HBA-NRS H.B. 3153 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3153 By: Capelo Public Health 3/30/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law allows doctors of podiatry or dentistry to create jointly owned, managed, or operated health care facilities in the form of professional associations. Such multi-disciplinary health care facilities or practices reduce the need for the patient to travel from place to place and doctor to doctor to receive needed diagnostic and treatment services thereby eliminating the duplication of expensive health services and providing for better treatment and management of specific health conditions. Because doctors of chiropractic are not included in the authorizing statute, chiropractors who want to form such associations usually have to form intricate corporate structures that are more costly to operate and manage. House Bill 3153 authorizes one or more persons duly licensed to practice chiropractic to form certain professional associations. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3153 amends the Texas Professional Association Act to authorize one or more persons duly licensed to practice chiropractic to form certain professional associations, as distinguished from either a partnership or a corporation, by associating themselves for the purpose of performing professional services and dividing the gains therefrom as stated in articles of association or bylaws. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.