84R7574 JSC-D
By: Farrar H.B. No. 3966
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of limited service pregnancy centers;
providing civil penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle H, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 172 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 172. LIMITED SERVICE PREGNANCY CENTERS
Sec. 172.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(2) "Comprehensive birth control services" means all
drugs and medical devices that have been approved by the United
States Food and Drug Administration for birth control.
(3) "Limited service pregnancy center" means an
organization, including a pregnancy counseling organization,
crisis pregnancy center, pregnancy care center, or pregnancy
support center, that for a fee or free of charge provides pregnancy
counseling or information but does not perform abortions or make
referrals to an abortion provider, does not provide or make
referrals for comprehensive birth control services, and is not
licensed or certified by this state or the federal government to
provide medical or health care services. The term does not include a
licensed health care provider, hospital, or family planning clinic
that performs abortions, provides contraception, or provides
abortion or contraception referrals.
(4) "Medically inaccurate information" means
information not supported by the weight of peer-reviewed research
conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and
recognized as accurate by leading professional organizations and
agencies with relevant expertise in the field.
Sec. 172.002. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. (a) A limited service
pregnancy center in this state shall submit to the commission and
the appropriate local health authority a monthly report that
contains:
(1) the number of women who received services at the
center;
(2) the average cost incurred by the center in
providing the services to each woman;
(3) a list of the services provided at the center;
(4) the credentials of each person providing each type
of service; and
(5) de-identified statistics on:
(A) the number of pregnancy tests performed and
number of pregnancy tests with a positive result; and
(B) the number of tests performed for sexually
transmitted infections and the number of positive test results and
for which diseases.
(b) The commission shall publish the reported information
on the commission's Internet website. If the commission contracts
with an organization for the distribution of state funding to
limited service pregnancy centers, that organization must publish
the reported information on the organization's Internet website.
Sec. 172.003. FALSE OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS PROHIBITED. A
limited service pregnancy center may not make false or misleading
statements, including:
(1) providing medically inaccurate information; and
(2) misrepresenting the services provided at the
center or the qualifications of center staff.
Sec. 172.004. VIOLATION; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A limited
service pregnancy center that violates this chapter is liable to
the state for a civil penalty of not less than $50 but not more than
$500 for each violation. Each day a continuing violation occurs
constitutes a separate violation.
(b) The attorney general, the district or county attorney
for the county, or the municipal attorney of the municipality in
which the violation is alleged to have occurred may bring an action
to recover a civil penalty under this section or to enjoin
violations of this chapter.
(c) Before a suit may be brought for a violation of this
chapter, the attorney general, the district or county attorney for
the county, or the municipal attorney of the municipality in which
the violation is alleged to have occurred shall provide to the
limited service pregnancy center notice that:
(1) describes the violation;
(2) states the amount of the proposed penalty for the
violation; and
(3) gives 10 days from the receipt of the notice to
cure the violation to avoid the penalty.
Sec. 172.005. STATE FUNDING PROHIBITED. The commission, or
an organization distributing state funds under contract with the
commission, may not grant or distribute state funding to a limited
service pregnancy center that violates this chapter.
SECTION 2. A limited service pregnancy center is not
required to submit a report required by Section 172.002, Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act, before January 1, 2016.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.