Bill Text: TX SB820 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the registration of vision support organizations; imposing a fee; requiring an occupational registration; providing a civil penalty.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-29 - Effective on 9/1/23 [SB820 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB820-Enrolled.html
S.B. No. 820 |
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relating to the registration of vision support organizations; | ||
imposing a fee; requiring an occupational registration; providing a | ||
civil penalty. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is | ||
amended by adding Chapter 74 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 74. REGISTRATION OF VISION SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS | ||
Sec. 74.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "Business support services" means business, | ||
management, consulting, or administrative services, facilities, or | ||
staff provided for an optometrist or an entity that employs or | ||
contracts with an optometrist to provide services or products, | ||
including: | ||
(A) office space, furnishings, equipment, | ||
supplies, or inventory; | ||
(B) staff employed by a vision support | ||
organization; | ||
(C) regulatory compliance; | ||
(D) eye care equipment, supplies, or products; | ||
(E) information systems; | ||
(F) marketing or advertising; | ||
(G) financial services; | ||
(H) accounting, bookkeeping, or monitoring of | ||
accounts receivable; | ||
(I) payroll or benefits administration; | ||
(J) billing and collection for services and | ||
products; | ||
(K) reporting and payment of federal or state | ||
taxes; | ||
(L) administration of interest expense or | ||
indebtedness incurred to finance the operation of a business; | ||
(M) insurance services; or | ||
(N) group purchasing services. | ||
(2) "Optometrist" means an individual optometrist or | ||
therapeutic optometrist licensed to practice optometry in this | ||
state. | ||
(3) "Vision support organization" means an entity | ||
that, under one or more agreements, provides two or more business | ||
support services to an optometrist. | ||
Sec. 74.002. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. (a) A vision support | ||
organization shall annually register with the secretary of state. | ||
(b) A vision support organization's registration under this | ||
section is considered registration of any subsidiary, contractor, | ||
or affiliate of the vision support organization through or with | ||
which the vision support organization provides business support | ||
services if the registration includes all required information from | ||
each subsidiary, contractor, or affiliate of the vision support | ||
organization as if that entity had filed individually. | ||
Sec. 74.003. EXEMPTIONS. This chapter does not require | ||
registration by: | ||
(1) an accountant providing only accounting services; | ||
(2) an attorney providing only legal counsel; | ||
(3) an insurance company or insurance agent providing | ||
only insurance policies to a business; | ||
(4) entities providing only investment and financial | ||
advisory services; | ||
(5) an accredited college of optometry or college of | ||
medicine in this state; | ||
(6) an optometrist licensed by the Texas Optometry | ||
Board or a physician licensed by the Texas Medical Board who has an | ||
ownership interest in three or fewer locations; | ||
(7) a community health center, as defined by Section | ||
351.367(a), Occupations Code; and | ||
(8) a nonprofit corporation governed by Chapter 22, | ||
Business Organizations Code, and exempt from taxation under Section | ||
501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as an organization described | ||
by Section 501(c)(3) of that code, that performs eye care services | ||
primarily for homeless, migrant, indigent, or medically | ||
underserved populations. | ||
Sec. 74.004. CONTENTS OF REGISTRATION; FEE. (a) The | ||
registration required by Section 74.002 must include: | ||
(1) the name and business address of the vision | ||
support organization; | ||
(2) the name and business address of each optometrist | ||
and each entity that employs or contracts with an optometrist to | ||
provide eye care services in this state with which the vision | ||
support organization has entered into an agreement to provide two | ||
or more business support services; | ||
(3) the name of each optometrist who owns any portion | ||
of the vision support organization; | ||
(4) the name of each person who is not an optometrist | ||
and owns five percent or more of the vision support organization; | ||
and | ||
(5) a list of all business support services provided | ||
to each optometrist or each entity that employs or contracts with an | ||
optometrist to provide eye care services. | ||
(b) A registration and each corrected registration must be | ||
accompanied by a fee set by the secretary of state in an amount | ||
necessary to recover the costs of administering this chapter. | ||
(c) A registration or corrected registration is not | ||
effective until the vision support organization pays the fee | ||
required by this section. | ||
Sec. 74.005. TIMING OF REGISTRATION; CORRECTION REQUIRED. | ||
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the registration required | ||
by Section 74.002 must be filed with the secretary of state not | ||
later than January 31 of each year for which the registration is | ||
effective. | ||
(b) A vision support organization that initially meets the | ||
requirement for registration under Section 74.002 after January 31 | ||
shall file the registration required by that section not later than | ||
the 90th day after the date an agreement to provide business support | ||
services is executed. | ||
(c) A vision support organization shall file a corrected | ||
registration semiannually as necessary. | ||
Sec. 74.006. FAILURE TO FILE REGISTRATION OR CORRECTION. | ||
(a) A person who fails to file a registration or a corrected | ||
registration as required by this chapter is liable to the state for | ||
a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000. | ||
(b) Each day a violation continues or occurs is a separate | ||
violation for the purpose of imposing the civil penalty. | ||
(c) The attorney general shall file suit to collect the | ||
civil penalty provided by this section. The suit may be filed in | ||
Travis County or any county where the vision support organization | ||
provides business support services. | ||
Sec. 74.007. INTERAGENCY MEMORANDUM. The secretary of | ||
state shall enter into an interagency memorandum to share the | ||
information collected by the secretary of state under this chapter | ||
with any relevant state agency. | ||
Sec. 74.008. APPLICABILITY. This chapter does not limit | ||
business support services that may be provided to an optometrist by | ||
a vision support organization, to the extent permitted under | ||
Section 351.408, Occupations Code. | ||
Sec. 74.009. LIMITATION ON OPTOMETRY BOARD RULEMAKING. The | ||
Texas Optometry Board may not adopt any rule limiting the right of | ||
an optometrist to contract with a vision support organization for | ||
business support services that are otherwise legally permissible. | ||
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 74.002, Business & | ||
Commerce Code, as added by this Act, a vision support organization | ||
is not required to register under that section before February 1, | ||
2024. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 820 passed the Senate on | ||
April 20, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 3; and that | ||
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 16, 2023, by the | ||
following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 3. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 820 passed the House, with | ||
amendment, on May 11, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 133, | ||
Nays 7, one present not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
Approved: | ||
______________________________ | ||
Date | ||
______________________________ | ||
Governor |