Texas Occupations Code Title 3, Chapter 203 - Midwives

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 203.001 - Short Title
  This chapter may be cited as the Texas Midwifery Act. Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
• Texas Section 203.002 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Advisory board" means the Midwives Advisory Board. (2) "Certified nurse-midwife" means a person who is: (A) a registered nurse under Chapter...
• Texas Section 203.003 - Findings
  The legislature finds: (1) a parent has the responsibility and right to give birth where and with whom the parent chooses; (2) childbirth is a...
• Texas Section 203.004 - Applicability
  This chapter does not apply to: (1) a certified nurse-midwife, a physician, or another health care professional licensed by the state and operating within the...

SUBCHAPTER B MIDWIVES ADVISORY BOARD

• Texas Section 203.005 - Effect On Local Ordinances
  This chapter does not prohibit a municipality from adopting a local ordinance or rule to regulate the practice of midwifery in the municipality if the...
• Texas Section 203.052 - Advisory Board Membership
  (a) The advisory board consists of nine members appointed by the presiding officer of the commission with the approval of the commission as follows: (1)...
• Texas Section 203.0521 - Duties Of Advisory Board
  The advisory board shall provide advice and recommendations to the department on technical matters relevant to the administration of this chapter. Added by Acts 2015,...
• Texas Section 203.055 - Terms; Vacancies
  (a) Members of the advisory board serve for staggered terms of six years. The terms of three members expire on January 31 of each odd-numbered...
• Texas Section 203.056 - Presiding Officer
  The presiding officer of the commission shall designate a public member of the advisory board to serve as the presiding officer of the advisory board...

SUBCHAPTER D POWERS AND DUTIES

• Texas Section 203.059 - Meetings
  The advisory board shall meet at the call of the presiding officer of the commission or the executive director. Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388,...
• Texas Section 203.151 - General Powers And Duties
  Sec. 203.151. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The executive director shall administer and enforce this chapter. (a-1) The commission shall: (1) adopt rules prescribing the...
• Texas Section 203.152 - Fees
  (a) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 838 , Sec. 1.222(11), eff. September 1, 2015. (b) The commission may not set a fee...
• Texas Section 203.153 - Manuals
  (a) The department shall issue basic information manuals for the practice of midwifery and instructor manuals that may be used in basic midwifery education courses....
• Texas Section 203.154 - Reports On Midwifery
  (a) The department shall prepare and publish reports on the practice of midwifery in this state. (b) The Department of State Health Services shall publish...
• Texas Section 203.155 - Complaints
  (a) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 838 , Sec. 1.222(12), eff. September 1, 2015. (b) For purposes of Section 51.252, the commission...

SUBCHAPTER F LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS

• Texas Section 203.157 - Roster; Notice To County Officials
  (a) The department shall maintain a roster of each person licensed as a midwife in this state. (b) The roster shall contain for each person...
• Texas Section 203.251 - License Required
  (a) A person may not practice midwifery unless the person holds a license issued under this chapter. (b) The department shall provide a license to...
• Texas Section 203.252 - Qualifications For Initial License
  (a) A person qualifies to become a licensed midwife under this chapter if the person provides the department with documentary evidence that the person has:...
• Texas Section 203.253 - License Application
  A person who practices midwifery must apply to the department to be licensed as a midwife in the manner and on a form prescribed by...
• Texas Section 203.254 - Basic Midwifery Education
  The commission shall establish requirements for basic midwifery education. Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2005,...
• Texas Section 203.255 - Examination
  (a) The department shall: (1) adopt a comprehensive midwifery examination for persons regulated under this chapter that must be passed before the initial license may...
• Texas Section 203.2555 - Jurisprudence Examination
  (a) The department shall develop and administer at least twice each calendar year a jurisprudence examination to determine an applicant's knowledge of this chapter, commission...

SUBCHAPTER G LICENSE RENEWAL

• Texas Section 203.256 - Training In Newborn Screening And Basic Life Support Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
  A person who practices midwifery in this state must provide the department with satisfactory evidence that the person: (1) is trained to perform the newborn...
• Texas Section 203.301 - Application For License Renewal
  An applicant for renewal of a license under this chapter must apply biennially as provided in Section 203.253. Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec....
• Texas Section 203.304 - Continuing Midwifery Education
  (a) The commission by rule shall establish requirements for continuing midwifery education, including a minimum number of hours of continuing education required to renew a...
• Texas Section 203.305 - Required Attendance At Specific Midwifery Education Courses
  The department may assess the continuing education needs of licensed midwives and may require licensed midwives to attend continuing midwifery education courses specified by the...

SUBCHAPTER H PRACTICE BY MIDWIFE

• Texas Section 203.306 - Grounds For Refusing Renewal
  The department may refuse to renew the license of a person who fails to pay an administrative penalty unless enforcement of the penalty is stayed...
• Texas Section 203.351 - Informed Choice And Disclosure Requirements
  (a) A midwife shall disclose in oral and written form to a prospective client the limitations of the skills and practices of a midwife. (b)...
• Texas Section 203.352 - Prenatal And Certain Medical Care Encouraged
  A midwife shall encourage a client to seek: (1) prenatal care; and (2) medical care through consultation or referral, as specified by commission rules, if...
• Texas Section 203.353 - Prevention Of Ophthalmia Neonatorum
  Unless the newborn child is immediately transferred to a hospital because of an emergency, a midwife who attends the birth of the child shall comply...
• Texas Section 203.354 - Newborn Screening
  (a) Each midwife who attends the birth of a child shall cause the newborn screening tests to be performed on blood specimens taken from the...
• Texas Section 203.355 - Support Services
  (a) In this section: (1) "Clinical services" include prenatal, postpartum, child health, and family planning services. (2) "Local health unit" means a division of a...
• Texas Section 203.356 - Immunity
  (a) A physician, a registered nurse, or other person who, on the order of a physician, instructs a midwife in the approved techniques for collecting...

SUBCHAPTER I PROHIBITED PRACTICES AND GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION

• Texas Section 203.357 - Additional Information Required
  (a) The department may require information in addition to that required by Section 203.253 if it determines the additional information is necessary and appropriate to...
• Texas Section 203.401 - Prohibited Practices
  A midwife may not: (1) provide midwifery care in violation of commission rule, except in an emergency that poses an immediate threat to the life...
• Texas Section 203.402 - Prohibited Representation
  A midwife may not: (1) except as provided by Section 203.403, use in connection with the midwife's name a title, abbreviation, or designation tending to...
• Texas Section 203.403 - Prohibited Use Of Title
  (a) A midwife certified by the North American Registry of Midwives who uses "certified" as part of the midwife's title in an identification statement or...
• Texas Section 203.404 - Grounds For Disciplinary Action
  (a) The commission or executive director may discipline a licensed midwife, refuse to renew a midwife's license, or refuse to issue a license to an...

SUBCHAPTER K OTHER PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 203.406 - Refund
  (a) Subject to Subsection (b), the commission or executive director may order a licensed midwife to pay a refund to a consumer as provided in...
• Texas Section 203.501 - Civil Penalty
  (a) A person is liable for a civil penalty if the person is required to be licensed under this chapter and the person knowingly or...
• Texas Section 203.502 - Injunctions
  (a) In this section, "health authority" means a physician who administers state and local laws regulating public health under Chapter 121, Health and Safety Code....
• Texas Section 203.503 - Venue
  (a) Venue for a civil action arising out of the imposition of an administrative penalty is in the county in which the defendant resides or...
• Texas Section 203.504 - Criminal Penalty
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person is required to be licensed under this chapter and the person knowingly practices midwifery without a...
• Texas Section 203.505 - Cease And Desist Order
  (a) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 838 , Sec. 1.222(26), eff. September 1, 2015. (b) A violation of a cease and desist...

Last modified: September 28, 2016