HBA-DMD H.B. 1088 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS
Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1088
By: West, George
State Affairs
4/13/1999
Introduced
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Sociology is one of the oldest of the social sciences with its origins
being traced back to the early 1800s. Sociological theory, while used
extensively by marriage and family therapists as well as social workers in
Texas, has experienced a substantially growing presence in both qualitative
and quantitative analysis, relating to criminal justice, psychiatric and
mental health care, psychosocial rehabilitation, and gerontology.
Currently, no entity recognizes, regulates, or certifies sociological
practitioners outside of social workers and marriage and family therapists.
H.B. 1088 creates the Texas Board of Examiners of Sociologists (board), to
regulate and certify certain sociologists. This bill subjects the board to
the Texas Sunset Act and abolishes the board on September 1, 2009, unless
continued in existence. This bill authorizes the board to adopt rules for
its own procedures. It sets forth conditions under which a person is
eligible for certification as a certified sociological practitioner and a
certified professional sociological practitioner.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Board of Examiners of
Sociologists in ARTICLES 2, 3, and 5 (SECTIONS 2.11, 3.05, and 5.02) and to
the Texas Board of Health in ARTICLES 2 and 5 (SECTIONS 2.10 and 5.02) of
this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
SECTION 1.01. DEFINITIONS. Defines "board," "board of health," "certified
sociological practitioner," and "department."
ARTICLE 2. ADMINISTRATION
SECTION 2.01. BOARD. Sets forth the composition of the Texas Board of
Examiners of Sociologists (board). Sets forth standard Sunset language
regarding equal opportunity. Subjects the board to Chapters 551 (Open
Meetings) and 2001 (Administrative Procedure), Government Code.
SECTION 2.02. SUNSET PROVISION. Subjects the board to the Texas Sunset Act,
Chapter 325, Government Code. Provides that the board is abolished and this
Act expires September 1, 2009, unless continued in existence as provided by
that chapter.
SECTION 2.03. TERMS; VACANCY. Provides that members of the board hold
office for staggered terms of six years with three members' terms expiring
February 1 of each odd-numbered year. Requires the governor to appoint a
replacement, if a vacancy occurs in the board, who meets the qualifications
for the vacated office in order to fill the unexpired part of the term.
SECTION 2.04. OFFICERS. Requires the board to elect a presiding officer and
assistant presiding officer from the board's members who are required to
serve as provided by board rule.
SECTION 2.05. COMPENSATION; REIMBURSEMENT. Provides that a member of the
board is not entitled to compensation for serving on the board but is
entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses as provided by the General
Appropriations Act.
SECTION 2.06. MEETINGS. Requires the board to meet semiannually at a
minimum. Authorizes the board to meet at other times at the call of the
presiding officer or as provided by board rule.
SECTION 2.07. RESTRICTIONS ON APPOINTMENT, MEMBERSHIP, AND EMPLOYMENT. Sets
forth standard Sunset language regarding prohibitions against conflicts of
interest.
SECTION 2.08. REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBER. Sets forth standard Sunset language
regarding board member removal.
SECTION 2.09. PUBLIC INTEREST INFORMATION AND COMPLAINTS. Sets forth
standard Sunset language regarding complaints.
SECTION 2.10. FEES; FUND. (a) Requires the Texas Board of Health (board of
health), by rule, to adopt fees for certification, certification renewal,
examination, and other administrative expenses under this Act.
(b) Requires the board of health to set fees in amounts that are
reasonable and necessary to cover the costs of administering this Act.
Authorizes the board to prescribe different certification fee amounts for a
certified sociological practitioner holding only a baccalaureate degree, a
certified professional sociological practitioner holding a master's degree,
and a certified professional sociological practitioner holding a doctoral
degree.
(c) Requires the fees that are received by the Texas Department of Health
(department) under this Act to be deposited in the general revenue fund.
(d) Requires the salaries and reimbursements paid by the department to be
comparable to those prescribed in the General Appropriations Act for
persons holding comparable positions. Provides that the general rules of
the General Appropriations Act apply to the expenditure of funds.
Authorizes the board of health and the department to apply the funds
covered by this section to replenish other budget items to the extent that
funds were directed from those items to facilitate certification of
sociologists before fees were available to do so.
SECTION 2.11. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD; ANNUAL REPORT. (a)
Authorizes the board to adopt rules for the board's own procedures.
(b) Requires the board to propose rules relating to certification
requirements for sociologists for consideration by the board of health.
(c) Requires the board to determine the qualifications and fitness of
applicants for certification under this Act, based on rules adopted by the
board of health.
(d) Requires the board to adopt a code of professional ethics for persons
certified under this Act.
(e) Requires the board to present a written report to the governor and the
presiding officer of each house of the legislature on or before February 1
of each year, that describes the activities of the board and details the
disposition of all funds received and disbursed by the board during the
preceding year.
SECTION 2.12. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; PERSONNEL. (a) Requires the commissioner
of public health to appoint an executive director for the board, after
consulting the board members, who must be an employee of the department.
(b) Requires the executive director to administer the certification
activities conducted under this Act as directed by the board or the
commissioner of public health.
(c) Requires the basic personnel and necessary facilities required to
administer this Act to be designated by the commissioner of public health
and to be made available to the board for the efficient administration of
the board's duties. Requires the department to secure by agreement services
that are necessary and provide for compensation for those services.
Authorizes the department to employ and compensate, within available
appropriations, professional consultants, technical assistants, and
employees on a full-time or part-time basis as necessary to administer this
Act.
ARTICLE 3. CERTIFICATION
SECTION 3.01. CERTIFICATION REQUIRED. Prohibits a person from using the
title "certified sociological practitioner" or "certified professional
sociological practitioner" or any other title that implies that the person
is certified in sociology, unless the person has met certain conditions.
SECTION 3.02. SCOPE OF PRACTICE. (a) Sets forth that services provided by a
certified sociological practitioner or certified professional sociological
practitioner include the application of sociological knowledge, theories,
perspectives, methods, and research models to the analysis and design of
interventions for effective social change and to produce greater
effectiveness for groups and individuals at any level of social
organization.
(b) Authorizes a certified sociological practitioner to make social
assessments and formal evaluations of interactional patterns and social
situations to arrive at judgments that allow the practitioner to offer
techniques, schemes, and strategies for intervention to facilitate change
at any level of social organization. Authorizes a certified sociological
practitioner to also employ sociological knowledge, theories, perspectives,
methods, and research models to assist in individual and group
problem-solving.
(c) Provides that a certified professional sociological practitioner is a
research and intervention specialist who produces information and
interventions useful in resolving problems at any level of social
organization. Sets forth that the practice includes the research model of
formulating and testing options and the research model of assessment and
evaluation. Authorizes a certified professional sociological practitioner,
using these techniques, to assist with program planning, policy
implementation and formulation, social impact analysis, needs assessments,
and assessments of interactional patterns and social situations that allow
the practitioner to arrive at judgments to facilitate change at any level
of social organization.
(d) Provides that areas of practice addressed by certified sociological
practitioners and certified professional sociological practitioners include
interventions directed at empowering groups and individuals to implement
positive changes in the enactment of social roles and status by the groups
and individuals to achieve greater overall effectiveness in the social
environment. Authorizes these practitioners, as part of this process, to
educate, investigate, and inform groups and individuals about social forces
and social factors that affect individuals' lives to promote more effective
interaction in the social environment. Provides that these social factors
and forces include social structure, social change, culture, values,
beliefs, attitudes, and behavior.
SECTION 3.03. EXEMPTIONS. Sets forth conditions under which the
certification requirements of this Act do not apply.
SECTION 3.04. CERTIFICATION APPLICATION. (a) Provides that an applicant for
certification under this Act must file a written sworn application with the
board accompanied by the application fee.
(b) Sets forth conditions under which a person is eligible for
certification as a certified sociological practitioner.
(c) Sets forth conditions under which a person is eligible for
certification as a certified professional sociological practitioner.
(d) Provides that a person who does not have the qualifications required by
Subsection (c) of this section is eligible for certification as a certified
professional sociological practitioner if the person has at least 24 hours
of graduate-level classes in sociology and holds a master's degree or
doctoral degree in criminology, criminal justice, social psychology, social
work, marriage and family therapy, psychology, or another graduate-level
human service degree program approved by the board. Provides that the 24
hours of graduate level classes in sociology must include a three- to
six-hour internship consisting of no less than three hours of course work
each in sociological theory, methodology, and statistics. Provides that if
the person's internship was for six hours, the person must have completed
not less than nine hours in graduate-level sociology elective courses.
Provides that if the person's internship was for three hours, the person
must have completed not less than 12 hours in graduate-level sociology
elective courses.
SECTION 3.05. APPLICANT QUALIFICATIONS; APPLICATION REVIEW. (a) Requires
the board to prescribe the form of the application and authorizes the
board, by rule, to establish dates by which applications and fees must be
received. Prohibits these rules from being inconsistent with the rules of
the department or board of health related to application dates for other
licensing programs.
(b) Requires the department, no later than 45 days after a properly
submitted application is received and no later than 30 days before the next
examination date, to notify an applicant in writing that the applicant's
application and other relevant evidence pertaining to application
qualifications established by the board have been received and
investigated. Provides that the notice must state whether the application
and other evidence submitted qualify the applicant for the examination.
Provides that, if the applicant is not qualified to take the examination,
the notice must state the reasons for the disqualification.
SECTION 3.06. EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) Provides that after September
1, 2000, each applicant for certification under this Act must pass an
examination prescribed and approved by the board. Specifies the format for
the examination.
(b) Provides that an applicant must apply to take the examination on a form
prescribed by the board that must be accompanied by the examination fee
adopted by the board of health.
(c) Requires the board to determine the times and places for certification
examinations and to offer the examinations at least semiannually. Requires
the board to give reasonable public notice of an examination in the manner
provided by board rules.
(d) Requires the board, unless the examination is graded or reviewed by a
national testing service, to notify each examinee of the results of the
examination no later than 30 days after the examination date. Requires the
board, if the examination is graded or reviewed by a national testing
service, to notify each examinee of the results from the national testing
service. Requires the board, if the examination results will be delayed for
more than 90 days after the examination date, to notify each examinee of
the reason for the delay no later than 90 days after the examination date.
(e) Authorizes an applicant who fails an examination to retake the
examination on payment of an additional examination fee. Authorizes the
board, on the failure of the applicant to pass a second or subsequent
examination, to require the applicant to complete additional courses of
study designated by the board before the applicant may retake the
examination. Authorizes the board to require the applicant to present
satisfactory evidence of completion of a required course.
(f) Requires the board to furnish the person with an analysis of the
person's performance on the examination, if requested in writing by a
person who fails an examination administered under this Act.
SECTION 3.07. NOTICE OF CURRENT ADDRESS. Requires each certificate holder
to keep the board informed of the certificate holder's current address.
SECTION 3.08. CERTIFICATE RENEWAL; CONTINUING EDUCATION. (a) Subjects a
certificate issued under this Act to annual renewal. Requires the board to
adopt a system under which certificates expire on various dates during the
year.
(b) Authorizes the certificate to be renewed annually if the person holding
the certificate is not in violation of this Act at the time of application
for renewal and if the applicant fulfills continuing education requirements
as established by the board.
(c) Authorizes a certificate holder to renew an unexpired certificate by
paying the renewal fee before the expiration date of the certificate.
(d) Authorizes a person, if the person's certificate has expired for 90
days or less, to renew the certificate by paying to the board the required
renewal fee and a fee in an amount that is equal to half of the examination
fee for certification.
(e) Prohibits a person from renewing the certificate, if the person's
certificate has been expired for one year or longer. Authorizes the person
to obtain a new certificate by complying with the requirements and
procedures for obtaining an original certificate.
(f) Authorizes the board to renew without reexamination an expired
certificate of a person who was certified in this state, moved to another
state, and is currently certified and has been in practice in the other
state for the two years preceding application. Provides that the person
must pay to the board a fee that is equal to the examination fee for the
certificate.
(g) Authorizes the board to approve continuing education programs for
certificate holders and to require a certificate holder to participate in
an approved continuing education program in order to renew a certificate
issued under this Act.
SECTION 3.09. PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATION. (a) Authorizes the board to grant,
on application and payment of any required fees, a provisional certificate
to a person who at the time of application holds a valid certificate as a
sociologist issued by another state or a political territory or
jurisdiction. Specifies the provisions for an applicant for a provisional
certificate under this section.
(b) Authorizes an applicant for a provisional certificate to be excused
from the requirement of Subsection (a) if the board determines that
compliance with that subsection constitutes a hardship to the applicant.
(c) Provides that a provisional certificate is valid until the date the
board approves or denies the certificate holder's application for a
certificate. Requires the board to issue a certificate under this Act to
the holder of a provisional certificate under certain conditions.
(d) Requires the board to complete the processing of a provisional
certificate holder's application for a certificate no later than 180 days
after the provisional certificate is issued or at the time certificates are
issued following the successful completion of the examination, whichever is
later.
SECTION 3.10. DISPLAY OF CERTIFICATE; REGISTRY. (a) Requires each person
certified under this Act to display the person's certificate in a
conspicuous manner in the principal office or location in which the person
practices.
(b) Requires the board to prepare a registry of all persons certified under
this Act on an annual basis. Requires the board to make the registry
available to the public, certificate holders, and other state agencies.
SECTION 3.11. INACTIVE STATUS. (a) Authorizes a person who holds a
certificate issued under this Act and who is not actively engaged in the
practice of sociology to apply to the board in writing to be placed on the
inactive status list maintained by the board. Provides that the person must
apply for inactive status before the expiration of the person's
certificate. Provides that a person on inactive status is not required to
pay an annual renewal fee.
(b) Requires a person, if the person on inactive status desires to renew
active status, to notify the board in writing. Requires the board to remove
the person from the inactive status list on payment of an administrative
fee and on compliance with educational or other requirements set by board
rule.
ARTICLE 4. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS
SECTION 4.01. DENIAL OF CERTIFICATE OR DISCIPLINARY ACTION. Specifies the
conditions under which the board is authorized to deny, suspend, probate,
or revoke a certificate or otherwise discipline a certificate holder.
SECTION 4.02. INJUNCTION. Authorizes the board or department to bring an
action to enjoin a violation of this Act and authorizes the action to be
brought in Travis County, in the county of the defendant's residence, or in
the county in which any part of the violation occurred. Provides that an
action brought under this section is in addition to any other action
authorized by law. Requires the board or department to be represented in a
proceeding under this section by the attorney general or the appropriate
county or district attorney.
SECTION 4.03. PENALTY. Provides that a person, other than a person who is
exempt under Section 3.03 of this Act, commits a Class B misdemeanor
offense if the person intentionally or knowingly violates Section 3.01 of
this Act.
ARTICLE 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION; EMERGENCY
SECTION 5.01. (a) Effective date: September 1, 1999, except as provided
by Subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Effective date: September 1, 2001, for Sections
3.01 and 4.03 of this Act.
SECTION 5.02. TRANSITION. (a) Requires the board and the board of health
to adopt rules under this Act no later than January 1, 2000.
(b) Entitles a person actively engaged in the practice of sociology
consistent with applicable law on or before January 1, 1999, to receive a
certificate as a certified sociological practitioner without an examination
if the person applies on or before September 1, 2001, and presents evidence
satisfactory to the board that the person meets certain requirements.
(c) Entitles a person actively engaged in the practice of sociology
consistent with applicable law on or before January 1, 1999, to receive a
certificate as a certified professional sociological practitioner without
an examination if the person applies on or before September 1, 2001, and
presents evidence satisfactory to the board that the person meets certain
requirements.
(d) Provides that a sociologist member of the board is not required to be
certified at the time of the member's appointment to the board if the
member was appointed to the board before January 1, 2001, or to be
certified under this Act for three years or more after the date of the
member's appointment to the board if the member was appointed to the board
before September 1, 2003.
(e) Sets forth persons who the governor is required to appoint, when making
the initial appointments to the board.
(f) Provides that the requirement under Section 3.04(c) of this Act that
an applicant for certification have experience supervised by a certified
professional sociological practitioner takes effect September 1, 2001.
Provides that before that date, the experience must be supervised in a
manner acceptable to the board.
SECTION 5.03. Emergency clause.