By: Schaefer H.B. No. 2309
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reporting requirements for abortions performed at an
abortion facility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 245.011, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 245.011. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; ADMINISTRATIVE AND
CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) Each abortion facility must submit a annual
monthly report to the department on each abortion that is performed
at the abortion facility. The report must be submitted on a form
provided by the department. The monthly report is due on the 15th
day of the following month.
(b) The report may not identify by any means the physician
performing the abortion or the patient.
(c) The report must include:
(1) whether the abortion facility at which the
abortion is performed is licensed under this chapter;
(2) the patient's year of birth, race, marital status,
and state and county of residence;
(3) the type of abortion procedure;
(4) the date the abortion was performed;
(5) whether the patient survived the abortion, and if
the patient did not survive, the cause of death;
(6) the period of gestation based on the best medical
judgment of the attending physician at the time of the procedure;
(7) the date, if known, of the patient's last menstrual
cycle;
(8) the number of previous live births of the patient;
and
(9) the number of previous induced abortions of the
patient.
(d) Except as provided by Section 245.023, all information
and records held by the department under this chapter are
confidential and are not open records for the purposes of Chapter
552, Government Code. That information may not be released or made
public on subpoena or otherwise, except that release may be made:
(1) for statistical purposes, but only if a person,
patient, or abortion facility is not identified;
(2) with the consent of each person, patient, and
abortion facility identified in the information released;
(3) to medical personnel, appropriate state agencies,
or county and district courts to enforce this chapter; or
(4) to appropriate state licensing boards to enforce
state licensing laws.
(e) A person commits an offense if the person violates this
section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
(f) The commissioner of state health services may assess an
administrative penalty against a facility who fails to submit the
report required by Section 245.011 in the time specified under that
section. The amount of the penalty is $1,000 for the first 30-day
period or portion of a 30-day period the report remains overdue,
$2,500 for the second 30-day period, and $5,000 for each 30-day
period thereafter.
(g) The commissioner of state health services shall revoke
the license of a facility that fails to file the report required by
Section 245.011 six months after the date the report was due.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.