Bill Text: TX SB2891 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of the Health Professions Workforce Coordinating Council and the abolition of the statewide health coordinating council and the nursing advisory committee of that council.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2025-05-26 - Placed on General State Calendar [SB2891 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-SB2891-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Cook, et al. S.B. No. 2891
(Orr, Frank, Pierson, Bucy)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Health Professions Workforce
Coordinating Council and the abolition of the statewide health
coordinating council and the nursing advisory committee of that
council.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle E, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 104A to read as follows:
CHAPTER 104A. HEALTH PROFESSIONS WORKFORCE COORDINATING COUNCIL
Sec. 104A.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "council"
means the Health Professions Workforce Coordinating Council.
Sec. 104A.002. ESTABLISHMENT; ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT.
(a) The Health Professions Workforce Coordinating Council is
established to study and develop a strategic approach for ensuring
a thriving health care system and health professions workforce in
this state.
(b) The council is administratively attached to the
department. The department shall provide administrative support to
the council.
Sec. 104A.003. MEMBERSHIP. (a) The council is composed of:
(1) at least one representative appointed by the
executive director or governing body of each of the following:
(A) the department;
(B) the commission;
(C) the Texas Education Agency;
(D) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board;
(E) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(F) the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners;
(G) the State Board of Dental Examiners;
(H) the Texas Medical Board;
(I) the Texas Board of Nursing;
(J) the Texas Optometry Board;
(K) the Texas State Board of Pharmacy;
(L) the Executive Council of Physical Therapy and
Occupational Therapy Examiners;
(M) the Texas Behavioral Health Executive
Council;
(N) the State Board of Veterinary Medical
Examiners; and
(O) the Texas Veterinary Medical Association;
and
(2) four members with relevant health care experience,
including experience in health professions workforce planning or
complex health care data analysis, appointed by the governor.
(b) A council member serves at the pleasure of the
appointing authority.
(c) A vacancy on the council shall be filled in the same
manner as the original appointment.
Sec. 104A.004. DUTIES. The council shall:
(1) compile from each state agency with a
representative appointed to the council under Section
104A.003(a)(1) information regarding the health professions
workforce, including:
(A) high school graduation rates from the Texas
Education Agency;
(B) higher education graduation and
certification rates from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board;
(C) health professions workforce shortages;
(D) the number of licensed health care
professionals regulated by each participating licensing state
agency;
(E) federal labor statistics regarding health
professions; and
(F) any other information relevant to the supply
and demand of health care professionals;
(2) prepare the strategic plan described by Section
104A.005; and
(3) establish the work group described by Section
104A.006.
Sec. 104A.005. STRATEGIC PLAN. (a) The council shall
examine the health professions in this state based on the
information compiled under Section 104A.004(1) and biennially
prepare a health professions strategic plan. The plan must:
(1) include a data analysis model demonstrating the
supply, demand, production, and projected need for the next 10
years of the health professions workforce;
(2) define targeted goals and objectives for the
health professions workforce, including short-term and long-term
strategies for each state agency participating in the council and
local workforce planning agencies to build a thriving health care
system;
(3) identify immediate shortages in health
professions;
(4) define goals for this state to support the health
care needs of a growing population;
(5) examine this state's capacity to satisfy future
health profession demands based on the existing education programs
offered and current trends of interstate migration, attrition, and
other relevant workforce factors;
(6) propose recommendations to realign existing
workforce and education programs;
(7) propose the development of additional education
programs for health professions that align with the long-term goals
and projections identified in the plan;
(8) identify systemic causes of workforce shortages
for health professions; and
(9) inventory programs and services, including state
funding amounts provided for workforce planning and preparation and
for health professional education.
(b) Not later than October 1 of each even-numbered year, the
council shall complete and publish on the council's Internet
website the strategic plan described by Subsection (a).
Sec. 104A.006. WORK GROUP. (a) The council shall establish
a work group to examine the health professions and health care
education programs that provide a gateway into a variety of health
professions. The work group consists of members of the council or
their designees.
(b) The work group shall:
(1) identify sources for gathering information on
gateway health professions; and
(2) build a data analysis model to monitor the
historical growth of gateway health professions.
Sec. 104A.007. NURSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The
council shall establish a nursing advisory committee to assist the
council with its duties. A majority of the members of the advisory
committee must be nurses, and the advisory committee:
(1) must include:
(A) members of associations representing nurses,
educators of nurses, and employers of nurses;
(B) members representing the Texas Board of
Nursing; and
(C) at least one member who is a nurse
researcher; and
(2) may include other members who are public or
private sector health care experts, nurses, nurse educators,
employers of nurses, or consumers of nursing services.
(b) The nursing advisory committee shall:
(1) review policies governing data collection and
reports published under Chapter 105 that relate to the nursing
profession;
(2) subject to approval of the council, develop
priorities and an operations plan for the nursing resource section
established under Section 105.002(b); and
(3) review reports and information before
dissemination by the council.
(c) A nurse member of the nursing advisory committee and a
nurse member of the council shall co-chair the committee.
(d) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the
nursing advisory committee formed under this section.
(e) Meetings of the nursing advisory committee under this
section are subject to Chapter 551, Government Code.
Sec. 104A.008. DEPARTMENT AUTHORITY TO COLLECT DATA.
Nothing in this chapter may be construed to limit the collection of
health care facility data by the department or a program the
department administers in accordance with other law.
SECTION 2. Section 56.3075(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) If the money available for TEXAS grants in a period for
which grants are awarded is sufficient to provide grants to all
eligible applicants in amounts specified by Section 56.307, the
coordinating board may use any excess money available for TEXAS
grants to award a grant in an amount not more than three times the
amount that may be awarded under Section 56.307 to a student who:
(1) is enrolled in a program that fulfills the
educational requirements for licensure or certification by the
state in a health care profession that the coordinating board, in
consultation with the Texas Workforce Commission and the Department
of State Health Services [statewide health coordinating council],
has identified as having a critical shortage in the number of
license holders needed in this state;
(2) has completed at least one-half of the work toward
a degree or certificate that fulfills the educational requirement
for licensure or certification; and
(3) meets all the requirements to receive a grant
award under Section 56.307.
SECTION 3. Section 56.4075(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The coordinating board may award a grant in an amount
not more than three times the amount that may be awarded under
Section 56.407 to a student who:
(1) is enrolled in a program that fulfills the
educational requirements for licensure or certification by the
state in a health care profession that the coordinating board, in
consultation with the Texas Workforce Commission and the Department
of State Health Services [statewide health coordinating council],
has identified as having a critical shortage in the number of
license holders needed in this state;
(2) has completed at least one-half of the work toward
a degree or certificate that fulfills the educational requirement
for licensure or certification; and
(3) meets all the requirements to receive a grant
award under Section 56.407.
SECTION 4. Section 61.9641, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.9641. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Clinical site" means an acute care or
rehabilitation facility, a primary care setting, a long-term care
facility, a nursing home, a residential care setting, or any other
site identified by the board as providing clinical learning
experiences for nursing students.
(2) "Nursing advisory committee" means the nursing
advisory committee established under Section 104A.007 [104.0155],
Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 5. Sections 32.046(c) and (d), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) The commission shall coordinate with the department,
[the statewide health coordinating council,] the office of mental
health coordination, and the statewide behavioral health
coordinating council in developing the strategic plan.
(d) The commission, in consultation with the department,
[the statewide health coordinating council,] the office of mental
health coordination, and the statewide behavioral health
coordinating council, shall annually review and update, as
necessary, the strategic plan.
SECTION 6. Sections 32.047(d) and (e), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) The commission shall coordinate with the department
[and the statewide health coordinating council] in the development
of the strategic plan.
(e) The commission, in consultation with the department
[and the statewide health coordinating council], shall annually
review the strategic plan and update the plan as necessary.
SECTION 7. Section 105.001(2), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(2) "Council" means the Health Professions Workforce
Coordinating Council [statewide health coordinating council].
SECTION 8. Section 105.002(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) In conjunction with the nursing advisory committee
formed under Section 104A.007 [104.0155], 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.
SECTION 9. Section 222.022(2), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(2) "Health care facility" means a public or private
hospital, skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility,
ambulatory surgical center, family planning clinic that performs
ambulatory surgical procedures, rural or urban health initiative
clinic, end stage renal disease facility, and inpatient
rehabilitation facility. The term does not include the office of
physicians or practitioners of the healing arts practicing
individually or in groups or [has the meaning assigned by Section
104.002, except that the term does not include] a chemical
dependency treatment facility licensed by the Department of State
Health Services under Chapter 464.
SECTION 10. The following provisions of the Health and
Safety Code are repealed:
(1) Chapter 104;
(2) Section 105.011(c); and
(3) Section 311.033(d).
SECTION 11. (a) On the effective date of this Act:
(1) the statewide health coordinating council
established under Subchapter B, Chapter 104, Health and Safety
Code, is abolished, and the council member terms expire; and
(2) the nursing advisory committee established under
Section 104.0155, Health and Safety Code, is abolished, and the
committee member terms expire.
(b) On the effective date of this Act, any appropriation to,
and any unexpended, unobligated funds of the statewide health
coordinating council or the nursing advisory committee, is an
appropriation to the Department of State Health Services for
purposes of establishing and providing administrative support to
the Health Professions Workforce Coordinating Council. The
department and council assume all obligations, property, rights,
and duties of the statewide health coordinating council and the
nursing advisory committee.
SECTION 12. (a) Not later than October 1, 2025, the
appropriate entities shall designate members of the Health
Professions Workforce Coordinating Council established under
Chapter 104A, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2026, the Health Professions
Workforce Coordinating Council established under Chapter 104A,
Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall appoint the
members of the nursing advisory committee established under Section
104A.007, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. An
individual who is a member of the statewide health coordinating
council nursing advisory committee established under Section
104.0155, Health and Safety Code, as repealed by this Act, may be
appointed as a member of the nursing advisory committee established
under Section 104A.007, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
Act.
(c) Not later than October 1, 2026, the Health Professions
Workforce Coordinating Council established under Chapter 104A,
Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall publish its
initial strategic plan as required by Section 104A.005, Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.