Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB673 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 673
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to certain services provided by the office of injured
6	6	employee counsel under the workers' compensation program of this
7	7	state.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 404, Labor Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Section 404.1015 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 404.1015. REFUSAL TO PROVIDE OR TERMINATION OF
12	12	SERVICES. (a) The public counsel may refuse to provide or may
13	13	terminate the services of the office to any claimant who:
14	14	(1) is abusive or violent to or who threatens any
15	15	employee of the office;
16	16	(2) requests assistance in claiming benefits not
17	17	provided by law; or
18	18	(3) commits or threatens to commit a criminal act in
19	19	pursuit of a workers' compensation claim.
20	20	(b) If the public counsel determines under Subsection (a)
21	21	that the services of the office should be refused or terminated, the
22	22	office shall inform the affected claimant in writing and notify the
23	23	division.
24	24	(c) The office shall notify and cooperate with the
25	25	appropriate law enforcement authority and the Department of
26	26	Insurance, Fraud Unit, if the office becomes aware that the
27	27	claimant or a person acting on the claimant's behalf commits or
28	28	threatens to commit a criminal act.
29	29	SECTION 2. Section 404.105, Labor Code, is amended to read
30	30	as follows:
31	31	Sec. 404.105. AUTHORITY TO ASSIST INDIVIDUAL INJURED
32	32	EMPLOYEES IN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES. (a) The office, through
33	33	the ombudsman program, may appear before the commissioner, [or]
34	34	division, or State Office of Administrative Hearings to provide
35	35	assistance to [on behalf of] an individual injured employee during:
36	36	(1) a workers' compensation [an] administrative
37	37	dispute resolution process; or
38	38	(2) an enforcement action by the department or
39	39	division against an employee for a violation of the Texas Workers'
40	40	Compensation Act.
41	41	(b) This chapter may not be construed as requiring or
42	42	allowing legal representation for an individual injured employee by
43	43	an office attorney or ombudsman in any proceeding.
44	44	SECTION 3. Section 404.109, Labor Code, is amended to read
45	45	as follows:
46	46	Sec. 404.109. INJURED EMPLOYEE RIGHTS; NOTICE. The public
47	47	counsel shall adopt, in the form and manner prescribed by the public
48	48	counsel and after consultation with the commissioner of workers'
49	49	compensation, [submit to the division and the department for
50	50	adoption by the commissioners] a notice of injured employee rights
51	51	and responsibilities to be distributed by the division as provided
52	52	by commissioner or [and] commissioner of insurance rules. A right
53	53	or responsibility adopted under this section must be consistent
54	54	with the requirements of this subtitle and division rules. This
55	55	section may not be construed as establishing an entitlement to
56	56	benefits to which the claimant is not otherwise entitled under this
57	57	subtitle.
58	58	SECTION 4. Section 404.110, Labor Code, is amended to read
59	59	as follows:
60	60	Sec. 404.110. APPLICABILITY TO PUBLIC COUNSEL OF
61	61	CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) Confidentiality requirements
62	62	applicable to examination reports and to the commissioner of
63	63	insurance under Sections 401.058, 401.105, 401.106, 441.201, and
64	64	501.158 [Article 1.18], Insurance Code, as applicable, and Section
65	65	404.111, [and to the commissioner of insurance under Section 3A,
66	66	Article 21.28-A, Insurance Code,] apply to the public counsel.
67	67	(b) An employee of the office may not be compelled to
68	68	disclose information communicated to the employee by a claimant on
69	69	any matter relating to the claimant's claim. This subsection does
70	70	not prohibit or alter the office's duty to notify and cooperate with
71	71	appropriate law enforcement authorities under Section 404.1015(c).
72	72	SECTION 5. Section 404.111, Labor Code, is amended to read
73	73	as follows:
74	74	Sec. 404.111. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. (a) Except as
75	75	otherwise provided by this section, the [The] office may access
76	76	information from an executive agency that is otherwise confidential
77	77	under a law of this state if that information is necessary for the
78	78	performance of the duties of the office, including information made
79	79	confidential under[:
80	80	[(1)] Section [843.006, Insurance Code;
81	81	[(2) Chapter 108, Health and Safety Code;
82	82	[(3) Chapter 552, Government Code; and
83	83	[(4) Sections 402.083,] 402.091[, and 402.092 of this
84	84	code].
85	85	(b) The office may not access information under Subsection
86	86	(a) that is an attorney-client communication or an attorney work
87	87	product, or other information protected by a privilege recognized
88	88	by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure or the Texas Rules of
89	89	Evidence.
90	90	(c) In furtherance of assisting an employee under Section
91	91	404.105(a)(2), the office may not access information under Section
92	92	404.111(a) to which the employee is not otherwise entitled. If the
93	93	office possesses any information made confidential by the Texas
94	94	Workers' Compensation Act or any other laws of this state to which
95	95	the employee is not otherwise entitled, that information may not be
96	96	disclosed to the employee or any other party assisting an employee
97	97	under Section 404.105(a)(2). Nothing in this subsection prohibits
98	98	or alters the office's duty to notify appropriate law enforcement
99	99	authorities under Section 404.1015(c).
100	100	(d) Except as provided by this section [On request by the
101	101	public counsel], the division or the department shall provide any
102	102	information or data requested by the public counsel [office] in
103	103	furtherance of the duties of the office under this chapter.
104	104	(e) [(c)] The office may not make public any confidential
105	105	information provided to the office under this chapter. Except as
106	106	provided by Subsection (c), the office [but] may disclose a summary
107	107	of the information that does not directly or indirectly identify
108	108	the individual or entity that is the subject of the
109	109	information. The office may not release, and an individual or
110	110	entity may not gain access to, any information that:
111	111	(1) could reasonably be expected to reveal the
112	112	identity of a health care provider or an injured employee;
113	113	(2) reveals the zip code of an injured employee's
114	114	primary residence;
115	115	(3) discloses a health care provider discount or a
116	116	differential between a payment and a billed charge; or
117	117	(4) relates to an actual payment made by a payer to an
118	118	identified health care provider.
119	119	(f) [(d)] Information collected or used by the office under
120	120	this chapter is subject to the confidentiality provisions and
121	121	criminal penalties of[:
122	122	[(1) Section 81.103, Health and Safety Code;
123	123	[(2) Section 311.037, Health and Safety Code;
124	124	[(3) Chapter 159, Occupations Code; and
125	125	[(4)] Section 402.091 [of this code].
126	126	(g) [(e)] Information on health care providers and injured
127	127	employees that is in the possession of the office, and any
128	128	compilation, report, or analysis produced from the information that
129	129	identifies providers and injured employees is not:
130	130	(1) subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of
131	131	legal compulsion for release to any individual or entity; or
132	132	(2) admissible in any civil, administrative, or
133	133	criminal proceeding.
134	134	(h) [(f)] Notwithstanding Subsection (e)(2) [(c)(2)], the
135	135	office may use zip code information to analyze information on a
136	136	geographical basis.
137	137	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
138	138	______________________________ ______________________________
139	139	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
140	140	I certify that H.B. No. 673 was passed by the House on April
141	141	24, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 1 present, not
142	142	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
143	143	No. 673 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1
144	144	present, not voting.
145	145	______________________________
146	146	Chief Clerk of the House
147	147	I certify that H.B. No. 673 was passed by the Senate, with
148	148	amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
149	149	0.
150	150	______________________________
151	151	Secretary of the Senate
152	152	APPROVED: __________________
153	153	Date
154	154	__________________
155	155	Governor