By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 3239
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the testing of certain inmates for all types of
Hepatitis.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 501.0541, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 501.0541to read as follows:
Sec. 501.0541. HEPATITIS EDUCATION; TESTING. (a) The
department, in consultation with the Texas Department of Health,
shall establish education programs to educate inmates and employees
of the department about Hepatitis. In establishing the programs
for inmates, the department shall design a program that deals with
issues related to Hepatitis that are relevant to inmates while
confined and a program that deals with issues related to Hepatitis
that will be relevant to inmates after the inmates are released.
The department shall design the programs to take into account
relevant cultural and other differences among inmates. The
department shall require each inmate in a facility operated by the
department to participate in education programs established under
this subsection.
(c) The department shall require each employee of the
department to participate in programs established under this
section at least once during each calendar year.
(d) The department shall ensure that education programs for
employees include information and training relating to infection
control procedures. The department shall also ensure that
employees have infection control supplies and equipment readily
available.
(e) The department, in consultation with the Texas
Department of Health, shall periodically revise education programs
established under this section so that the programs reflect the
latest medical information available on Hepatitis.
(f) The department shall adopt a policy for handling persons
with Hepatitis who are in the custody of the department or under the
department's supervision.
(g) The department shall maintain the confidentiality of
test results of an inmate indicating Hepatitis at all times,
including after the inmate's discharge, release from a state jail,
or release on parole or mandatory supervision. The department may
not honor the request of an agency of the state or any person who
requests a test result as a condition of housing or supervising the
inmate while the inmate is on community supervision or parole or
mandatory supervision, unless honoring the request would improve
the ability of the inmate to obtain essential health and social
services.
(h) The department shall report to the legislature not later
than January 15 of each odd-numbered year concerning the
implementation of this section and the participation of inmates and
employees of the department in education programs established under
this section.
(i) The department may test an inmate confined in a facility
operated by the correctional institutions division for Hepatitis at
any time, but must test:
(1) during the diagnostic process, an inmate for whom
the department does not have a record of a positive test result; and
(2) an inmate who is eligible for release before the
inmate is released from the division.
(j) If the department determines that an inmate has a
positive test result, the department may segregate the inmate from
other inmates. The department shall report the results of a
positive test to the Department of State Health Services for the
purposes of notification and reporting.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.