committees.
This recommendation would streamline DSHS’ regulatory program by moving regulation of 12 occupations and practices to TDLR, where they are better suited and can be more effectively managed. Together, this transfer and the deregulation of the programs in Recommendation 3.1 would essentially end DSHS’ involvement in administering occupational licensing programs unrelated to its core public health mission. Transferring these programs to TDLR would improve the State’s regulation of these professionals while keeping current categories of licensure intact. TDLR has the tools available to provide efficient administrative support services and provides a secure and knowledgeable agency structure to efficiently administer regulation while increasing licensee and consumer responsiveness.
•
Phased transfer. A phased transfer over four years would allow TDLR to absorb the new programs in an orderly and controlled manner. For the following professional licensing programs, this recommendation would convert the independent boards to advisory committees, sever their administrative attachment to DSHS, and transfer all of their regulatory functions to TDLR in two phases occurring from 2015 to 2019. The phased-in approach would transfer professions with similarities in scope of practice, education requirements, and national examinations and professional certifications at the same time. Phase 1. The first phase would transfer the following six programs from DSHS to TDLR beginning on September 1, 2015 and would be completed by August 31, 2017.a. Chemical Dependency Counselors
b. Fitters and Dispensers of Hearing Instruments c. Marriage and Family Therapists
d. Orthotists and Prosthetists e. Professional Counselors f. Social Workers
Phase 2. The second phase, beginning on September 1, 2017 and completed August 31, 2019, would transfer the remaining six programs from DSHS to TDLR.
g. Athletic Trainers h. Laser Hair Removal i. Massage Therapists
j. Midwives k. Sanitarians
l. Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
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Reconstitute independent boards as advisory committees to fit TDLR’s successful administrative model. Under this recommendation, the boards’ existing authority for registering, certifying, licensing, and taking enforcement action against practitioners, including their rulemaking authority, would be transferred to TDLR. The Commission of Licensing and Regulation, with its all-public membership, would provide needed objectivity and would develop, with the advice of the relevant advisory committees, comprehensive rules to govern all aspects of the transferred regulations. TDLR would also develop a formal relationship with the relevant trade and industry associations and accrediting bodies. Each regulatory program would have its own statute and advisory committee, and TDLR and its Commission would adopt all rules and make all final regulatory decisions currently requiring board action, including decisions regarding the establishment of fees. TDLR would use Chapter 51 of the Texas Occupations Code as a guide in creating consistency of the transferred programs under TDLR’s business model. In forming these advisory committees, TDLR should consider the composition of the current independent boards.•
Remove separate Sunset provisions. This recommendation would remove the Sunset provision in the enabling statutes of each of these programs, as they would be subject to review under TDLR’s existing Sunset provision, currently set for September 1, 2019.•
Coordinate to provide for a seamless administrative transition. DSHS would be required to provide TDLR access to all systems and information needed to effectively absorb the programs, including licensing, revenue, and expenditure systems; rights to service contracts and licensing agreements; use of online renewal and new application systems; and review and resolution of pending judgments and outstanding expenditures. This recommendation would also direct Sunset staff to work with staff from TDLR, DSHS, and the Texas Legislative Council to draft legislation that accurately accounts for any other legal and administrative aspects a transfer of this magnitude entails.Fiscal Implication
Recommendation 3.1 to discontinue 19 regulatory programs would result in the loss of approximately $1.6 million per year to the General Revenue Fund and a reduction of 45 full-time DSHS staff positions, beginning in fiscal year 2016. The loss would result from no longer collecting excess fees from the deregulated programs that are currently deposited in the General Revenue Fund. These programs generate about $4.3 million in annual fee revenue, and the Legislature appropriates DSHS $2.7 million to administer them, including salaries for the 45 full-time staff and other operating costs.
Overall, the fiscal impact of Recommendation 3.2 to transfer 12 regulatory programs from DSHS to TDLR should be cost neutral. TDLR indicates the transfer would result in total one-time startup costs of $1.3 million, half of which would be needed in fiscal year 2016, and the remainder in fiscal year 2018 to pay for equipment and other capital expenses. TDLR should cover these costs by issuing a temporary surcharge on licensees in the transferred programs. On an ongoing basis, the recommendation would require the transfer of 53 full-time equivalent positions and continued annual appropriations of $3.1
million from DSHS to TDLR. TDLR may also need to request additional appropriations and staffing for indirect and support services positions related to the administration of these additional programs, such as additional legal counsel. If approved by the Legislature, these costs would be recovered through fees.
Department of State Health Services (Discontinued Programs Only)
Fiscal
Year General Revenue Fund Loss to the Change in the Number of FTEs From FY 2015
2016 ($1,600,000) -45
2017 ($1,600,000) -45
2018 ($1,600,000) -45
2019 ($1,600,000) -45
2020 ($1,600,000) -45
1 Section 325.0115(b), Texas Government Code.
2 Division of Regulatory Services at the Department of State Health Services, Rider 59 Report (Austin: Department of State Health
Services, 2013), p. 9.
3 “Mold: An Old Contaminant Creates New Concerns for Homeowners,” Ohio State Bar Association, last modified April 25, 2013,
https://www.ohiobar.org/forpublic/resources/lawyoucanuse/pages/lawyoucanuse-283.aspx.
4 “Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings,” United States Environmental Protection Agency, last modified April 18,
2013, http://www.epa.gov/mold/mold_remediation.html.
5 Elton Bomer, Texas Department of Health – Business Practices Evaluation (Austin: Texas Department of Health, 2001), p. 63. 6 Sunset Advisory Commission, Licensing Reorganization Project (Austin: Sunset Advisory Commission, 2004), p. 1.