85R2460 DMS-F
By: Davis of Harris H.B. No. 120
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to non-medical exemptions from immunization requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 38.001(c) and (f), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(c) Immunization is not required for a person's admission to
any elementary or secondary school if the person applying for
admission:
(1) submits to the admitting official:
(A) an affidavit or a certificate signed by a
physician who is duly registered and licensed to practice medicine
in the United States, in which it is stated that, in the physician's
opinion, the immunization required poses a significant risk to the
health and well-being of the applicant or any member of the
applicant's family or household; or
(B) an affidavit signed by the applicant or, if a
minor, by the applicant's parent or guardian stating that the
applicant declines immunization for non-medical reasons [of
conscience, including a religious belief]; or
(2) is a member of the armed forces of the United
States and is on active duty.
(f) A person who has not received the immunizations required
by this section for non-medical reasons [of conscience, including
because of the person's religious beliefs,] may be excluded from
school in times of emergency or epidemic declared by the
commissioner of state [public] health services.
SECTION 2. Sections 51.9192(d), (d-3), and (d-4), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) A student to whom this section applies or a parent or
guardian of the student is not required to comply with Subsection
(c) if the student or a parent or guardian of the student submits to
the institution:
(1) an affidavit or a certificate signed by a
physician who is duly registered and licensed to practice medicine
in the United States in which it is stated that, in the physician's
opinion, the vaccination required would be injurious to the health
and well-being of the student; or
(2) an affidavit signed by the student stating that
the student declines the vaccination for bacterial meningitis for
non-medical reasons [of conscience, including a religious belief,]
or confirmation that the student has completed the Internet-based
process described by Subsection (d-3) for declining the vaccination
on that basis, if applicable to the student.
(d-3) The Department of State Health Services shall develop
and implement a secure, Internet-based process to be used
exclusively at those public junior colleges that elect to use the
process to allow an entering student to apply online for an
exemption from the vaccination requirement under this section for
non-medical reasons [of conscience]. The online process portal
must be designed to ensure that duplicate exemption requests are
avoided to the greatest extent possible. The exemption form used by
a student to claim an exemption under the process must contain a
statement indicating that the student understands the benefits and
risks of the immunization and the benefits and risks of not
receiving the immunization.
(d-4) A public junior college may require an entering
student to use the Internet-based process under Subsection (d-3) as
the exclusive method to apply for an exemption from the vaccination
required under this section for non-medical reasons [of
conscience].
SECTION 3. Section 51.933(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) No form of immunization is required for a person's
admission to an institution of higher education if the person
applying for admission:
(1) submits to the admitting official:
(A) an affidavit or a certificate signed by a
physician who is duly registered and licensed to practice medicine
within the United States in which it is stated that, in the
physician's opinion, the immunization required poses a significant
risk to the health and well-being of the applicant or any member of
the applicant's family or household; or
(B) an affidavit signed by the applicant or, if a
minor, by the applicant's parent or guardian stating that the
applicant declines immunization for non-medical reasons [of
conscience, including a religious belief]; or
(2) is a member of the armed forces of the United
States and is on active duty.
SECTION 4. Section 161.004(d), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A child is exempt from an immunization required by this
section if:
(1) a parent, managing conservator, or guardian states
that the immunization is being declined for non-medical reasons [of
conscience, including a religious belief]; or
(2) the immunization is medically contraindicated
based on the opinion of a physician licensed by any state in the
United States who has examined the child.
SECTION 5. Section 161.0041(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person claiming an exemption from a required
immunization based on non-medical reasons [of conscience,
including a religious belief,] under Section 161.004 of this code,
Section 38.001, 51.9192, or 51.933, Education Code, or Section
42.043, Human Resources Code, must complete an affidavit on a form
provided by the department stating the reason for the exemption.
This subsection does not apply to a person claiming the exemption
using the Internet-based process under Section 51.9192(d-3),
Education Code.
SECTION 6. Section 224.002(c), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The policy may include procedures for a covered
individual to be exempt from the required vaccines based on
non-medical reasons [of conscience, including a religious belief].
SECTION 7. Section 42.043(d), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) No immunization may be required for admission to a
facility regulated under this chapter if a person applying for a
child's admission submits one of the following affidavits:
(1) an affidavit signed by a licensed physician
stating that the immunization poses a significant risk to the
health and well-being of the child or a member of the child's family
or household; or
(2) an affidavit signed by the child's parent or
guardian stating that the applicant declines immunization for
non-medical reasons [of conscience, including a religious belief].
SECTION 8. Section 42.04305(d), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) The policy shall include procedures for a facility
employee to be exempt from the required vaccines based on
non-medical reasons [of conscience, including a religious belief].
SECTION 9. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Department of State Health Services shall modify
the existing affidavit form required by Section 161.0041, Health
and Safety Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 10. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
38.001, Education Code, relating to public school students apply
beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
51.9192 and 51.933, Education Code, apply only to entering students
enrolling in public institutions of higher education in this state
beginning with the 2017 fall semester.
SECTION 12. The change in law made by this Act to Section
42.043, Human Resources Code, applies beginning September 1, 2017.
An affidavit submitted to a facility before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the affidavit
is submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.