1. (a) The Texas Department of Health (department) shall waive the application of Health and Safety Code, Chapter 81, Subchapter H, to a rural county if the department finds that the application of the Subchapter to the county would be burdensome.
2. (b) Waivers granted under this section expire December 31, 2001.

3. (c) A "Rural County" is a county that:

   1. (1) has a population of 50,000 or less; or

   2. (2) has a population of more than 50,000 but:

      1. (A) does not have located within the county a general or special hospital licensed under Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, with more than 100 beds; and
      2. (B) was not, based on the 1990 federal census, completely included within an area designated as urbanized by the Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of Commerce.
4. (d) A request for a waiver under the provisions of this section shall be submitted in writing prior to January 1, 2001 to the Associate Commissioner, Disease Control and Prevention, 1100 West 49th Street, Suite G-401, Austin, Texas 78756.

Source Note:The provisions of this §96.501 adopted to be effective August 16, 2000, 25 TexReg 7704.