Texas Health And Safety Code Title 4, Chapter 247 - Assisted Living Facilities

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 247.001 - Short Title
  This chapter may be cited as the Assisted Living Facility Licensing Act. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 114, eff. Sept. 1,...
• Texas Section 247.0011 - Scope, Purpose, And Implementation
  (a) The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that assisted living facilities in this state deliver the highest possible quality of care. This chapter...
• Texas Section 247.002 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Assisted living facility" means an establishment that: (A) furnishes, in one or more facilities, food and shelter to four or more...
• Texas Section 247.0025 - Immediate Threat Of Harm
  For purposes of this chapter, there is considered to be an immediate threat to the health or safety of a resident, or a situation is...
• Texas Section 247.003 - Application Of Other Law
  (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), Chapter 242 does not apply to an assisted living facility licensed under this chapter. (b) Subchapter...
• Texas Section 247.004 - Exemptions
  This chapter does not apply to: (1) a boarding home facility as defined by Section 260.001; (2) an establishment conducted by or for the adherents...
• Texas Section 247.005 - Controlling Person
  (a) A person is a controlling person if the person, acting alone or with others, has the ability to directly or indirectly influence, direct, or...

SUBCHAPTER B LICENSING, FEES, AND INSPECTIONS

• Texas Section 247.007 - Compliance With Chapter 260a
  (a) An assisted living facility shall comply with Chapter 260A and the rules adopted under that chapter. (b) A person, including an owner or employee...
• Texas Section 247.021 - License Required
  (a) A person may not establish or operate an assisted living facility without a license issued under this chapter. (b) A person establishing or operating...
• Texas Section 247.0211 - Expedited Life Safety Code Inspection
  (a) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to implement an expedited inspection process that allows an applicant for an assisted living facility license or for...
• Texas Section 247.022 - License Application
  (a) An applicant for an assisted living facility license must submit an application to the department on a form prescribed by the department. (b) Each...
• Texas Section 247.023 - Issuance And Renewal Of License
  (a) The department shall issue a license if, after inspection and investigation, it finds that the applicant, the assisted living facility, and all controlling persons...
• Texas Section 247.0231 - Compliance Record In Other States
  The department may require an applicant or license holder to provide the department with information relating to compliance by the applicant, the license holder, or...
• Texas Section 247.024 - Fees; Disposition Of Revenue
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall set license fees imposed by this chapter: (1) on the basis of the number of beds in assisted...
• Texas Section 247.025 - Adoption Of Rules
  The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter, including requirements for the issuance, renewal, denial, suspension, and revocation of a license to...
• Texas Section 247.0255 - Restraint And Seclusion
  A person providing services to a resident of an assisted living facility shall comply with Chapter 322 and the rules adopted under that chapter. Added...
• Texas Section 247.026 - Standards
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall prescribe minimum standards to protect the health and safety of an assisted living facility resident. (b) The standards...
• Texas Section 247.0261 - Early Compliance Review
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt a procedure under which a person proposing to construct or modify an assisted living facility may submit...
• Texas Section 247.0262 - Report On Life Safety Code Surveys
  (a) The department shall annually report the number of life safety code surveys for an initial assisted living facility license with respect to which the...
• Texas Section 247.027 - Inspections
  (a) In addition to the inspection required under Section 247.023(a), the department may inspect an assisted living facility annually and may inspect a facility at...
• Texas Section 247.0271 - Inspection Exit Conference
  (a) At the conclusion of an inspection under Section 247.023(a) or Section 247.027, the inspector shall perform an exit conference to advise the assisted living...
• Texas Section 247.0272 - Inspector Training; Required Examination
  (a) The department shall develop and implement a training program to provide specialized training to department employees who inspect assisted living facilities under this chapter....
• Texas Section 247.0275 - Registration With Texas Information And Referral Network
  (a) An assisted living facility licensed under this chapter shall register with the Texas Information and Referral Network under Section 531.0312, Government Code, to assist...
• Texas Section 247.028 - Assistance By Department
  The department may provide assistance to an assisted living facility, including the provision of training materials, the coordination of training conferences and workshops with other...
• Texas Section 247.029 - Facilities For Persons With Alzheimer's Disease
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall establish a classification and license for a facility that advertises, markets, or otherwise promotes that the facility provides...
• Texas Section 247.031 - Municipal Enforcement
  The governing body of a municipality by ordinance may: (1) prohibit a person who does not hold a license issued under this chapter from establishing...

SUBCHAPTER C GENERAL ENFORCEMENT

• Texas Section 247.032 - Accreditation Survey To Satisfy Inspection Requirements
  (a) In this section, "accreditation commission" means the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), The Joint Commission, or another organization approved by the executive...
• Texas Section 247.041 - Denial, Suspension, Or Revocation Of License
  (a) The department, after providing notice and opportunity for a hearing to the applicant or license holder, may deny, suspend, or revoke a license if...
• Texas Section 247.042 - Emergency Suspension Or Closing Order
  (a) If the department finds an assisted living facility operating in violation of the standards prescribed by this chapter and the violations create an immediate...
• Texas Section 247.043 - Investigation Of Abuse, Exploitation, Or Neglect
  (a) The department shall conduct an investigation in accordance with Section 260A.007 after receiving a report of abuse, exploitation, or neglect of a resident of...
• Texas Section 247.044 - Injunction
  (a) The department may petition a district court for a temporary restraining order to restrain a continuing violation of the standards or licensing requirements provided...
• Texas Section 247.045 - Civil Penalties
  (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), a person who violates this chapter or who fails to comply with a rule adopted under...
• Texas Section 247.0451 - Administrative Penalty
  (a) The department may assess an administrative penalty against a person who: (1) violates this chapter or a rule, standard, or order adopted under this...
• Texas Section 247.0452 - Right To Correct
  (a) The department may not collect an administrative penalty from an assisted living facility under Section 247.0451 if, not later than the 45th day after...
• Texas Section 247.0453 - Report Recommending Administrative Penalty
  (a) The department shall issue a preliminary report stating the facts on which the department concludes that a violation of this chapter or a rule,...
• Texas Section 247.0454 - Hearing On Administrative Penalty
  (a) An administrative law judge shall order a hearing and the department shall give notice of the hearing if a person charged with a violation...
• Texas Section 247.0455 - Notice And Payment Of Administrative Penalty; Interest; Refund
  (a) The department shall give notice of the findings made under Section 247.0454(d) to the person charged. If the department finds that a violation has...
• Texas Section 247.0456 - Application Of Other Law
  The department may not assess a monetary penalty under this chapter and a monetary penalty under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, for the same act...
• Texas Section 247.0457 - Amelioration Of Violation
  (a) In lieu of demanding payment of an administrative penalty assessed under Section 247.0451, the department in accordance with this section may allow the person...
• Texas Section 247.0458 - Use Of Administrative Penalty
  Money from an administrative penalty collected under this subchapter may be appropriated for the purpose of funding the grant program established under Section 161.074, Human...
• Texas Section 247.0459 - Violation Of Law Relating To Advance Directives
  (a) The department shall assess an administrative penalty against an assisted living facility that violates Section 166.004. (b) A penalty assessed under this section shall...
• Texas Section 247.046 - Cooperation Among Agencies
  The executive commissioner by rule for the department and the Department of Family and Protective Services and the attorney general by rule shall adopt a...
• Texas Section 247.048 - Regional Training For Agencies And Local Governments
  The department periodically shall conduct regional training programs for representatives of local governments and appropriate state agencies relating to assisted living facility concerns. The training...
• Texas Section 247.049 - Use Of Regulatory Reports And Documents
  (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a report or other document prepared by the department that relates to regulation of an assisted living...
• Texas Section 247.050 - Monitoring Of Unlicensed Facilities; Reporting
  (a) The executive commissioner shall adopt procedures to monitor the status of unlicensed assisted living facilities. As part of these procedures, the department shall: (1)...

SUBCHAPTER D MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 247.051 - Informal Dispute Resolution
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall establish an informal dispute resolution process to address disputes between a facility and the department concerning a statement...
• Texas Section 247.061 - Coordination Between Agencies
  (a) The executive commissioner and the attorney general shall adopt by rule a memorandum of understanding that: (1) defines the department's and the attorney general's...
• Texas Section 247.062 - Directory Of Assisted Living Facilities; Consumers' Guide
  (a) The department shall prepare a directory of assisted living facilities that includes the name of the owner, the address and telephone number of the...
• Texas Section 247.063 - Referrals
  (a) If the Department of State Health Services, the department, a local mental health authority, or a local intellectual and developmental disability authority refers a...
• Texas Section 247.0631 - Access
  An employee of the Department of State Health Services or an employee of a local mental health or intellectual and developmental disability authority may enter...
• Texas Section 247.064 - Residents' Bill Of Rights
  (a) Each assisted living facility shall post a residents' bill of rights in a prominent place in the facility. (b) The residents' bill of rights...
• Texas Section 247.065 - Providers' Bill Of Rights
  (a) Each assisted living facility shall post a providers' bill of rights in a prominent place in the facility. (b) The providers' bill of rights...
• Texas Section 247.066 - Appropriate Placement Determination
  (a) The department may not require the removal and relocation of a resident of an assisted living facility if the resident's presence in the facility...
• Texas Section 247.067 - Health Care Professionals
  (a) In this section, "health care professional" means an individual licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized to administer health care, for profit or otherwise, in the...
• Texas Section 247.068 - Retaliation Prohibited
  (a) A person licensed under this chapter may not retaliate against a person for filing a complaint, presenting a grievance, or providing in good faith...
• Texas Section 247.069 - Consumer Choice For Assisted Living In Community Care Programs
  The community based alternatives program and the residential care programs, which provide an assisted living option to consumers, shall provide a consumer the opportunity to...

SUBCHAPTER E ARBITRATION

• Texas Section 247.070 - Guardianship Orders
  An assisted living facility shall make a reasonable effort to request a copy of any court order appointing a guardian of a resident or a...
• Texas Section 247.081 - Scope Of Subchapter
  This subchapter applies to any dispute between a facility licensed under this chapter and the department relating to: (1) renewal of a license under Section...
• Texas Section 247.082 - Election Of Arbitration
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an affected facility may elect binding arbitration of any dispute to which this subchapter applies. Arbitration under this...
• Texas Section 247.083 - Arbitration Procedures
  (a) The arbitration shall be conducted by an arbitrator. (b) The arbitration and the appointment of the arbitrator shall be conducted in accordance with rules...
• Texas Section 247.084 - Arbitrator Qualifications
  Each arbitrator must be on an approved list of a nationally recognized association that performs arbitration services or be otherwise qualified as provided in the...
• Texas Section 247.085 - Arbitrator Selection
  The arbitrator shall be appointed in accordance with the rules adopted under Section 247.083(b). Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 218 (H.B. 33),...
• Texas Section 247.086 - Arbitrator Duties
  The arbitrator shall: (1) protect the interests of the department and the facility; (2) ensure that all relevant evidence has been disclosed to the arbitrator,...
• Texas Section 247.087 - Scheduling Of Arbitration
  (a) The arbitrator conducting the arbitration shall schedule arbitration to be held not later than the 90th day after the date the arbitrator is selected...
• Texas Section 247.088 - Exchange And Filing Of Information
  Not later than the seventh day before the first day of arbitration, the department and the facility shall exchange and file with the arbitrator: (1)...
• Texas Section 247.089 - Attendance
  (a) The arbitrator may proceed in the absence of any party or representative of a party who, after notice of the proceeding, fails to be...
• Texas Section 247.090 - Testimony; Record
  (a) The arbitrator may require witnesses to testify under oath and shall require testimony under oath if requested by the department or the facility. (b)...
• Texas Section 247.091 - Evidence
  (a) The department or the facility may offer evidence and shall produce additional evidence as the arbitrator considers necessary to understand and resolve the dispute....
• Texas Section 247.092 - Closing Statements; Briefs
  The department and the facility may present closing statements, but the record does not remain open for written briefs unless required by the arbitrator. Added...
• Texas Section 247.093 - Ex Parte Contacts Prohibited
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the department and the facility may not communicate with an arbitrator other than at an oral hearing unless...
• Texas Section 247.094 - Order
  (a) The arbitrator may enter any order that may be entered by the department, executive commissioner, commissioner, or court under this chapter in relation to...
• Texas Section 247.095 - Effect Of Order
  An order of an arbitrator under this subchapter is final and binding on all parties. Except as provided by Section 247.097, there is no right...
• Texas Section 247.096 - Clerical Error
  For the purpose of correcting a clerical error, an arbitrator retains jurisdiction of the award until the 20th day after the date of the award....
• Texas Section 247.097 - Court Vacating Order
  (a) On a finding described by Subsection (b), a court shall: (1) on application of a facility, vacate an arbitrator's order with respect to an...
• Texas Section 247.098 - Enforcement Of Certain Arbitration Orders For Civil Penalties
  (a) This section applies only to a suit for the assessment of a civil penalty under Section 247.045 in which binding arbitration has been elected...

Last modified: September 28, 2016