SB437

SB437 permits live online delivery of required abuse-prevention training and adds financial-impact factors to chemical-dependency facility penalties. The existing training covers identifying patient abuse or neglect and illegal, unprofessional or unethical conduct. It requires at least eight hours annually for the covered inpatient mental-health facilities, treatment facilities and hospitals providing comprehensive medical rehabilitation services. The bill allows in-person training or live, interactive, instructor-led electronic training with simultaneous audiovisual interaction. It does not substitute a self-paced recording for that live-interaction requirement or reduce the eight-hour minimum. Final law; Existing training requirement.

For civil penalties under Chapter 464, courts must also consider the person’s or facility’s ability to pay and, if the license is not revoked because of the violation, its ability to continue providing services after payment. Existing considerations—including seriousness, prior violations, public danger, good faith and deterrence—remain. The existing ceiling of $25,000 for each day and each act of violation is not reduced. Prior civil-penalty provision; Added factors.

For administrative penalties, the bill adds ability to pay, ability to continue services if the license is not revoked because of the violation, and the person’s degree of culpability. The posted penalty schedules must consider economic impact and all the statutory penalty factors. This does not require automatic forgiveness of a violation or a fixed discount. The existing administrative ceiling remains $25,000 per violation, with each continuing day a separate violation. Existing administrative penalties and process.

The bill was signed June 20, 2025 and took effect September 1, 2025. The Chapter 464 penalty changes apply only to violations occurring on or after that date; earlier violations remain under the prior law. The transition clause is limited to Chapter 464, not framed as a delay of the training option. Official history; Transition and effective date.