By: Whitmire	S.B. No. 1235
	(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2015; March 17, 2015, read
	first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
	March 24, 2015, rereferred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
	April 7, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
	Nays 0; April 7, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to defining the duties and to the penalties concerning
	pain management clinics.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 168.001, Occupations Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 168.001.  DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION].  In this chapter:
	(1)  [In this chapter,] "Pain [pain] management clinic"
	means a publicly or privately owned facility for which a majority of
	patients are issued on a monthly basis a prescription for opioids,
	benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol, but not including
	suboxone.
	(2)  "Operator" means an owner, medical director, or
	physician affiliated or associated with the pain management clinic
	in any capacity.  Each of these individuals is considered to be
	operating at the pain management clinic.
	SECTION 2.  Section 168.201(d), Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(d)  A person who owns or operates a pain management clinic
	is engaged in the practice of medicine.  This shall include, but is
	not limited to, all supervision and delegation activities related
	to the pain management clinic.
	SECTION 3.  Section 168.202(c), Occupations Code, is amended
	by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(c)  A violation of this chapter is subject to criminal
	prosecution under Section 165.152.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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