Texas Register, Volume 27, Number 49, Pages 11341-11670, December 6, 2002 Page: 11,375

                                
documentation acknowledgment letter back to the Midwifery Program
together with a signed statement of his or her intent to surrender same.
(2) Surrender of documentation by a midwife after receipt
of notification from the Midwifery Program that a complaint against the
midwife is being investigated shall not deprive the Midwifery Board
of jurisdiction in any disciplinary action which may result from said
investigation.
(3) The Midwifery Board may enter any disciplinary order
authorized by the Act or this subchapter to resolve a complaint against
a midwife who has surrendered his or her documentation after receipt
of notification from the Midwifery Program that a complaint is being
investigated.
(1)  [(k)] Redocumentation after disciplinary action or surren-
der.
(1) A person whose documentation to practice midwifery
in this state has been revoked or suspended by the Midwifery Board
or who has surrendered his or her documentation after having received
notice that the Midwifery Program is investigating a complaint may not
apply for reissuance of documentation until the applicant has complied
with all requirements imposed by the Midwifery Board in connection
with the revocation, suspension, or surrender. If the Midwifery Board
denies the application for reissuance of documentation, an applicant
may request a hearing in accordance with the provisions of the Admin-
istrative Procedure Act (APA), Government Code, Chapter 2001, ap-
plicable state and federal statutes, the Rules of Practice and Procedures
of the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) and this chap-
ter [under 2  5TA    5!1-5I-155 (relating to Fair Hearing Proed res)].
The decision of the hearing examiner shall be final.
(2) The Midwifery Board may reissue documentation to a
midwife who surrendered his or her documentation while an investi-
gation or disciplinary action was pending only if the Midwifery Board
finds that:
(A) the applicant is competent to resume practice; and
(B) the Midwifery Program has no evidence of current
or continuing violations by the applicant of the Act or this subchapter.
(m)   [(1)] Documentation of persons with criminal conviction.
(1) The Midwifery Board may refuse to issue documenta-
tion to any individual who has been initially convicted of a felony or a
misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, or whose probation imposed
pursuant to such conviction has been revoked by the court.
(2) The Midwifery Board shall consider the following fac-
tors:
(A) the nature and seriousness ofthe crime or the reason
the applicant's probation was revoked;
(B) any relationship between the crime and the practice
of midwifery;
(C) whether documentation might offer the applicant an
opportunity to engage in the same or similar criminal activity as that for
which the applicant was previously convicted; and
(D) the relationship of the crime to the ability, capacity,
or fitness required to perform the duties and discharge the responsibil-
ities of midwifery.
(3) the Midwifery Board, in determining the present fitness
of a person who has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor in-
volving moral turpitude, shall consider:

(A) the age of the applicant when the crime was com-
mitted;
(B) the amount of time that has elapsed since the appli-
cant's conviction;
(C) the applicant's conduct and work history prior to
and following the conviction;
(D) evidence of the applicant's progress toward rehabil-
itation while incarcerated, on probation, or following release; and
(E) other evidence of the person's present fitness, in-
cluding letters of recommendation from:
(i) prosecutorial, law enforcement, probation, and
correctional officers;
(ii) the sheriff or chief of police in the community
where the applicant resides; and
(iii) other persons.
(n)  [(m)] Midwifery roster. The Midwifery Program shall
maintain a roster of all individuals currently documented to practice
midwifery in the state. A copy of the roster shall be provided to each
county clerk and local registrar of births on request. The Midwifery
Program shall provide information on new and/or late documentees to
individual county clerks and local registrars of births during the course
of a year as needed.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal author-
ity to adopt.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on November 22,
2002.
TRD-200207670
Debra Evans
Chair
Texas Midwifery Board
Proposed date of adoption: February 4, 2003
For further information, please call: (512) 458-7236
SUBCHAPTER C. EDUCATION
22 TAC 831.31
The amendment is proposed under the Government Code,
2001.03, which requires that each state agency review and
consider for readoption each rule adopted by that agency pur-
suant to the Government Code, Chapter 2001 (Administrative
Procedure Act); the Occupations Code, 203.151, which pro-
vides the board with the authority to adopt rules prescribing the
standards for the practice of midwifery, subject to the approval
of the Texas Board of Health; and the Health and Safety Code,
12.001, which provides the Board of Health with authority to
adopt rules for the performance of every duty imposed by law
on the Board of Health, the department, and the commissioner
of health.
The amendment affects the Occupations Code, Title 3, Chapter
203.
831.31. Education.
(a)-(d) (No change.)
(e) Basic Education.

PROPOSED RULES      December 6, 2002  27 TexReg 11375