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Below is a spotlight on the proposed rules from the November 15 Texas Register.

Healthcare

Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Department of State Health Services

  • Stock Medication in Schools and Other Entities 25 TAC 40 – The purpose of the proposal is to implement Senate Bill (S.B.) 294, 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, which amends Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapter 38, Subchapter E by replacing references to asthma medication with medication for respiratory distress. TEC §38.208 requires the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, in consultation with the commissioner of Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Stock Epinephrine Advisory Committee (SEAC), to adopt rules regarding the maintenance, administration, and disposal of medication for respiratory distress at a school campus subject to a policy adopted and implemented by each school district, open-enrollment charter school, and private school. TEC §38.208 also requires the rules to establish the process for checking inventory, the amount of training for school personnel and volunteers, and the types of medication that may be administered. TEC §38.2091 requires schools to report information on the administration of medication for respiratory distress to the commissioner of DSHS.. Deadline for public comment: December 16

 

Education

Texas State Library and Archives Commission

  • Library Development 13 TAC 1 – Government Code, Chapter 441, Subchapter I, Library Systems, authorizes the commission to establish criteria a library must meet for accreditation. The commission adopted these accreditation standards at 13 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 1, Subchapter C, Minimum Standards for Accreditation of Libraries in the State Library System, §§1.71 – 1.87. These rules set forth in detail the requirements for any public library seeking accreditation. Accreditation is not a requirement for public libraries in Texas. However, accredited libraries are eligible to participate in statewide interlibrary loan (ILL), apply for E-rate (a federal telecommunications discount program) and a variety of funding opportunities offered by the commission throughout the year, and take advantage of the TexShare Card and TexShare Databases programs through membership in the TexShare Consortium. To become accredited or maintain accreditation, public libraries must submit an annual report to the commission demonstrating they have met each of the accreditation criteria. Each annual report includes information from the preceding local fiscal year and is due during the calendar year following the conclusion of the local fiscal year. If approved, the public library will then be accredited for the next state fiscal year. The current accreditation standards cover local fiscal years 2013 through 2025. Information from local fiscal year 2025 will be reported during spring of 2026 for accreditation for state fiscal year 2027. Therefore, to provide for continued accreditation beyond state fiscal year 2027, the commission must update the existing standards. The commission began reviewing the accreditation rules for necessary updates and improvements in May 2023. The Library Systems Act Advisory Board considered the rules and needed updates on March 14, 2024. Commission staff hosted a series of eight sessions to review and discuss the proposed revisions, with nearly 380 librarians attending from all over the state. Following these sessions, commission staff incorporated feedback and drafted proposed revisions to the standards. The full commission discussed these proposed revisions at the June 7, 2024, and August 2, 2024, commission meetings. The commission’s Libraries and Talking Book Committee also discussed the revisions at the July 11, 2024, committee meeting.The commission is now proposing new accreditation standards to replace the existing accreditation standards. While some of the existing language in the accreditation standards will remain unchanged in the proposed new accreditation standards, the commission is proposing a significant number of revisions as well as proposing new sections. Therefore, the commission has determined the best approach is to repeal the existing sections and replace those sections with the proposed new sections.. Deadline for public comment: January 17, 2024

Department of State Health Services

  • Stock Medication in Schools and Other Entities 25 TAC 40 – The purpose of the proposal is to implement Senate Bill (S.B.) 294, 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, which amends Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapter 38, Subchapter E by replacing references to asthma medication with medication for respiratory distress. TEC §38.208 requires the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, in consultation with the commissioner of Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Stock Epinephrine Advisory Committee (SEAC), to adopt rules regarding the maintenance, administration, and disposal of medication for respiratory distress at a school campus subject to a policy adopted and implemented by each school district, open-enrollment charter school, and private school. TEC §38.208 also requires the rules to establish the process for checking inventory, the amount of training for school personnel and volunteers, and the types of medication that may be administered. TEC §38.2091 requires schools to report information on the administration of medication for respiratory distress to the commissioner of DSHS.. Deadline for public comment: December 16

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

  • Rules Applying to All Public Institutions of Higher Education in Texas 19 TAC 4 – The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Coordinating Board) proposes amendments to Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter A, §4.9, relating to Limitations on the Number of Courses that May be Dropped Under Certain Circumstances by Undergraduate Students. Specifically, the proposed amendments include a re-organization of some subsections for clarity, and guidelines for institutions regarding statutory requirements for allowing a student to drop six or more courses. The proposed amendments also include a provision requiring an institution to maintain an appeals process where required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Deadline for public comment: December 16
  • Program Development in Public Two-Year Colleges 19 TAC 9 – The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Coordinating Board) proposes the repeal of Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 9, Subchapter E, §§9.91 – 9.96, concerning Certificate and Associate Degree Programs. Specifically, this repeal will remove sections superseded by program approval rules adopted by the Coordinating Board in July 2024 which are now in Chapter 2 of this title. Deadline for public comment: December 16

Miscellaneous

Comptroller of Public Accounts

  • Comptroller Grant Programs 34 TAC 16 – SUBCHAPTER D. RURAL LAW ENFORCEMENT SALARY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. The Comptroller of Public Accounts proposes amendments to §16.300, concerning definitions, §16.303, concerning awards; grant agreement, §16.304, concerning authorized uses of grant funds; limitations, and §16.305, concerning reporting and compliance. Deadline for public comment: December 16

Texas Department of Transportation

  • Rail Facilities 43 TAC 7 – Section 7.35 requires railroads to annually report information about hazardous material shipments to the department. Section 7.36 implements Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 191, which provides standards to protect workers from hazards caused by unsafe proximity of structures near railroad tracks and authorizes the department to grant a request to deviate from a requirement of that chapter. Amendments to §7.35 and §7.36 are required to maintain consistency with modern railroad industry best practices for reporting hazardous material shipping and to improve the efficiency of compliance with safety regulations. The amendments support emergency preparedness and reduce administrative burdens for state agencies and railroads. Amendments to §7.35, Hazardous Materials – Written Reports, remove unused definitions, update and clarify language to match modern industry standards, and update the content of reporting by requiring reporting of more specific data on a per-county basis. Amendments to §7.36, Clearances of Structures Over and Alongside Railway Tracks, change the process used for the department to grant applications to deviate from a requirement of Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 191. The rule currently requires the Texas Transportation Commission (commission) to consider such a waiver request. However, the department rail division staff receives the waiver requests and determines the safety of proposed clearance deviations, whether any conditions should be imposed, and whether to recommend that the commission approve the request. Requiring approval from the commission adds several months to the process without increasing safety outcomes. The amendment will permit the department’s executive director, or a designee, to issue final approval of the waiver, which will reduce administrative steps and expedite projects without reducing safety. Deadline for public comment: December 16, 2024
  • Design 43 TAC 11 – The Texas Department of Transportation proposes the amendments to §§11.51, 11.54, and 11.55, the repeal of §11.53, and new §11.59 and §11.60, all concerning Access Connections to State Highways. This rulemaking provides the authority for district engineers to approve a driveway permit in an area where the department owns the access rights but only if the driveway can be safely installed and maintained. The grant of this authority provides an alternative to the current process under which a property owner must purchase access rights from the department in such a circumstance. Deadline for public comment: December 16, 2024
  • Oversize and Overweight Vehicles and Loads 43 TAC 28 – The Texas Department of Transportation (department) proposes the amendments to §28.2 and new §28.4 concerning Oversize and Overweight Vehicles and Loads. After the legislature’s creation of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), some of the department’s duties and rules were transferred to the DMV, including the provision relating to permits issued for the movement of oversize vehicles on specified holidays. DMV recently identified that it does not have the statutory authority for such a provision and is in the process of changing its rules to delete the provision. The statutory authority to place holiday restrictions on oversize and overweight vehicles was not changed by the transfer of duties to the DMV and remains with the commission. This rulemaking clarifies that the size limitations previously established by the commission for the movement of oversize vehicles on specified holidays continue in effect. Deadline for public comment: December 16, 2024

Texas Lottery Commission

  • Charitable Bingo Operations Division 16 TAC 402 – The proposed repeals, new rules, and amendments are the result of the Commission’s recent rule review conducted in accordance with Texas Government Code §2001.039, as well as the agency’s recent review by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. Among the more significant changes, this proposal addresses issues identified as rulemaking gaps in the May 2024 Texas Sunset Advisory Commission Staff Report (Staff Report). Specifically, the Staff Report noted that there was “no clarification of what classifies as a bingo hall’s “premises…” (addressed in Rule 402.100), “no clarification that bingo products may not be purchased using a credit card …” (addressed in Rule 402.200), “no clarification of how certain grandfathered bingo licenses may be transferred” (addressed in Rule 402.443), and “no definition of what constitutes a repeat violation …” (addressed in Rule 402.706). The Staff Report also recommended considering a licensee’s compliance history in audit determinations (addressed in Rule 402.703) and eliminating warnings for serious offenses and repeat violations of less serious offenses (addressed in Rules 402.706 and 402.707). This proposal also amends aspects of the Bingo Advisory Committee (BAC) to ensure that it complies with the Bingo Enabling Act (BEA); breaks two comprehensive rules on pull-tabs and bingo paper into multiple smaller rules for ease of reference; creates a single standard for determining when a form, report, application, or payment has been mailed to the Commission; clarifies and updates agency processes; eliminates references to terms, laws, and processes that are no longer in place; and conforms the rules to the BEA. Deadline for public comment December 16, 2024; public hearing to receive comments: December 4, 2024