Texas Commission Supports Recommendation

August 13, 2014

The Texas Sunset Commission unanimously voted today to keep Texas respiratory therapy licensure and to move it under the umbrella of the Texas State Medical Board.

Last week the Subcommittee delivered their report to the Commission recommending this course of action, and today the full Commission took action on that report by voting in favor. An earlier Commission report had recommended de-licensing respiratory therapists in Texas. “For the time being, it looks like that is off the table,” said Cheryl West, AARC Dirctor of Government Affairs.

The Texas Society for Respiratory Care led the effort against that recommendation and respiratory therapist opposition was swift, as was the response from the AARC and NBRC.

So what is next? All the recommendations made in the Sunset Report and the Subcommittee report must be ratified by the Texas state legislature, which will reconvene in January 2015.

The TSRC is already ramping up the next effort, which is to make sure legislators “hear” from their constituent respiratory therapists, pulmonary patients, and RT supporters to ensure that when the legislation comes up for a vote next year, respiratory therapy licensure under the Texas State Medical Board will prevail.