    HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
    TITLE 2. HEALTH
    SUBTITLE E. HEALTH CARE COUNCILS AND RESOURCE CENTERS
    CHAPTER 105. HEALTH PROFESSIONS RESOURCE CENTER
    Sec. 105.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:(1)  "Health profession" means any health or allied health profession that is licensed, certified, or registered by a state board, agency, or association.(2)  "Council" means the Health Professions Workforce Coordinating Council.(3)  "Freestanding emergency medical care facility" means a facility licensed under Chapter 254.(4)  "Home health agency" means a home and community support services agency licensed under Chapter 142. (5)  "Hospital" means a general or special hospital licensed under Chapter 241, a private mental hospital licensed under Chapter 577, or a hospital that is maintained or operated by this state or an agency of this state.(6)  "Nursing facility" means an institution licensed under Chapter 242.
    Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1088 (H.B. 2696), Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2015.Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 636 (H.B. 3801), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2025.

    Sec. 105.002.  ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER.  (a)  In conjunction with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and in such a way as to avoid duplication of effort, the council shall establish a comprehensive health professions resource center for the collection and analysis of educational and employment trends for health professions in this state.(b)  In conjunction with the nursing advisory committee formed under Section 104A.007, to avoid duplication of effort, and to the extent funding is available through fees collected under Section 301.155(c), Occupations Code, the council shall establish a nursing resource section within the center for the collection and analysis of educational and employment trends for nurses in this state.(c)  If the nursing resource section established under Subsection (b) is funded from surcharges collected under Section 301.155(c), Occupations Code, the council shall provide the Texas Board of Nursing with an annual accounting of the money received from the board.  The council may expend a reasonable amount of the money to pay administrative costs of maintaining the nursing resource section.
    Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 9, eff. June 20, 2003.Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 113 (S.B. 1000), Sec. 1, eff. May 20, 2005.Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 889 (H.B. 2426), Sec. 62, eff. September 1, 2007.Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 636 (H.B. 3801), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2025.

    Sec. 105.003.  COLLECTION OF DATA.  (a)  The council shall place a high priority on collecting and disseminating data on health professions demonstrating an acute shortage in this state, including:(1)  data concerning nursing personnel;  and(2)  data concerning the health professions in which shortages occur in rural areas.(b)  To the extent possible, the council may collect the data from existing sources that the council determines are credible.  The council may enter agreements with those sources that establish guidelines concerning the identification, acquisition, transfer, and confidentiality of the data.(c)  The Department of Information Resources, through the state electronic Internet portal and in consultation with the council and the Health Professions Council, shall add and label as "mandatory" the following fields on an application or renewal form for a license, certificate, or registration for a person subject to Subsection (c-2):(1)  full name and last four digits of social security number;(2)  full mailing address; and(3)  educational background and training, including basic health professions degree, school name and location of basic health professions degree, and graduation year for basic health professions degree, and, as applicable, highest professional degree obtained, related professional school name and location, and related graduation year.(c-1)  The Department of Information Resources, through the state electronic Internet portal and in consultation with the council and the Health Professions Council, shall add the following fields on an application or renewal form for a license, certificate, or registration for a person subject to Subsection (c-2):(1)  date and place of birth;(2)  sex;(3)  race and ethnicity;(4)  location of high school;(5)  mailing address of primary practice;(6)  number of hours per week spent at primary practice location;(7)  description of primary practice setting;(8)  primary practice information, including primary specialty practice, practice location zip code, and county; and(9)  information regarding any additional practice, including description of practice setting, practice location zip code, and county.(c-2)  The following health professionals are subject to this section:(1)  audiologists;(2)  chiropractors;(3)  licensed professional counselors;(4)  licensed chemical dependency counselors;(5)  dentists;(6)  dental hygienists;(7)  emergency medical services personnel;(8)  marriage and family therapists;(9)  medical radiologic technologists;(10)  licensed vocational nurses;(11)  registered nurses;(12)  certified nurse aides;(13)  occupational therapists;(14)  optometrists;(15)  pharmacists;(16)  physical therapists;(17)  physicians;(18)  physician assistants;(19)  psychologists;(20)  social workers; and(21)  speech-language pathologists.(c-3)  The relevant members of the Health Professions Council shall encourage each person described by Subsection (c-2) licensed, certified, or registered under that council's authority to submit application and renewal information under Subsections (c) and (c-1) through the system developed by the Department of Information Resources and the state electronic Internet portal.(d)  To the extent feasible, the council shall use a researcher with a doctorate in nursing to collect, analyze, and disseminate nursing data that may be used to predict supply and demand for nursing personnel in this state using appropriate federal or state supply-and-demand models.  The nursing data must at least:(1)  include demographics, areas of practice, supply, demand, and migration;  and(2)  be analyzed to identify trends relating to numbers and geographical distribution, practice setting, and area of practice and, to the extent possible, compare those trends with corresponding national trends. (e)  Data received under this section by the nursing resource section established under Section 105.002 that contains information identifying specific patients or health care facilities is confidential, is not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be released unless all identifying information is removed.(f)  The relevant members of the Health Professions Council, in conjunction with the Department of Information Resources, shall ensure that the information collected under Subsections (c) and (c-1) is transmitted to the statewide health coordinating council.  The council shall store the information as needed and conduct related workforce studies, including a determination of the geographical distribution of the reporting professionals.(g)  The relevant members of the Health Professions Council, in conjunction with the Department of Information Resources, shall ensure that the following information is submitted to the statewide health coordinating council for a person subject to Subsection (c-2):(1)  certification, registration, or license number;(2)  issuance date;(3)  method of certification, registration, or licensure; and(4)  certification, registration, or licensure status.(h)  The Department of Information Resources shall work with the health occupation regulatory agencies that are members of the Health Professions Council to minimize the costs to Health Professions Council members of obtaining the information under Subsections (c) and (c-1).  The Department of Information Resources shall provide the Health Professions Council with the appropriate federal information processing standards code based on the information in Subsections (c-1)(8) and (9).
    Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 10, eff. June 20, 2003.Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 113 (S.B. 1000), Sec. 2, eff. May 20, 2005.Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 486 (S.B. 29), Sec. 1, eff. March 1, 2008.Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 973 (H.B. 1504), Sec. 27, eff. June 17, 2011.

    Sec. 105.004.  REPORTS.  (a)  The council may use the data collected and analyzed under this chapter to publish reports regarding:(1)  the educational and employment trends for health professions;(2)  the supply and demand of health professions;  and(3)  other issues, as necessary, concerning health professions in this state.(b)  The council shall publish reports regarding the data collected and analyzed under this chapter related to:(1)  the educational and employment trends of nursing professionals;(2)  the supply and demand of nursing professionals;  and(3)  other issues, as determined necessary by the council, concerning nursing professionals in this state.
    Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 11, eff. June 20, 2003.

    Sec. 105.005.  RULES.  The executive commissioner may adopt rules to govern the reporting and collection of data.
    Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 797 (S.B. 1326), Sec. 10, eff. June 19, 2009.Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0352, eff. April 2, 2015.

    Sec. 105.006.  ASSISTANCE OF OTHER STATE AGENCIES.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board or the department may require the assistance of other state agencies or institutions of higher education for the development of, or the collection of data for, any report.
    Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.  Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1276, Sec. 10.001(a), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

    Sec. 105.009.  RESEARCH REGARDING GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION SYSTEM.  (a)  The comprehensive health professions resource center shall conduct research:(1)  to identify all medical specialties and subspecialties that are at critical shortage levels in this state, together with the geographic location of the physicians in those specialties and subspecialties; and(2)  regarding the overall supply of physicians in this state and any other issues that are relevant to the status of the state's graduate medical education system and the ability of that system to meet the current and future health care needs of this state.(b)  Not later than May 1 of each even-numbered year, the council shall report the results of the center's research to the Legislative Budget Board, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the office of the governor, and the standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over state finance or appropriations.
    Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 321 (S.B. 18), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2015.

    Sec. 105.011.  WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM.  (a)  To the extent funding is available, the nursing resource section established under Section 105.002 shall administer a grant program to fund innovative approaches for reducing verbal and physical violence against nurses in hospitals, freestanding emergency medical care facilities, nursing facilities, and home health agencies. (b)  The nursing resource section shall require a grant recipient to submit periodic reports describing the outcome of the activities funded through the grant, including any change in the severity and frequency of verbal and physical violence against nurses.(c)  Repealed by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 636 (H.B. 3801), Sec. 11(2), eff. September 1, 2025.(d)  The department shall provide administrative assistance to the nursing resource section in administering the grant program under this section. (e)  The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to implement the grant program, including rules governing the submission and approval of grant requests and establishing a reporting procedure for grant recipients. (f)  The nursing resource section may use money transferred to the department from the Texas Board of Nursing under Section 301.155, Occupations Code, to fund the grants authorized by this section.(g)  At least annually, the nursing resource section shall publish a report describing the grants awarded under this section, including the amount of the grant, the purpose of the grant, and the reported outcome of the approach adopted by the grant recipient.
    Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 406 (H.B. 280), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.Amended by: Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 636 (H.B. 3801), Sec. 11(2), eff. September 1, 2025.