Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1695 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Lucio, et al. S.B. No. 1695
2		-	(Price)
	1	+	By: Lucio, Hinojosa S.B. No. 1695
3	2
4	3
5	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	5		AN ACT
7	6		relating to mosquito control districts established for an urgent
8	7		public health purpose.
9	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	9		SECTION 1. Chapter 344, Health and Safety Code, is amended
11	10		by designating Sections 344.001 through 344.007 as Subchapter A and
12	11		adding a subchapter heading to read as follows:
13	12		SUBCHAPTER A. ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION, AND DISSOLUTION OF
14	13		MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICTS
15	14		SECTION 2. Chapter 344, Health and Safety Code, is amended
16	15		by adding Subchapter B to read as follows:
17	16		SUBCHAPTER B. ESTABLISHMENT OF MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICTS FOR
18	17		URGENT PUBLIC HEALTH PURPOSE
19	18		Sec. 344.051. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "department"
20	19		means the Department of State Health Services.
21	20		Sec. 344.052. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds
22	21		that:
23	22		(1) scientists have concluded the Zika virus is a
24	23		cause for microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects;
25	24		(2) the department has reported that counties in the
26	25		Gulf Coast region and on the international border with Mexico are at
27	26		the highest risk in this state of developing localized cases of the
28	27		Zika virus;
29	28		(3) Cameron County, which is located on the
30	29		international border with Mexico, has had as of December 2016 at
31	30		least five documented cases of locally transmitted Zika virus;
32	31		(4) the powers of a mosquito control district may be
33	32		effective in combating the increased risk of transmission of the
34	33		Zika virus; and
35	34		(5) there is an urgent public health purpose for
36	35		establishing a mosquito control district in Cameron and Hidalgo
37	36		Counties and other high-risk counties to contain, eradicate, and
38	37		treat problems associated with communicable diseases, including
39	38		the Zika virus, the dengue virus, and the chikungunya virus, that
40	39		are carried by mosquitoes.
41	40		Sec. 344.053. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
42	41		applies only to a county located on the international border with
43	42		Mexico:
44	43		(1) for which the department has documented a locally
45	44		transmitted case of the Zika virus; or
46	45		(2) that is adjacent to a county described by
47	46		Subdivision (1).
48	47		Sec. 344.054. ESTABLISHMENT. A county described by Section
49	48		344.053 may establish an urgent public health mosquito control
50	49		district on issuance of an order by the county judge or
51	50		commissioners court of the county stating that an urgent public
52	51		health purpose requires establishment of the district and ordering
53	52		an election under Section 344.001.
54	53		Sec. 344.055. DUTIES OF COUNTY ESTABLISHING DISTRICT. A
55	54		county that establishes an urgent public health mosquito control
56	55		district under this subchapter shall:
57	56		(1) conduct surveillance of vectors carrying
58	57		communicable disease;
59	58		(2) address the capacity of the county public health
60	59		infrastructure, including by:
61	60		(A) establishing and operating communicable
62	61		disease and illness identification laboratories;
63	62		(B) training and hiring public health personnel
64	63		and research fellows;
65	64		(C) matching state, federal, and private
66	65		initiatives and efforts aimed at addressing and mitigating health
67	66		and environmental conditions that contribute to the breeding,
68	67		development, and spread of vectors carrying communicable disease;
69	68		(D) testing county residents for communicable
70	69		diseases and providing medical treatment to county residents who
71	70		have communicable diseases; and
72	71		(E) funding prevention measures and initiatives
73	72		to protect county residents from vectors carrying communicable
74	73		disease; and
75	74		(3) address the prevention and spread of vectors
76	75		carrying communicable disease by funding efforts to inform people
77	76		about the prevention and spread through community campaigns and
78	77		regional information efforts.
79	78		Sec. 344.056. SPECIAL PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
80	79		(a) In this section, "committee" means the special public health
81	80		advisory committee established under this section.
82	81		(b) Notwithstanding Section 344.004, the commissioners
83	82		court of a county that establishes an urgent public health mosquito
84	83		control district under this subchapter shall establish a special
85	84		public health advisory committee.
86	85		(c) The commissioners court shall appoint seven members to
87	86		the committee as follows:
88	87		(1) one member who is the county public health
89	88		administrator;
90	89		(2) three members who are public health administrators
91	90		at the executive director level in the most populated
92	91		municipalities in the county; and
93	92		(3) three members who are property taxpaying voters of
94	93		the county.
95	94		(d) The commissioner of state health services shall appoint
96	95		one delegate to serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the
97	96		committee.
98	97		(e) The county judge shall designate one committee member
99	98		appointed under Subsection (c) as the presiding officer of the
100	99		committee. The committee meets at the call of the presiding
101	100		officer.
102	101		(f) A committee member serves without compensation.
103	102		(g) A committee member must take an oath of office
104	103		prescribed by the commissioners court.
105	104		(h) The committee shall:
106	105		(1) make written recommendations to the commissioners
107	106		court that the committee considers necessary to:
108	107		(A) address the urgent public health purpose of
109	108		the mosquito control district established under this subchapter;
110	109		and
111	110		(B) implement the district's duties; and
112	111		(2) perform any other duty assigned to the committee
113	112		by the commissioners court.
114	113		Sec. 344.057. MOSQUITO CONTROL PERSONNEL. The
115	114		commissioners court of a county that establishes an urgent public
116	115		health mosquito control district under this subchapter may appoint:
117	116		(1) a mosquito control engineer as provided by Section
118	117		344.005; or
119	118		(2) any other public health professional the
120	119		commissioners court determines is necessary to carry out the duties
121	120		of the district and to address the recommendations of the special
122	121		public health advisory committee established under Section
123	122		344.056.
124	123		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
125	124		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
126	125		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
127	126		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
128	127		Act takes effect September 1, 2017.