Committee to Hear HB 998. Your Actions is Required!

Hearing Location and Time: HB 998 (Rep. Fred Brown/Rep. Eddie Lucio, III) is set for a hearing before the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee in Room E2.010 on Monday, March 30th. The committee meeting starts at 2:00 p.m. and will likely continue well into the evening. HB 998 is listed 8th on the agenda, but the committee chair has the discretion to re-order the agenda so the bill could be laid out anytime after 2:00 p.m. In all probability it will be considered in the late afternoon or early evening.

Bill/Committee Substitute: HB 998 will make the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) the final decision-maker in contested occupational licensing cases at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). A committee substitute for the bill is expected to narrow the application of this legislation to just health care provider licensing for agencies that fall under the Health Professions Council (i.e., Texas Medical Board, Texas Board of Nursing, Texas Physician Assistant Board, Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners, etc.) The committee substitute is also expected to crystallize the effective date of the new law so it will be any decision rendered by a SOAH ALJ on September 1st and thereafter.

Testimony and Registering Support: The legislation is expected to have full public support and no detractors from the general community; however, some agency personnel may testify as “resource” witnesses. You can make a difference if you will stop by the committee hearing room the afternoon of the hearing and fill out a form registering your support. From parking to filling out and submitting the form and returning to your car, it will probably take no more than 20 minutes. It will be 20 minutes well-spent. Forms in support are noted for the record and can be critical in convincing the committee to pass the legislation out for consideration on the House floor.

Contacting Committee Members and Other Legislators: Whether you can show support at the committee or not, you can also help if you contact your own senator or representative to voice your support. You can also contact members of the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee. Express your support and ask that HB 998 be passed out of committee as soon as possible. See contact information below.

Bill Benefits and Fiscal Note: The Legislative Budget Board has indicated that there will be no adverse financial impact from passage and the legislation can be implemented with existing resources. The new law will have a number of positive effects. Among the positive effects are:
will eliminate extra delay in the current system (no longer waiting for boards to meet);
will cut costs for both the state and licensees (personnel, paperwork, time);
will promote good faith negotiations resulting in more agreed resolutions sooner;
will allow neutral 3rd party expert ALJs to take a burden off of agency board members;
will renew faith in the system by avoiding the extremes of either a “good ‘ol boy system” or bullying by a “punitive, and heavy-handed agency” while reducing the adverse impact of professional bias, political pressure, and media influences.

House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee

Note -- To email members using their website email form, go to: www.house.state.tx.us/members
Committee Chair:
Todd Hunter (R) Corpus Christi; District 32
(Office) E2.808 (ph) 512.463.0672 (fax)512.463.2101
Committee Vice Chair:
Bryan Hughes (R) Mineola; District 5
(Office) E1.508 (ph) 512.463.0271 (fax)512.463.1515
Roberto Alonzo (D) Dallas; District 104
(Office) 4N.6 (ph) 512.463.0408 (fax)512.463.1817
Dan Branch (R) Dallas; District 108
(Office) E2.322 (ph) 512.463.0367 (fax)512.322.9935
Will Hartnett (R) Dallas; District 114
(Office) 1N.8 (ph) 512.463.0576 (fax)512.463.7827
Jim Jackson (R) Carrollton; District 115
(Office) E1.402 (ph) 512.463.0468 (fax)512.463.1044
David Liebowitz (D) San Antonio; District 117
(Office) E2.410 (ph) 512.463.0269 (fax)512.463.0555
Tryon Lewis (R) Odessa; District 81
(Office) E2.812 (ph) 512.463.0546 (fax)512.463.8067
Jerry Madden (R) Richardson; District 67
(Office) GW.11 (ph) 512.463.0544 (fax)512.463.9974
Armando Martinez (D) Weslaco; District 39
(Office) E2.312 (ph) 512.463.0530 (fax)512.463.0849
Beverly Woolley (R) Houston; District 136
(Office) GS.2 (ph) 512.463.0696 (fax)512.463.9333

Committee Clerk:
Jennifer Welch
(Office) E2.120 (ph) 512.463.0790 (fax)512.463.0174