(a) The advisory board shall meet at the call of the presiding officer of the commission or the executive director.
(b) The department will present the following documents, including any updates or revisions, to the advisory board for its input and recommendation:
  (1) The penalty matrix for podiatry to be included in the department's Enforcement Plan; and
  (2) Criminal Conviction Guidelines (Guidelines for Applicants with Criminal Convictions) for podiatry.
(c) The department will provide information regarding the general investigative, enforcement, or disciplinary procedures of the department or commission to the advisory board in the following manner:
  (1) At advisory board meetings, the department will provide a report on recent enforcement activities, including:
    (A) a brief description of final orders entered in enforcement cases; and
    (B) statistics on complaints received, disposition of cases, and any sanctions or administrative penalties assessed;
  (2) On request of the advisory board, the department will provide additional information:
    (A) during the staff report portion of the advisory board meeting; or
    (B) by placing a discussion item on the agenda for a future advisory board meeting; or
  (3) The department may provide information directly to an individual member of the advisory board in response to a request from that member.
(d) The commission may not adopt a new rule relating to the scope of practice of, a health-related standard of care for, or the ethical practice of the profession of podiatry unless the rule has been proposed by the advisory board.
(e) Under Occupations Code §51.2032(b) and (c), the advisory board may propose a rule described by subsection (d) according to the following procedure:
  (1) The advisory board, by a majority vote of the members present and voting at a meeting at which a quorum is present, shall either:
    (A) recommend that the rule be published in the Texas Register for public comment; or
    (B) if the rule has been published and after considering the public comments, make a recommendation to the commission concerning adoption of the rule;
  (2) The rule must be within the commission's legal authority to adopt; and
  (3) The department may make non-substantive, editorial changes to the rule as necessary.
(f) The commission shall either adopt the rule as proposed by the advisory board under subsection (e), with any non-substantive, editorial changes made by the department under subsection (e)(3), or return the rule to the advisory board for revision.
(g) The department will establish an advisory board work group to review and make recommendations regarding continuing education requirements.
(h) The department may obtain additional expertise from one or more of the following sources:
  (1) a former member of the advisory board;
  (2) a department staff expert; or
  (3) an outside expert with relevant education, training, or experience.
(i) Opinions or recommendations made under subsection (g) will be presented to the full advisory board for discussion.

Source Note: The provisions of this §130.27 adopted to be effective November 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 6953; amended to be effective May 1, 2022, 47 TexReg 2525