The registration fee shall not apply to retired physician assistants.
  (1) To become exempt from the registration fee due to retirement:
    (A) the physician assistant's current license must not be under an investigation or order with the board or otherwise have a restricted license; and
    (B) the physician assistant must request in writing on a form prescribed by the board for his or her license to be placed on official retired status.
  (2) The following restrictions shall apply to physician assistants whose licenses are on official retired status:
    (A) the physician assistant must not engage in clinical activities or practice medicine in any state;
    (B) the physician assistant may not prescribe or administer drugs to anyone, nor may the physician assistant possess a Drug Enforcement Agency or Texas controlled substances registration; and
    (C) the physician assistant's license may not be endorsed to any other state.
  (3) A physician assistant may return to active status by applying to the board, paying an application fee equal to an application fee for a physician assistant license, complying with the requirements for license renewal under the Act, demonstrating current certification by NCCPA, and complying with paragraph (4) of this section.
  (4) The request of a physician assistant seeking a return to active status whose license has been placed on official retired status for two years or longer shall be submitted to the Licensure Committee of the board for consideration and a recommendation to the full board for approval or denial of the request. After consideration of the request and the recommendation of the Licensure Committee, the board shall grant or deny the request. If the request is granted, it may be granted without conditions or subject to such conditions which the board determines are necessary to adequately protect the public including but not limited to:
    (A) current certification by the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants;
    (B) completion of specified continuing medical education hours approved for Category 1 credits by a CME sponsor approved by the American Academy of Physician Assistants;
    (C) limitation and/or exclusion of the practice of the applicant to specified activities of the practice as a physician assistant;
    (D) remedial education; and/or
    (E) such other remedial or restrictive conditions or requirements which, in the discretion of the board are necessary to ensure protection of the public and minimal competency of the applicant to safely practice as a physician assistant.
  (5) The request of a physician assistant seeking a return to active status whose license has been placed on official retired status for less than two years may be approved by the executive director of the board or submitted by the executive director to the Licensure Committee for consideration and a recommendation to the full board for approval or denial of the request. In those instances in which the executive director submits the request to the Licensure Committee of the board, the Licensure Committee shall make a recommendation to the full board for approval or denial. After consideration of the request and the recommendation of the Licensure Committee, the board shall grant or deny the request subject to such conditions which the board determines are necessary to adequately protect the public including but not limited to those options provided in paragraph (4)(A) - (E) of this section.
  (6) In evaluating a request to return to active status, the Licensure Committee or the full board may require a personal appearance by the requesting physician assistant at the offices of the board, and may also require a physical or mental examination by one or more physicians or other health care providers approved in advance in writing by the executive director, the secretary-treasurer, the Licensure Committee, or other designee(s) determined by majority vote of the board.
  (7) A physician assistant applying for retired status under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this section may be approved for emeritus retired status, a subgroup of "official retired status," provided that the physician assistant has:
    (A) never received a remedial plan or been the subject of disciplinary action by the Texas Physician Assistant Board;
    (B) no criminal history, including pending charges, indictment, conviction and/or deferred adjudication in Texas; and
    (C) never held a license, registration or certification that has been restricted for cause, canceled for cause, suspended for cause, revoked or subject to another form of discipline in a state, or territory of the United States, a province of Canada, a uniformed service of the United States or other regulatory agency.

Source Note: The provisions of this §185.28 adopted to be effective August 11, 2013, 38 TexReg 4895; amended to be effective September 28, 2014, 39 TexReg 7581; amended to be effective September 8, 2019, 44 TexReg 4729