Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The committee. An advisory committee
shall be appointed under and governed by this section.
(1) The name of the committee shall be the
Device Distributors and Manufacturers Advisory Committee (committee).
(2) The committee is required to be
established by the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission by Health and Safety Code, §
431.275 and is subject
to the Health and Safety Code, §
11.016.
(b) Applicable law. The committee
is subject to the Government Code, Chapter 2110, concerning state agency
advisory committees.
(c) Purpose.
The purpose of the committee is to provide advice to the Executive Commissioner
of the Health and Human Services Commission in the area of licensure of device
distributors and manufacturers.
(d)
Tasks.
(1) The committee shall advise the
Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission concerning
rules relating to licensing of device distributors and manufacturers.
(2) The committee shall advise the Executive
Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in the development of
standards and procedures relating to the licensing of device distributors and
manufacturers; make recommendations to the Executive Commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission relating to the content of the rules adopted to
implement the licensing of device distributors and manufacturers; and perform
any other functions requested by the Executive Commissioner of the Health and
Human Services Commission to implement and administer the rules regarding the
licensing of device distributors and manufacturers.
(3) The committee shall carry out any other
tasks given to the committee by the Executive Commissioner of the Health and
Human Services Commission.
(e) Review and duration. By September 1,
2007, the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
will initiate and complete a review of the committee to determine whether the
committee should be continued, consolidated with another committee, or
abolished. If the committee is not continued or consolidated, the committee
shall be abolished on that date.
(f) Composition. The committee shall be
composed of five members appointed by the Executive Commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission. The composition of the committee shall include:
(1) two consumer representatives;
(2) one person representing a distributor of
devices; and
(3) two persons
representing manufacturers of devices.
(g) Terms of office. The term of office of
each member shall be three years. Members shall serve after expiration of their
term until a replacement is appointed.
(1)
Members shall be appointed for staggered terms so that the terms of a
substantial equivalent number of members will expire on August 31st of each
odd-numbered year.
(2) If a vacancy
occurs, a person shall be appointed to serve the unexpired portion of that
term.
(h) Officers. The
committee shall elect a presiding officer and an assistant presiding officer at
its first meeting after August 31st of each year.
(1) Each officer shall serve until the next
regular election of officers.
(2)
The presiding officer shall preside at all committee meetings at which he or
she is in attendance, call meetings in accordance with this section, appoint
subcommittees of the committee as necessary, and cause proper reports to be
made to the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
The presiding officer may serve as an ex-officio member of any subcommittee of
the committee.
(3) The assistant
presiding officer shall perform the duties of the presiding officer in case of
the absence or disability of the presiding officer. In case the office of
presiding officer becomes vacant, the assistant presiding officer will serve
until a successor is elected to complete the unexpired portion of the term of
the office of presiding officer.
(4) A vacancy which occurs in the offices of
presiding officer or assistant presiding officer may be filled at the next
committee meeting.
(5) A member
shall serve no more than two consecutive terms as presiding officer and/or
assistant presiding officer.
(6)
The committee may reference its officers by other terms such as chairperson and
vice-chairperson.
(i)
Meetings. The committee shall meet only as necessary to conduct committee
business.
(1) A meeting may be called by
agreement of department staff and either the presiding officer or at least
three members of the committee.
(2)
Meeting arrangements shall be made by department staff. Department staff shall
contact committee members to determine availability for a meeting date and
place.
(3) The committee is not a
"governmental body" as defined in the Open Meetings Act. However, in order to
promote public participation, each meeting of the committee shall be announced
and conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code,
Chapter 551, with the exception that the provisions allowing executive sessions
shall not apply.
(4) Each member of
the committee shall be informed of a committee meeting at least five working
days before the meeting.
(5) A
simple majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for
the purpose of transacting official business.
(6) The committee is authorized to transact
official business only when in a legally constituted meeting with quorum
present.
(7) The agenda for each
committee meeting shall include an item entitled public comment under which any
person will be allowed to address the committee on matters relating to
committee business. The presiding officer may establish procedures for public
comment, including a time limit on each comment.
(j) Attendance. Members shall attend
committee meetings as scheduled. Members shall attend meetings of subcommittees
to which the member is assigned.
(1) A member
shall notify the presiding officer or appropriate department staff if he or she
is unable to attend a scheduled meeting.
(2) It is grounds for removal from the
committee if a member cannot discharge the member's duties for a substantial
part of the term for which the member is appointed because of illness or
disability, is absent from more than half of the committee and subcommittee
meetings during a calendar year, or is absent from at least three consecutive
committee meetings.
(3) The
validity of an action of the committee is not affected by the fact that it is
taken when a ground for removal of a member exists.
(k) Staff. Staff support for the committee
shall be provided by the department.
(l) Procedures. Roberts Rules of Order, Newly
Revised, shall be the basis of parliamentary decisions except where otherwise
provided by law or rule.
(1) Any action taken
by the committee must be approved by a majority vote of the members present
once quorum is established.
(2)
Each member shall have one vote.
(3) A member may not authorize another
individual to represent the member by proxy.
(4) The committee shall make decisions in the
discharge of its duties without discrimination based on any person's race,
creed, gender, religion, national origin, age, physical condition, or economic
status.
(5) Minutes of each
committee meeting shall be taken by department staff.
(A) A draft of the minutes approved by the
presiding officer shall be provided to the Executive Commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission and each member of the committee within 30 days
of each meeting.
(B) After approval
by the committee, the minutes shall be signed by the presiding
officer.
(m)
Subcommittees. The committee may establish subcommittees as necessary to assist
the committee in carrying out its duties.
(1)
The presiding officer shall appoint members of the committee to serve on
subcommittees and to act as subcommittee chairpersons. The presiding officer
may also appoint nonmembers of the committee to serve on
subcommittees.
(2) Subcommittees
shall meet when called by the subcommittee chairperson or when so directed by
the committee.
(3) A subcommittee
chairperson shall make regular reports to the advisory committee at each
committee meeting or in interim written reports as needed. The reports shall
include an executive summary or minutes of each subcommittee meeting.
(n) Statement by members.
(1) The Executive Commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission, the department, and the committee shall not be
bound in any way by any statement or action on the part of any committee member
except when a statement or action is in pursuit of specific instructions from
the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission,
department, or committee.
(2) The
committee and its members may not participate in legislative activity in the
name of the Health and Human Services Commission, the department or the
committee except with approval through the department's legislative process.
Committee members are not prohibited from representing themselves or other
entities in the legislative process.
(3) A committee member should not accept or
solicit any benefit that might reasonably tend to influence the member in the
discharge of the member's official duties.
(4) A committee member should not disclose
confidential information acquired through his or her committee
membership.
(5) A committee member
should not knowingly solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit for having
exercised the member's official powers or duties in favor of another
person.
(6) A committee member who
has a personal or private interest in a matter pending before the committee
shall publicly disclose the fact in a committee meeting and may not vote or
otherwise participate in the matter. The phrase "personal or private interest"
means the committee member has a direct pecuniary interest in the matter but
does not include the committee member's engagement in a profession, trade, or
occupation when the member's interest is the same as all others similarly
engaged in the profession, trade, or occupation.
(o) Reports to the Executive Commissioner of
the Health and Human Services Commission. The committee shall file an annual
written report with the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(1) The report shall list the
meeting dates of the committee and any subcommittees, the attendance records of
its members, a brief description of actions taken by the committee, a
description of how the committee has accomplished the tasks given to the
committee by the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission, the status of any rules which were recommended by the committee to
the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, and
anticipated activities of the committee for the next year.
(2) The report shall identify the costs
related to the committee's existence, including the cost of department staff
time spent in support of the committee's activities and the source of funds
used to support the committee's activities.
(3) The report shall cover the meetings and
activities in the immediate preceding 12 months and shall be filed with the
Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission each
September. It shall be signed by the presiding officer and appropriate
department staff.
(p)
Reimbursement for expenses. In accordance with the requirements set forth in
the Government Code, Chapter 2110, a committee member may receive reimbursement
for the member's expenses incurred for each day the member engages in official
committee business if authorized by the General Appropriations Act or budget
execution process.
(1) No compensatory per
diem shall be paid to committee members unless required by law.
(2) A committee member who is an employee of
a state agency, other than the department, may not receive reimbursement for
expenses from the department.
(3) A
nonmember of the committee who is appointed to serve on a subcommittee may not
receive reimbursement for expenses from the department.
(4) Each member who is to be reimbursed for
expenses shall submit to staff the member's receipts for expenses and any
required official forms no later than 14 days after each committee
meeting.
(5) Requests for
reimbursement of expenses shall be made on official state travel vouchers
prepared by department staff.
