Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB29 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R2099 LED-F
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 29
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the immunization data included in and excluded from the
8	8	immunization registry.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 161.007(a), (a-2), (b), (b-1), (c), and
11	11	(d), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) The department, for the primary purpose of establishing
13	13	and maintaining a single repository of accurate, complete, and
14	14	current immunization records to be used in aiding, coordinating,
15	15	and promoting efficient and cost-effective communicable disease
16	16	prevention and control efforts, shall establish and maintain an
17	17	immunization registry. The executive commissioner of the Health
18	18	and Human Services Commission by rule shall develop guidelines to:
19	19	(1) protect the confidentiality of patients in
20	20	accordance with Section 159.002, Occupations Code;
21	21	(2) inform the individual or the individual's legally
22	22	authorized representative about the registry and that registry
23	23	information may be released under Section 161.00735; and
24	24	(3) [require the written or electronic consent of the
25	25	individual or the individual's legally authorized representative
26	26	before any information relating to the individual is included in
27	27	the registry;
28	28	[(4)] permit the individual or the individual's
29	29	legally authorized representative to request that the individual's
30	30	information be removed from [withdraw consent for the individual to
31	31	be included in] the registry[; and
32	32	[(5) determine the process by which consent is
33	33	verified, including affirmation by a health care provider, birth
34	34	registrar, regional health information exchange, or local
35	35	immunization registry that consent has been obtained].
36	36	(a-2) An individual's legally authorized representative or
37	37	the individual, after the individual has attained 18 years of age,
38	38	may submit a request [consent] in writing or electronically for the
39	39	individual's information to be removed from [remain in] the
40	40	registry [after the individual's 18th birthday and for the
41	41	individual's subsequent immunizations to be included in the
42	42	registry. The written or electronic consent of the minor's legally
43	43	authorized representative as described by Section 161.0001(1-c)(A)
44	44	must be submitted to the department before the individual's 18th
45	45	birthday. The written or electronic consent of the individual or
46	46	the individual's legally authorized representative as described by
47	47	Section 161.0001(1-c)(B) or (C) must be submitted to the department
48	48	not later than the individual's 19th birthday. The consent of the
49	49	representative or individual is valid until the individual or the
50	50	individual's legally authorized representative withdraws consent
51	51	in writing or electronically. The department may not include in the
52	52	registry the immunization information of an individual who is 18
53	53	years of age or older until written or electronic consent has been
54	54	obtained as provided by this subsection]. The department shall
55	55	coordinate with the Texas Education Agency to distribute materials
56	56	described in Section 161.0095(a)(2) to students and parents through
57	57	local school districts.
58	58	(b) Except as provided by Section 161.0071, the
59	59	immunization registry must contain information on the immunization
60	60	history that is obtained by the department under:
61	61	(1) this section of each individual for whom
62	62	immunization information [consent] has been obtained, unless the
63	63	individual or the individual's legally authorized representative
64	64	has requested that the individual's information be removed from the
65	65	registry in accordance with guidelines adopted under Subsection (a)
66	66	[or (a-3), as applicable];
67	67	(2) Section 161.00705 of persons immunized to prepare
68	68	for or in response to a declared disaster, public health emergency,
69	69	terrorist attack, hostile military or paramilitary action, or
70	70	extraordinary law enforcement emergency;
71	71	(3) Section 161.00706 of first responders or their
72	72	immediate family members; and
73	73	(4) Section 161.00735 of persons evacuated or
74	74	relocated to this state because of a disaster.
75	75	(b-1) The department shall remove from the registry
76	76	information for any individual for whom [consent has been
77	77	withdrawn. The department may not retain individually identifiable
78	78	information about any individual:
79	79	[(1) for whom consent has been withdrawn;
80	80	[(2) for whom a consent for continued inclusion in the
81	81	registry following the end of the declared disaster, public health
82	82	emergency, terrorist attack, hostile military or paramilitary
83	83	action, or extraordinary law enforcement emergency has not been
84	84	received under Section 161.00705(f);
85	85	[(3) for whom a request to be removed from the registry
86	86	has been received under Section 161.00706(e);
87	87	[(4) for whom consent for continued inclusion in the
88	88	registry following the end of a disaster has not been received under
89	89	Section 161.00735(f); or
90	90	[(5) for whom] a request to remove information from
91	91	the registry has been received under this subchapter [Section
92	92	161.00735(g)].
93	93	(c) A payor that receives data elements from a health care
94	94	provider who administers an immunization to an individual younger
95	95	than 18 years of age shall provide the data elements to the
96	96	department. A payor is required to provide the department with only
97	97	the data elements the payor receives from a health care provider. A
98	98	payor that receives data elements from a health care provider who
99	99	administers an immunization to an individual 18 years of age or
100	100	older may provide the data elements to the department. The data
101	101	elements shall be submitted in a format prescribed by the
102	102	department. [The department shall verify consent before including
103	103	the reported information in the immunization registry. The
104	104	department may not retain individually identifiable information
105	105	about an individual for whom consent cannot be verified.]
106	106	(d) A health care provider who administers an immunization
107	107	to an individual younger than 18 years of age shall provide data
108	108	elements regarding an immunization to the department. A health
109	109	care provider who administers an immunization to an individual 18
110	110	years of age or older may submit data elements regarding an
111	111	immunization to the department. The data elements shall be
112	112	submitted in a format prescribed by the department. [The
113	113	department shall verify consent before including the information in
114	114	the immunization registry. The department may not retain
115	115	individually identifiable information about an individual for whom
116	116	consent cannot be verified.]
117	117	SECTION 2. Section 161.00705(f), Health and Safety Code, is
118	118	amended to read as follows:
119	119	(f) Unless an individual or the individual's legally
120	120	authorized representative requests [consents] in writing or
121	121	electronically that [to continued inclusion of] the individual's
122	122	information be removed from [in] the registry, the department shall
123	123	include [remove] the immunization records collected under this
124	124	section in [from] the registry [on expiration of the period
125	125	prescribed under Subsection (e)].
126	126	SECTION 3. Sections 161.0071(a) and (b), Health and Safety
127	127	Code, are amended to read as follows:
128	128	(a) The first time the department receives registry data for
129	129	an individual [for whom the department has received consent] to be
130	130	included in the registry, the department shall send notice to the
131	131	individual or the individual's legally authorized representative
132	132	disclosing:
133	133	(1) that providers and payors may be sending the
134	134	individual's immunization information to the department;
135	135	(2) the information that is included in the registry;
136	136	(3) the persons to whom the information may be
137	137	released under Sections 161.00735(b) and 161.008(d);
138	138	(4) the purpose and use of the registry;
139	139	(5) the procedure to exclude an individual from the
140	140	registry; and
141	141	(6) the procedure to report a violation if an
142	142	individual's information is included in the registry after
143	143	exclusion has been requested [or consent has been withdrawn].
144	144	(b) The [On discovering that consent to be included in the
145	145	registry has not been granted or has been withdrawn, the]
146	146	department shall exclude [the individual's immunization records]
147	147	from the registry and any other registry-related department record
148	148	that individually identifies the individual the immunization
149	149	record of any individual from whom a request for exclusion has been
150	150	received by the department.
151	151	SECTION 4. Sections 161.00735(c), (g), and (h), Health and
152	152	Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
153	153	(c) The department may receive immunization information
154	154	from a health authority of another state or from a local health
155	155	authority in another state if the department determines that
156	156	residents of that state have evacuated or relocated to this state in
157	157	response to a disaster. The department shall include information
158	158	received under this subsection in the registry. [Notwithstanding
159	159	Section 161.007, the department is not required to obtain written
160	160	consent for the inclusion in the registry of information received
161	161	under this subsection.]
162	162	(g) If an individual or, if a child, the child's parent,
163	163	managing conservator, or guardian requests in writing or
164	164	electronically that the individual's or child's information
165	165	obtained under Subsection (c) be removed from the registry, the
166	166	department shall remove that information from the registry.
167	167	(h) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
168	168	Services Commission shall make every effort to enter into a
169	169	memorandum of agreement with each state to which residents of this
170	170	state are likely to evacuate in a disaster on:
171	171	(1) the release to and use by [of registry information
172	172	under this section to] the appropriate health authority or local
173	173	health authority of that state of registry information under this
174	174	section[, including the length of time the information may be
175	175	retained by that state]; and
176	176	(2) the receipt and use of information submitted by
177	177	the health authority or local health authority of that state for
178	178	inclusion in the registry under this section.
179	179	SECTION 5. Section 161.008(c), Health and Safety Code, is
180	180	amended to read as follows:
181	181	(c) The department may obtain the data constituting an
182	182	immunization record for an individual from a public health
183	183	district, a local health department, the individual or the
184	184	individual's legally authorized representative, a physician to the
185	185	individual, a payor, or any health care provider licensed or
186	186	otherwise authorized to administer vaccines. [The department shall
187	187	verify consent before including the reported information in the
188	188	immunization registry. The department may not retain individually
189	189	identifiable information about an individual for whom consent
190	190	cannot be verified.]
191	191	SECTION 6. Section 161.0095(a), Health and Safety Code, is
192	192	amended to read as follows:
193	193	(a) The department shall develop:
194	194	(1) continuing education programs for health care
195	195	providers relating to immunizations and the vaccines for children
196	196	program operated by the department under authority of 42 U.S.C.
197	197	Section 1396s; and
198	198	(2) educational information, for health care
199	199	providers, health care clinics, hospitals, and any other health
200	200	care facility that provides health care to children 14 to 18 years
201	201	of age, relating to the immunization registry and the option for an
202	202	individual or the individual's legally authorized representative
203	203	to request removal [who is 18 years of age or older to consent to
204	204	submission and retention] of the individual's information from [in]
205	205	the immunization registry.
206	206	SECTION 7. Section 161.0107(c), Health and Safety Code, is
207	207	amended to read as follows:
208	208	(c) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
209	209	Services Commission by rule shall specify:
210	210	(1) the fields necessary to populate the immunization
211	211	registry[, including a field that indicates the patient's consent
212	212	to be listed in the immunization registry has been obtained]; and
213	213	(2) the data standards that must be used for
214	214	electronic submission of immunization information.
215	215	SECTION 8. The following provisions of the Health and
216	216	Safety Code are repealed:
217	217	(1) Sections 161.007(a-1), (a-3), and (e);
218	218	(2) Sections 161.00705(e) and (h); and
219	219	(3) Sections 161.00735(e) and (f).
220	220	SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Subchapter
221	221	A, Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, apply only to immunization
222	222	information received by the Department of State Health Services on
223	223	or after the effective date of this Act. The information received
224	224	by the department before the effective date of this Act is covered
225	225	by the law in effect immediately before that date, and that law is
226	226	continued in effect for that purpose.
227	227	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.