S.B. No. 141

	AN ACT
	relating to the requirements for issuance of a license to practice
	orthotics and prosthetics.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subsections (b) and (c), Section 605.252,
	Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(b)  The requirements for a license established by board rule
	must include the requirement that the applicant hold:
	(1)  a bachelor's or graduate degree in orthotics and
	prosthetics from:
	(A)  an education program recognized and
	accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
	Education Programs that is offered at an institution of higher
	education; or
	(B)  a practitioner education program that has
	education standards that are equivalent to or exceed the standards
	adopted by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
	Education Programs; or
	(2)  a bachelor's degree in another subject and an
	orthotic or prosthetic certificate issued by a practitioner
	education program:
	(A)  recognized and accredited by the Commission
	on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; or
	(B)  that has education standards that are
	equivalent to or exceed the standards adopted by the Commission on
	Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.
	(c)  To meet the clinical residency requirements for a
	license, the applicant must complete a [at least 1,900 hours of]
	professional clinical residency that meets the requirements
	established by board rule and is conducted under the direct
	supervision of a licensed orthotist, licensed prosthetist, or a
	licensed prosthetist orthotist in the discipline for which
	licensure is sought.  The clinical residency requirements adopted
	by the board must be equivalent to or exceed the standards set by
	the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education.
	SECTION 2.  Subsection (a), Section 605.258, Occupations
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The board may issue a student registration certificate
	to an individual who is working toward fulfilling the requirements
	for a license as an orthotist, prosthetist, or prosthetist
	orthotist and:
	(1)  holds either:
	(A)  [(1)]  a bachelor's or graduate degree in
	orthotics and prosthetics from:
	(i)  [(A)]  an education program recognized
	and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
	Education Programs that is offered at an institution of higher
	education; or
	(ii)  [(B)]  a practitioner education
	program that has education standards that are equivalent to or
	exceed the standards adopted by the Commission on Accreditation of
	Allied Health Education Programs; or
	(B)  [(2)]  a bachelor's degree in another
	subject and an orthotic or prosthetic certificate issued by a
	practitioner education program:
	(i)  [(A)]  recognized and accredited by the
	Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; or
	(ii)  [(B)]  that has education standards
	that are equivalent to or exceed the standards adopted by the
	Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; or
	(2)  is a student who:
	(A)  is currently enrolled in a graduate program
	in this state in orthotics and prosthetics that:
	(i)  is recognized and accredited by the
	Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs;
	and
	(ii)  incorporates a professional clinical
	residency that meets the requirements of rules adopted under
	Section 605.252(c); and
	(B)  submits to the board a written certification
	from the graduate program in which the student is enrolled that the
	student has successfully completed the academic prerequisites to
	enter a professional clinical residency.
	SECTION 3.  The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
	605, Occupations Code, apply only to an application for a license or
	student registration certificate submitted to the Texas Board of
	Orthotics and Prosthetics on or after January 1, 2014.  An
	application submitted before January 1, 2014, is governed by the
	law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 4.  The Texas Board of Orthotics and Prosthetics
	shall adopt rules to implement the changes in law made by this Act
	not later than December 1, 2013.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 141 passed the Senate on
	March 13, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 141 passed the House on
	May 22, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 147, Nays 0, one
	present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor