81R11876 ALB-F
By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 1724
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the promotion of breast-feeding and the prohibition
against interference with or restriction of the right to
breast-feed; providing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 165.001 and 165.002, Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 165.001. LEGISLATIVE FINDING. The legislature finds
that breast-feeding a baby is an important and basic act of nurture
that must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child
health and family values. In compliance with the breast-feeding
promotion program established under the federal Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. Section 1771 et seq.), the legislature
recognizes breast-feeding as the best method of infant nutrition.
The legislature intends that all persons be informed of the rights
of a breast-feeding mother and child and be prohibited from
interfering with those rights.
Sec. 165.002. RIGHT TO BREAST-FEED. (a) A mother is
entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location in which the mother
is otherwise authorized to be. A mother's authority to be in a
location may not be revoked for the sole reason that she begins to
breast-feed.
(b) A person may not interfere with or restrict the right of
a mother to breast-feed in accordance with this section.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 165, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 165.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 165.005. STATE AGENCY "MOTHER-FRIENDLY" WORKSITE. To
the extent reasonably practicable, each state agency shall develop
a policy supporting the practice of worksite breast-feeding under
Section 165.003.
SECTION 3. Chapter 165, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. NOTIFICATION AND PENALTY
Sec. 165.101. NOTIFICATION BY COMPTROLLER. (a) The
comptroller at least annually shall include in the comptroller's
tax policy e-newsletter notification of the right of a mother to
breast-feed and the prohibition against interference with or
restriction of that right as provided by Section 165.002.
(b) The comptroller shall make the notice required by
Subsection (a) available at each taxpayer seminar offered by the
office of the comptroller.
(c) The comptroller may also provide the notification
required by this section with any other notice or document mailed to
an entity described by this section.
Sec. 165.102. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) The district or county
attorney for the county in which a violation of Section 165.002 is
alleged to have occurred may issue a letter to the person alleged to
have violated that section. The letter must advise the person of
the requirements of Section 165.002 and state that the person may be
liable for a civil penalty under this section for a subsequent
violation.
(b) A person who violates Section 165.002 after receiving a
warning letter under Subsection (a) is liable to the state for a
civil penalty of $250 for each violation that occurs after the
letter is received.
(c) The district or county attorney for the county in which
a violation of this section is alleged to have occurred, or the
attorney general, if requested by the district or county attorney
for that county, may file suit for the collection of the penalty.
(d) A civil penalty recovered under this section shall be
deposited:
(1) in the state treasury if the attorney general
brings the suit; or
(2) in the general fund of the county in which the
violation occurred if a district or county attorney brings the
suit.
Sec. 165.103. PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION. (a) An interested
person alleging that a violation of Section 165.002 occurred may
send a certified letter described by Section 165.102(a) to the
person alleged to have violated that section if:
(1) the district or county attorney for the county in
which the violation is alleged to have occurred did not send a
letter authorized by Section 165.102; and
(2) at least 60 days have passed since the date the
district or county attorney was notified of the alleged violation.
(b) A person who violates Section 165.002 after receiving a
warning letter under Subsection (a) is liable to the interested
person who sent the letter for civil damages of $250 for each
violation that occurs after the letter is received.
(c) In this section, "interested person" means a parent,
foster parent, or other person related by blood or marriage to a
child who was breast-feeding at the time the mother's rights were
alleged to have been violated.
SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, but not later than September 1, 2010, the comptroller
shall provide the notification required by Section 165.101, Health
and Safety Code, as added by this Act, to each business entity with
which the comptroller communicates in existence on the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.