Bill Caption

Relating to the licensing and regulation of genetic counselors; requiring an occupational license; authorizing a fee. 

Fiscal Notes

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB 2053, As Introduced: a POSTIVE impact of $14,151 through the biennium ending August 31, 2023. 

Bill Analysis

HB 2053 would establish a licensing and testing program that defines and regulates professional genetic counseling services. Genetic Counselors communicate genetic information by obtaining and evaluating individual, family, and medical histories to determine the risk factors for genetic or medical conditions. HB 2053 would not apply to licensed physicians unless the physician is a licensed genetic counselor. 

HB 2053 would prevent a person without the license from using the title or implication of genetic counselor. 

Vote Recommendation Notes

HB 2053 represents a very large growth of government to regulate and control an industry that provides loosely based genetic information for genetic mapping. This bill would violate the First Amendment by requiring licensure in order to speak about a particular topic and convey information. The law's application would be content-based which means that to know whether someone needs a license, the government would need to scrutinize the content of their speech. To single out certain speakers in this way based on their expressive activity would be subject to strict scrutiny under the First Amendment. Since government needs a compelling justification and the law must be narrowly tailored, this bill would create an unconstitutional law which would be challenged in the courts with a high probability of success. 

HB 2053 would violate our limited government, individual liberty, and free market principles. For these reasons, Texas Action opposes HB 2053. Texas needs to eliminate occupational licenses, not create new ones.