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Next Review Date: None
Last Review Cycle: 1992-1993 Review Cycle - 73rd Legislative Session
Sunset Documents for 1992-1993 Review Cycle, 73rd Legislative Session
Summary of Results (Jul 1993)
Self-Evaluation Report (Oct 1991)
Legislative Documents
Senate Bill 1426 (Jun 1993)
Final Results of Last Sunset Review
Senate Bill 1060 contained the Sunset Commission’s recommendations for the continued state regulation of social workers. In addition to the standard recommendations applied to all the health care licensing boards, the commission recommended that the existing board used to regulate social workers be merged with the boards that regulate other mental health professionals including marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, and psychologists. The legislature chose not to merge the boards but rather to continue them as separate boards. Separate bills were introduced to continue each of the four boards. Senate Bill 1426 was enacted to continue the regulation of social workers by replacing the council with a new separate board for the usual 12-year period. The program administration will be transferred from the Texas Department of Human Services to the Texas Department of Health. Major provisions in Senate Bill 1426 are discussed below.
- Requires that the governor designates the board chair.
- Abolishes the existing advisory committee and creates a new governor-appointed board with independent rulemaking authority.
- Transfers the program administration from the Texas Department of Human Services to the Texas Department of Health.
- Transfers the hearing function from the Texas Department of Human Services hearings division to the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
- Changes the name of the licenses issued to reflect that the profession is "licensed" instead of “certified.”
- Increases the minimum educational requirement for the social work associate from a high school diploma to a minimum of an associate or bachelor degree.
- Requires board members to participate in training before serving on the board.
- Strengthens and standardizes the complaint investigation and enforcement provisions.
- Requires mandatory continuing education as a condition of license renewal.
- Sets up a standard procedure to allow practitioners licensed in other states to come to Texas and, after meeting certain requirements, get a license to practice.
- Requires the board to set fees to cover the cost of regulation.