HBA-DMH S.B. 1212 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1212 By: Zaffirini Public Health 5/7/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, an applicant who fails the chemical dependency counselor's examination may retake the entire examination no more than three times. Some other professional examinations allow applicants to retake only the sections that they failed. Senate Bill 1212 authorizes an applicant who fails any part of the chemical dependency counselor's examination to retake the part of the examination the applicant failed, rather than retake the entire examination. 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 Senate Bill 1212 amends the Occupations Code to authorize an applicant who fails any part of the chemical dependency counselor's examination to retake the part of the examination the applicant failed, rather than retake the entire examination, on payment of the required examination fee. The bill provides that an applicant must pass each part of the examination within four attempts. An applicant who has failed any part of the examination four times must provide evidence to the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA) that the applicant has successfully completed at least 25 hours of remedial college course work or its equivalent as determined by TCADA. The bill authorizes an applicant who satisfies such a requirement to take the part of the examination the applicant failed three additional times. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.