85R13181 JG-F
By: Farrar H.B. No. 3718
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of certain limited service pregnancy
resource centers.
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 173 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 173. LIMITED SERVICE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTERS
Sec. 173.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "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.
(2) "Limited service pregnancy resource 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:
(A) does not perform abortions or make referrals
to an abortion provider;
(B) does not provide or make referrals for
comprehensive birth control services;
(C) is not licensed or certified by this state or
the federal government to provide medical or health care services;
and
(D) is not required to have a physician under
contract to provide or directly supervise all health care services
provided by the organization.
Sec. 173.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
applies only to a limited service pregnancy resource center that
meets at least two of the following criteria:
(1) the center offers to pregnant women:
(A) obstetric ultrasounds;
(B) obstetric sonograms; or
(C) other prenatal care;
(2) the center offers pregnancy testing or diagnosis;
(3) the center advertises or solicits consumers to
provide pregnancy-related services;
(4) the center has employees or volunteers who collect
information from consumers;
(5) the center has employees or volunteers who are not
licensed physicians or health care practitioners but dress in
clothing typically associated with a physician or nurse; or
(6) the center has an examination table.
Sec. 173.003. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN HEALTH CARE
INFORMATION. A limited service pregnancy resource center may not
disclose to a third party health care information about a person who
receives or inquires about receiving services from the center.
Sec. 173.004. PROHIBITED CONDUCT. A limited service
pregnancy resource center may not publish in any medium, including
a newspaper, magazine, pamphlet, billboard, Internet website, or
other publication, or otherwise disseminate information that the
center knows or should have known:
(1) is false or misleading; or
(2) omits a material fact about the services offered
or intended to be offered by the center.
Sec. 173.005. VIOLATION; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A limited
service pregnancy resource center that violates this chapter is
liable to the state for a civil penalty of not less than $250 but not
more than $20,000 for each violation. The amount shall be based on:
(1) the seriousness of the violation, including the
nature, circumstances, extent, and duration of the violation, and
the good faith of the limited service pregnancy resource center;
(2) the history of previous violations;
(3) the amount necessary to deter a future violation;
and
(4) any other matter that justice may require.
(b) The attorney general or a district or county attorney of
the county in which any part of the violation is alleged to have
occurred may sue in the name of the state to collect a civil penalty
under this section. The suit must be brought in Travis County or
the county in which any part of the violation is alleged to have
occurred. In the suit the attorney general or a district or county
attorney may recover reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining the
penalty, including investigation and court costs and reasonable
attorney's fees.
(c) The penalties provided by this section are in addition
to any other penalty provided by law, including Chapter 17,
Business & Commerce Code.
(d) Penalties collected under this section shall be
deposited in a fund established by the commission for providing
grants to human trafficking victims in this state. The fund is a
trust fund held outside the treasury by the comptroller and
administered by the commission.
Sec. 173.006. DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE. A violation of
Section 173.004 is actionable by a consumer as a deceptive trade
practice under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.