Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2421 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R8802 YDB-F
2	2	By: Deuell S.B. No. 2421
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the confidentiality of newborn screening information.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Health and Safety
10	10	Code, is amended by adding Section 33.017 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 33.017. CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) Reports, records, and
12	12	information obtained or developed by the department under this
13	13	chapter are confidential and are not subject to disclosure under
14	14	Chapter 552, Government Code, are not subject to subpoena, and may
15	15	not otherwise be released or made public except as provided by this
16	16	section.
17	17	(b) Notwithstanding other law, reports, records, and
18	18	information obtained or developed by the department under this
19	19	chapter may be disclosed:
20	20	(1) for purposes of diagnosis or follow-up authorized
21	21	under Section 33.014;
22	22	(2) with the consent of each identified individual or
23	23	an individual authorized to consent on behalf of an identified
24	24	child;
25	25	(3) as authorized by court order;
26	26	(4) to a medical examiner authorized to conduct an
27	27	autopsy on a child or an inquest on the death of a child; or
28	28	(5) to public health programs of the department for
29	29	public health research purposes provided that the disclosure is
30	30	approved by an institutional review board or privacy board of the
31	31	department as authorized by the federal privacy requirements
32	32	adopted under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
33	33	Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-191) contained in 45 C.F.R. Part 160
34	34	and 45 C.F.R. Part 164, Subparts A and E.
35	35	(c) Notwithstanding other law, reports, records, and
36	36	information that do not identify a child or the family of a child
37	37	may be released without consent if the disclosure is for:
38	38	(1) statistical purposes;
39	39	(2) purposes related to obtaining or maintaining
40	40	certification, approval, or quality assurance for the department's
41	41	laboratory or a public or private laboratory to perform newborn
42	42	screening tests;
43	43	(3) purposes relating to review, quality assurance, or
44	44	improvement of the department's newborn screening under this
45	45	subchapter or the department's newborn screening program services
46	46	under Subchapter C;
47	47	(4) research purposes, provided that the disclosure is
48	48	approved by an institutional review board or privacy board of the
49	49	department; or
50	50	(5) quality assurance related to equipment and
51	51	supplies, provided that:
52	52	(A) the assessment is performed by a person who
53	53	is not a laboratory;
54	54	(B) only newborn screening specimens are
55	55	disclosed; and
56	56	(C) the disclosure is approved by an
57	57	institutional review board or privacy board of the department.
58	58	(d) A state officer or employee, a department contractor, or
59	59	a department contractor's employee, officer, director, or
60	60	subcontractor may not be examined in a civil, criminal, special, or
61	61	other judicial or administrative proceeding as to the existence or
62	62	contents of records, reports, or information made confidential by
63	63	this section unless disclosure is authorized by this section.
64	64	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
65	65	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
66	66	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
67	67	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
68	68	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.