The Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) proposes to amend §97.2, concerning definitions; §97.247, concerning verification of employability of unlicensed persons; §97.298, concerning delegation of selected nursing tasks by registered professional nurses to unlicensed personnel; §97.403, concerning standards specific to agencies licensed to provide hospice services; §97.404, concerning standards specific to agencies licensed to provide personal assistance services; §97.602, concerning administrative penalties; and §97.701, concerning home health aides, in its Licensing Standards for Home and Community Support Services Agencies (HCSSA) chapter. The purpose of the amendments is to change agency administrative requirements concerning verification of employability of unlicensed persons, to comply with rules recently adopted by the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners (BNE) that provide minimum standards for registered nurse (RN) delegation to unlicensed personnel, and to update citations. The table outlining Severity Level I Violations in Figure: 40 TAC §97.602(d)(3)(C) updates BNE rule citations and corrects punctuation and grammar.

Bobby Halfmann, Chief Financial Officer, has determined that, for the first five-year period the proposed sections are in effect, there are no fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of enforcing or administering the sections.

Bettye M. Mitchell, Deputy Commissioner for Long Term Care, has determined that, for each year of the first five years the sections are in effect, the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing §97.247 is providing greater efficiency to HCSSAs by allowing branch offices and alternate delivery sites to conduct criminal history and registry checks on applicants and current employees. Parent agencies currently perform these tasks. The public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing §§97.2, 97.298, 97.403, 97.404, and 97.602 is having DHS rules cite updated BNE requirements concerning RN delegation of health maintenance tasks to unlicensed personnel, which expands the role of unlicensed health care providers in areas where licensed providers are unavailable. The public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing §97.701 is having DHS's rule base contain correct cross-references. There is no adverse economic effect on small or micro businesses as a result of enforcing or administering the sections, because the amendments simply transfer administrative tasks and clarify the requirements and process for delegation of health maintenance tasks. There is no anticipated economic cost to persons who are required to comply with the proposed sections. There is no anticipated effect on local employment in geographic areas affected by these sections.

Questions about the content of this proposal may be directed to Linda Kotek at (512) 438-3158 in DHS's Long Term Care-Policy section. Written comments on the proposal may be submitted to Supervisor, Rules and Handbooks Unit-179, Texas Department of Human Services E-205, P.O. Box 149030, Austin, Texas 78714-9030, within 30 days of publication in the Texas Register.

Under §2007.003(b) of the Government Code, DHS has determined that Chapter 2007 of the Government Code does not apply to these rules. Accordingly, DHS is not required to complete a takings impact assessment regarding these rules.

The amendment is proposed under the Health and Safety Code, Chapter 142, which provides DHS with the authority to adopt rules for the licensing and regulation of home and community support services agencies.

The amendment implements the Health and Safety Code, §§142.001-142.030.