holder. The bill provides
that the suspension is effective at the time notice is served and that the
license holder is entitled to appeal the suspension. 
 
House Bill 2383 authorizes a person whose license application is denied,
whose license renewal is refused, or whose license is suspended to appeal
the denial, refusal to renew, or suspension on the grounds that sufficient
time, as determined by commission rule, has expired since the date of the
conviction or placement on community supervision for an offense and that
the sole basis for TCADA's determination is the conviction or placement on
community supervision. After a hearing, the bill authorizes TCADA to
determine that the person is entitled to a license. Proceedings for hearing
and appeals are governed by the Administrative Procedure Act.  

The bill authorizes TCADA to obtain criminal history record information
relating to an applicant from the DPS and the FBI. The bill further
authorizes TCADA to deny an application for a license if an applicant fails
to provide two sets of fingerprints. The bill provides that the issuance of
a license is conditioned on TCADA's receipt of the applicant's criminal
history record information.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.