(a) Scope of subchapter.

(1) Each final enforcement action taken by the Texas Board of Health, the Commissioner of Health, or his designee, against a person or facility regulated by the Texas Department of Health (department) shall be published on the department Internet website in accordance with this subchapter.

(2) Final enforcement actions include imposition of a reprimand, period of probation, monetary penalty, condition on a person's continued practice or a facility's continued operation, refusal to license, refusal to renew, suspension, probation, or revocation of a license.

(3) Except to the extent that the information is specifically made confidential by state or federal law, regulatory programs will publish the name, including any trade name, of the person or facility against which an enforcement action was taken, the nature of the violation that the person or facility was found to have committed, or allegedly committed, and the sanction imposed.

(4) The information shall be published so that a complainant cannot be identified.

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this subchapter only, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Complaint--A formal or informal allegation of a violation of a statute or rule against a regulated person filed with the department.

(2) Condition on practice or operation--Restrictions or limits placed on a person's license or on the person's ability to practice or operate in a regulated activity.

(3) Final enforcement action--Revocation, suspension, refusal to license or to renew a license, imposition of a reprimand, a period of probation, a monetary penalty, and/or a condition on a person's continued practice or a facility's continued operation, and a signed final order has been issued by the agency and the parties have been notified of the order: (A) the order has become final in accordance with the Government Code, Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 2001, or the department's Fair Hearing Rules in Chapter 1., Texas Board of Health, Subchapter C of this title (relating to Fair Hearing Procedures); or (B) the order is an emergency order and is effective on the date it is signed.

(4) License--A permit, certificate, registration, certification, accreditation, credential, approval, or other permission to engage in a regulated activity.

(5) Name--The name of the person or entity listed on the license or the name of the person engaging in the regulated activity, as well as other identifying information, such as the names of the partners in a partnership, to clarify the person(s) subject to enforcement.

(6) Penalty: (A) administrative penalty imposed by agency order; (B) civil penalty imposed by a court; (C) costs of investigation and/or enforcement imposed by the agency or a court order; or (D) any allowance towards administrative penalties for costs to comply with the statute and the rules.

(7) Period of deferment--Same meaning as the definition of the word "Probation" in paragraph (8) of this subsection.

(8) Probation--The temporary suspension of an enforcement action during which the person must comply with certain requirements. Successful completion of the requirements usually means certain terms and/or conditions of the probation will be waived, while failure to complete the probation requirements usually means the final enforcement action will be imposed.

(9) Program--The area of the department with responsibility for oversight of the regulated activity.

(10) Refusal to license or refusal to renew--The department has refused to issue or renew a license to an applicant for failure to meet regulatory requirements for the license or for past enforcement compliance history. These definitions do not include a refusal to license or renew for failure of the applicant to complete the application or failure to pay the required fees.

(11) Regulated activity--Those activities that the legislature has decided should be regulated by statute and for which a person must have a license in which to engage.

(12) Reprimand--A reproval or censure of a person through means of an order or a letter to the person for failure to meet statutory or regulatory requirements or standards of practice.

(13) Revocation--Annulling or voiding a license to engage in a regulated activity for failure to comply with statutory or regulatory requirements.

(14) Sanction--A punitive action applied to a person licensed or engaging in a regulated activity.

(15) Suspension--The temporary removal of rights or privileges associated with having a license or permission to engage in a regulated activity.

(16) Violation--A failure to follow prescribed statutes or rules to engage in a regulated activity.

Source Note: The provisions of this §1.551 adopted to be effective February 6, 2003, 28 TexReg 951