Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1901 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	84R7136 AJZ-F
2	2	By: Campbell S.B. No. 1901
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to emergency response employees or volunteers and others
8	8	exposed or potentially exposed to certain diseases or parasites.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 18.22(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) A person who is arrested for a misdemeanor or felony and
13	13	who during the commission of that offense or an arrest following the
14	14	commission of that offense causes an emergency response employee or
15	15	volunteer, as defined by Section 81.003, Health and Safety Code, [a
16	16	peace officer] to come into contact with the person's bodily fluids
17	17	shall, at the direction of the court having jurisdiction over the
18	18	arrested person, undergo a medical procedure or test designed to
19	19	show or help show whether the person has a communicable disease.
20	20	The court may direct the person to undergo the procedure or test on
21	21	its own motion or on the request of the emergency response employee
22	22	or volunteer [peace officer]. If the person refuses to submit
23	23	voluntarily to the procedure or test, the court shall require the
24	24	person to submit to the procedure or test. Notwithstanding any
25	25	other law, the person performing the procedure or test shall make
26	26	the test results available to the local health authority and the
27	27	designated infection control officer of the affected emergency
28	28	response employee or volunteer, and the local health authority or
29	29	the designated infection control officer of the affected employee
30	30	or volunteer shall notify the emergency response employee or
31	31	volunteer [peace officer] of the test result. The state may not use
32	32	the fact that a medical procedure or test was performed on a person
33	33	under this article, or use the results of the procedure or test, in
34	34	any criminal proceeding arising out of the alleged offense.
35	35	SECTION 2. Section 607.102, Government Code, is amended to
36	36	read as follows:
37	37	Sec. 607.102. NOTIFICATION. An [A firefighter or]
38	38	emergency response employee or volunteer, as defined by Section
39	39	81.003, Health and Safety Code, [medical technician] who is exposed
40	40	to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or a disease caused
41	41	by a select agent or toxin identified or listed under 42 C.F.R.
42	42	Section 73.3 is entitled to receive notification of the exposure in
43	43	the manner prescribed by Section 81.048, Health and Safety Code.
44	44	SECTION 3. Section 81.003, Health and Safety Code, is
45	45	amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a), (1-b), and (1-c) to read as
46	46	follows:
47	47	(1-a) "Emergency response employee or volunteer"
48	48	means an individual acting in the course and scope of employment or
49	49	service as a volunteer as emergency medical service personnel, a
50	50	peace officer, a detention officer, a county jailer, or a fire
51	51	fighter.
52	52	(1-b) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
53	53	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
54	54	(1-c) "Designated infection control officer" means
55	55	the person serving as an entity's designated infection control
56	56	officer under Section 81.012.
57	57	SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 81, Health and Safety
58	58	Code, is amended by adding Sections 81.012 and 81.013 to read as
59	59	follows:
60	60	Sec. 81.012. DESIGNATED INFECTION CONTROL OFFICER. (a) An
61	61	entity that employs or uses the services of an emergency response
62	62	employee or volunteer shall nominate a designated infection control
63	63	officer and an alternate designated infection control officer to:
64	64	(1) receive notification of a potential exposure to an
65	65	infectious disease from a health care facility;
66	66	(2) notify the appropriate health care providers of a
67	67	potential exposure to an infectious disease;
68	68	(3) act as a liaison between the entity's emergency
69	69	response employees or volunteers who may have been exposed to a
70	70	reportable disease during the course and scope of employment or
71	71	service as a volunteer;
72	72	(4) investigate and evaluate an exposure incident,
73	73	using current evidence-based information on the possible risks of
74	74	communicable disease presented by the exposure incident; and
75	75	(5) monitor all follow-up treatment provided to the
76	76	affected emergency response employee or volunteer, in accordance
77	77	with applicable federal, state, and local law.
78	78	(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules for the
79	79	department to approve the designated infection control officer and
80	80	alternate designated infection control officer nominated under
81	81	Subsection (a).
82	82	Sec. 81.013. CONSIDERATION OF FEDERAL LAW AND REGULATIONS.
83	83	The executive commissioner shall review the Ryan White HIV/AIDS
84	84	Treatment Extension Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-87) or any
85	85	successor law and any regulations adopted under the law and
86	86	determine whether adopting by rule any part of the federal law or
87	87	regulations is in the best interest of the state to further achieve
88	88	the purposes of this chapter. If the executive commissioner
89	89	determines that adopting the federal law or regulations is in the
90	90	best interest of the state to further achieve the purposes of this
91	91	chapter, the executive commissioner may by rule adopt all or a part
92	92	of the federal law or regulations.
93	93	SECTION 5. Section 81.046(c), Health and Safety Code, is
94	94	amended to read as follows:
95	95	(c) Medical or epidemiological information may be released:
96	96	(1) for statistical purposes if released in a manner
97	97	that prevents the identification of any person;
98	98	(2) with the consent of each person identified in the
99	99	information;
100	100	(3) to medical personnel treating the individual,
101	101	appropriate state agencies in this state or another state, a health
102	102	authority or local health department in this state or another
103	103	state, or federal, county, or district courts to comply with this
104	104	chapter and related rules relating to the control and treatment of
105	105	communicable diseases and health conditions or under another state
106	106	or federal law that expressly authorizes the disclosure of this
107	107	information;
108	108	(4) to appropriate federal agencies, such as the
109	109	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States
110	110	Public Health Service, but the information must be limited to the
111	111	name, address, sex, race, and occupation of the patient, the date of
112	112	disease onset, the probable source of infection, and other
113	113	requested information relating to the case or suspected case of a
114	114	communicable disease or health condition; [or]
115	115	(5) to medical personnel to the extent necessary in a
116	116	medical emergency to protect the health or life of the person
117	117	identified in the information; or
118	118	(6) to a designated infection control officer.
119	119	SECTION 6. The heading to Section 81.048, Health and Safety
120	120	Code, is amended to read as follows:
121	121	Sec. 81.048. NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE EMPLOYEE OR
122	122	VOLUNTEER [PERSONNEL, PEACE OFFICERS, DETENTION OFFICERS, COUNTY
123	123	JAILERS, AND FIRE FIGHTERS].
124	124	SECTION 7. Sections 81.048(b), (c), and (g), Health and
125	125	Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
126	126	(b) Notice of a positive test result for a reportable
127	127	disease designated under Subsection (a) shall be given to an
128	128	emergency response employee or volunteer [medical service
129	129	personnel, peace officer, detention officer, county jailer, or fire
130	130	fighter] as provided by this section if:
131	131	(1) the emergency response employee or volunteer
132	132	[medical service personnel, peace officer, detention officer,
133	133	county jailer, or fire fighter] delivered a person to a hospital as
134	134	defined by Section 74.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code;
135	135	(2) the hospital has knowledge that the person has a
136	136	reportable disease and has medical reason to believe that the
137	137	person had the disease when the person was admitted to the hospital;
138	138	and
139	139	(3) the emergency response employee or volunteer
140	140	[medical service personnel, peace officer, detention officer,
141	141	county jailer, or fire fighter] was exposed to the reportable
142	142	disease during the course and scope of the person's employment or
143	143	service as a volunteer [of duty].
144	144	(c) Notice of the possible exposure shall be given:
145	145	(1) by the hospital to the local health authority;
146	146	(2) by the hospital to the designated infection
147	147	control officer of [local health authority to the director of the
148	148	appropriate department of] the entity that employs or uses the
149	149	services of the affected emergency response employee or volunteer
150	150	[emergency medical service personnel, peace officer, detention
151	151	officer, county jailer, or fire fighter]; and
152	152	(3) by the local health authority or the designated
153	153	infection control officer of the entity that employs or uses the
154	154	services of the affected emergency response employee or volunteer
155	155	[director] to the employee or volunteer affected.
156	156	(g) A hospital that gives notice of a possible exposure
157	157	under Subsection (c) or a local health authority or designated
158	158	infection control officer that receives notice of a possible
159	159	exposure under Subsection (c) may give notice of the possible
160	160	exposure to a person other than the affected emergency response
161	161	employee or volunteer [emergency medical personnel, a peace
162	162	officer, a detention officer, a county jailer, or a fire fighter] if
163	163	the person demonstrates that the person was exposed to the
164	164	reportable disease while providing emergency care. The executive
165	165	commissioner [of the Health and Human Services Commission] shall
166	166	adopt rules to implement this subsection.
167	167	SECTION 8. Sections 81.050(b) and (h), Health and Safety
168	168	Code, are amended to read as follows:
169	169	(b) A person whose occupation or whose volunteer service is
170	170	included in one or more of the following categories may request the
171	171	department or a health authority to order testing of another person
172	172	who may have exposed the person to a reportable disease, including
173	173	HIV infection:
174	174	(1) a law enforcement officer;
175	175	(2) a fire fighter;
176	176	(3) an emergency medical service employee or
177	177	paramedic;
178	178	(4) a correctional officer;
179	179	(5) an employee, contractor, or volunteer, other than
180	180	a correctional officer, who performs a service in a correctional
181	181	facility as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, or a secure
182	182	correctional facility or secure detention facility as defined by
183	183	Section 51.02, Family Code; [or]
184	184	(6) an employee of a juvenile probation department; or
185	185	(7) any other emergency response employee or
186	186	volunteer.
187	187	(h) The department or the department's designee shall
188	188	inform the person who requested the order and the designated
189	189	infection control officer of the person who requested the order, if
190	190	that person is an emergency response employee or volunteer, of the
191	191	results of the test. If the person subject to the order is found to
192	192	have a reportable disease, the department or the department's
193	193	designee shall inform that person and the person who requested the
194	194	order of the need for medical follow-up and counseling services.
195	195	The department or the department's designee shall develop protocols
196	196	for coding test specimens to ensure that any identifying
197	197	information concerning the person tested will be destroyed as soon
198	198	as the testing is complete.
199	199	SECTION 9. Sections 81.095(a) and (b), Health and Safety
200	200	Code, are amended to read as follows:
201	201	(a) In a case of accidental exposure of a health care worker
202	202	to blood or other body fluids of a patient in a licensed hospital,
203	203	the hospital, following a report of the exposure incident, shall
204	204	take reasonable steps to test the patient for hepatitis B, [or]
205	205	hepatitis C, HIV, or any reportable disease or parasite.
206	206	(b) This subsection applies only in a case of accidental
207	207	exposure of certified emergency medical services personnel, an
208	208	emergency response employee or volunteer [a firefighter, a peace
209	209	officer], or a first responder who renders assistance at the scene
210	210	of an emergency or during transport to the hospital to blood or
211	211	other body fluids of a patient who is transported to a licensed
212	212	hospital. The hospital receiving the patient, following a report
213	213	of the exposure incident, shall take reasonable steps to test the
214	214	patient for hepatitis B, [or] hepatitis C, HIV, or any reportable
215	215	disease or parasite if the report shows there is significant risk to
216	216	the person exposed. The organization that employs the person or for
217	217	which the person works as a volunteer in connection with rendering
218	218	the assistance is responsible for paying the costs of the test. The
219	219	hospital shall provide the test results to the department or to the
220	220	local health authority and to the designated infection control
221	221	officer of the entity employing or using the services of an affected
222	222	emergency response employee or volunteer, which are responsible for
223	223	following the procedures prescribed by Section 81.050(h) to inform
224	224	the person exposed and, if applicable, the patient regarding the
225	225	test results. The hospital shall follow applicable reporting
226	226	requirements prescribed by Subchapter C. This subsection does not
227	227	impose a duty on a hospital to provide any further testing,
228	228	treatment, or services or to perform further procedures.
229	229	SECTION 10. Sections 81.0955(a) and (b), Health and Safety
230	230	Code, are amended to read as follows:
231	231	(a) This section applies only to the accidental exposure to
232	232	the blood or other body fluids of a person who dies at the scene of
233	233	an emergency or during transport to the hospital involving an
234	234	emergency response employee or volunteer [certified emergency
235	235	medical services personnel, a firefighter, a peace officer,] or
236	236	another [a] first responder who renders assistance at the scene of
237	237	an emergency or during transport of a person to the hospital.
238	238	(b) A hospital, certified emergency medical services
239	239	personnel, justice of the peace, medical examiner, or a physician
240	240	on behalf of the person exposed, following a report of the exposure
241	241	incident, shall take reasonable steps to have [test] the deceased
242	242	person tested for communicable diseases. The hospital, certified
243	243	emergency medical services personnel, justice of the peace, medical
244	244	examiner, or physician shall provide the test results to the
245	245	department or to the local health authority and to the designated
246	246	infection control officer of an affected emergency response
247	247	employee or volunteer responsible for following the procedures
248	248	prescribed by Section 81.050(h) to inform the person exposed. If
249	249	[and, if] applicable, the department or the local health authority
250	250	shall inform the next of kin of the deceased person regarding the
251	251	test results. The hospital, certified emergency medical services
252	252	personnel, or physician shall follow applicable reporting
253	253	requirements prescribed by Subchapter C. This subsection does not
254	254	impose a duty on a hospital, certified emergency medical services
255	255	personnel, medical examiner, or a physician to provide any further
256	256	testing, treatment, or services or to perform further procedures.
257	257	This subsection does not impose a duty on a justice of the peace to
258	258	order that further testing, treatment, or services be provided or
259	259	further procedures be performed. The executive commissioner [of the
260	260	Health and Human Services Commission] shall adopt rules to
261	261	implement this subsection.
262	262	SECTION 11. Section 81.102(c), Health and Safety Code, is
263	263	amended to read as follows:
264	264	(c) Protocols adopted under Subsection (a)(5)(D)
265	265	[(a)(4)(D)] must clearly establish procedural guidelines with
266	266	criteria for testing that respect the rights of the person with the
267	267	infection and the person who may be exposed to that infection. The
268	268	protocols may not require the person who may have been exposed to be
269	269	tested and must ensure the confidentiality of the person with the
270	270	infection in accordance with this chapter.
271	271	SECTION 12. Section 81.103(b), Health and Safety Code, is
272	272	amended to read as follows:
273	273	(b) A test result may be released to:
274	274	(1) the department under this chapter;
275	275	(2) a local health authority if reporting is required
276	276	under this chapter;
277	277	(3) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of
278	278	the United States Public Health Service if reporting is required by
279	279	federal law or regulation;
280	280	(4) the physician or other person authorized by law
281	281	who ordered the test;
282	282	(5) a physician, nurse, or other health care personnel
283	283	who have a legitimate need to know the test result in order to
284	284	provide for their protection and to provide for the patient's
285	285	health and welfare;
286	286	(6) the person tested or a person legally authorized
287	287	to consent to the test on the person's behalf;
288	288	(7) the spouse of the person tested if the person tests
289	289	positive for AIDS or HIV infection, antibodies to HIV, or infection
290	290	with any other probable causative agent of AIDS;
291	291	(8) a person authorized to receive test results under
292	292	Article 21.31, Code of Criminal Procedure, concerning a person who
293	293	is tested as required or authorized under that article;
294	294	(9) a person exposed to HIV infection as provided by
295	295	Section 81.050; [and]
296	296	(10) a county or district court to comply with this
297	297	chapter or rules relating to the control and treatment of
298	298	communicable diseases and health conditions; and
299	299	(11) a designated infection control officer of an
300	300	affected emergency response employee or volunteer.
301	301	SECTION 13. Section 81.107(a), Health and Safety Code, is
302	302	amended to read as follows:
303	303	(a) In a case of accidental exposure to blood or other body
304	304	fluids under Section 81.102(a)(5)(D) [81.102(a)(4)(D)], the health
305	305	care agency or facility may test a person who may have exposed the
306	306	health care worker or other emergency response employee or
307	307	volunteer to HIV without the person's specific consent to the test.
308	308	SECTION 14. Not later than December 1, 2015, the executive
309	309	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
310	310	adopt the rules required by Section 81.012, Health and Safety Code,
311	311	as added by this Act.
312	312	SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.