The Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists proposes an amendment to rule §463.11, Licensed Psychologists. The proposed amendment is needed to remove superseded language from the rule and thereby avoid confusion. The amendment will also incorporate the substance of Board rule §463.13, and provide an alternative solution for scenarios where the Director of Internship Training is unavailable due to death, disability, or discontinuance of the program, or he or she simply cannot be located. Lastly, the amendment will clarify the internship requirement for full licensure, and ensure that LSSPs may use their title in both public and private schools when acquiring the supervised experience needed for full licensure.

Fiscal Note. Darrel D. Spinks, Executive Director of the Board, has determined that for the first five-year period the proposed rule amendment is in effect, there will be no additional estimated cost, reduction in costs, or loss or increase in revenue to the state or local governments as a result of enforcing or administering the rule. Additionally, Mr. Spinks has determined that enforcing or administering the rule does not have foreseeable implications relating to the costs or revenues of state or local government.

Public Benefit. Mr. Spinks has determined for the first five-year period the proposed rule amendment is in effect, there will be a benefit to licensees and the general public because the proposed rule amendment will provide greater clarity in the Board's rules. Mr. Spinks has also determined that for each year of the first five years the rule is in effect, the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing the rule will be to help the Board protect the public.

Probable Economic Costs. Mr. Spinks has determined for the first five-year period the proposed rule amendment is in effect, there will be virtually no additional economic costs to persons required to comply with this rule. Subsection (c)(3) of the proposed rule amendment will require applicants that are actively licensed in another jurisdiction to submit a self-query report from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) regarding any past disciplinary history. Currently NPDB charges $4.00 per self-query. Unfortunately, the Board does not have a way to identify the total number of individuals that will be affected, e.g. the amount of out-of-state applications the Board receives each year, but the Board estimates that the amount of people affected by this change to be small because the Board receives more applications from applicants who are not licensed in other jurisdictions than it does from applicants licensed in other jurisdictions. Mr. Spinks has determined that the $4.00 charge for an NPDB self-query will only apply to a small amount of applicants, which could result in an increase in costs for those applicants, but will be so nominal that there will be no practical change in the economic cost to persons required to comply with this rule.

Small Business, Micro-Business, and Rural Community Impact Statement. Mr. Spinks has determined for the first five-year period the proposed rule amendment is in effect, there will be no adverse effect on small businesses, micro-businesses, or rural communities.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small and Micro-Businesses and Rural Communities. Mr. Spinks has determined that the proposed rule amendment will have no adverse economic effect on small businesses, micro-businesses, or rural communities. Thus, the Board is not required to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis pursuant to Tex. Gov't. Code §2006.002.

Local Employment Impact Statement. Mr. Spinks has determined that the proposed rule amendment will have no impact on local employment or a local economy. Thus, the Board is not required to prepare a local employment impact statement pursuant to Tex. Gov't. Code §2001.022.

Requirement for Rules Increasing Costs to Regulated Persons. The proposed amendment does not impose any new or additional costs to regulated persons, state agencies, special districts, or local governments therefore, pursuant to Tex. Gov't. Code §2001.0045, no repeal or amendment of another rule is required to offset any increased costs. Additionally, no repeal or amendment of another rule is required because the proposed rule amendment is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of this state and because regulatory costs imposed by the Board on licensees is not expected to increase.

Government Growth Impact Statement. For the first five-year period the proposed rule is in effect, the Board estimates that the proposed rule amendment will have no effect on government growth. The proposed rule amendment does not create or eliminate a government program; it does not require the creation or elimination of employee positions; it does not require the increase or decrease in future legislative appropriations to this agency; it does not require an increase or decrease in fees paid to the agency; it does not create a new regulation, it amends an existing regulation; it does not expand or repeal an existing regulation, it incorporates the regulations from Board rule §463.13; it does not increase or decrease the number of individuals subject to the rule's applicability; and it does not positively or adversely affect the state's economy.

Takings Impact Assessment. Mr. Spinks has determined that there are no private real property interests affected by the proposed rule amendment. Thus, the Board is not required to prepare a takings impact assessment pursuant to Tex. Gov't. Code §2007.043.

Request for Public Comments. Comments on the proposed rule amendment may be submitted to Brenda Skiff, Public Information Officer, Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, 333 Guadalupe, Ste. 2-450, Austin, Texas 78701, within 30 days of publication of this proposal in the Texas Register. Comments may also be submitted via fax to (512) 305-7701, or via email to Open.Records@tsbep.texas.gov.

The Board specifically invites comments from the public on the issues of whether or not the proposed amendment will have an adverse economic effect on small businesses; if the proposed rule is believed to have an adverse effect on small businesses, estimate the number of small businesses believed to be impacted by the rule, describe and estimate the economic impact of the rule on small businesses, offer alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the rule; then explain how the Board may legally and feasibly reduce that adverse effect on small businesses considering the purpose of the statute under which the proposed rule is to be adopted, finally describe how the health, safety, environmental and economic welfare of the state will be impacted by the various proposed methods. See §2006.002(c) and (c-1) of the Tex. Gov't. Code.

Statutory Authority. The rule amendment is proposed under Tex. Occ. Code, Title 3, Subtitle I, Chapter 501, which provides the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists with the authority to make all rules, not inconsistent with the Constitution and Laws of this State, which are reasonably necessary for the proper performance of its duties and regulations of proceedings before it.

Additionally, the Board proposes this rule amendment pursuant to the authority found in §501.151(a) of the Tex. Occ. Code which vests the Board with the authority to adopt rules necessary to perform its duties and regulate its proceedings.

Board rule §463.13 will be affected by this proposal. No other code, articles or statutes are affected by this section.