Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB733 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R6683 JG-F
2	2	By: Hancock S.B. No. 733
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the sanitation and safety requirements for certain
8	8	artificial bodies of water maintained for public recreational
9	9	purposes.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 341.064, Health and
12	12	Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 341.064. SWIMMING POOLS, ARTIFICIAL SWIMMING LAGOONS,
14	14	AND BATHHOUSES.
15	15	SECTION 2. Sections 341.064(a), (b), (c), (e), (f), (g),
16	16	(i), (j), (k), (l-1), (m), (n), and (o), Health and Safety Code, are
17	17	amended to read as follows:
18	18	(a) An owner, manager, operator, or other attendant in
19	19	charge of a public swimming pool or an artificial swimming lagoon
20	20	shall maintain the public swimming pool or artificial swimming
21	21	lagoon in a sanitary condition.
22	22	(b) The bacterial content of the water in a public swimming
23	23	pool or in an artificial swimming lagoon may not exceed the safe
24	24	limits prescribed by department standards. A minimum free
25	25	residual chlorine of 2.0 parts for each one million units of water
26	26	in a public spa and a minimum free residual chlorine of 1.0 part for
27	27	each one million units of water in other public swimming pools or in
28	28	artificial swimming lagoons, or any other method of disinfectant
29	29	approved by the department, must be maintained in a public swimming
30	30	pool in use or in an artificial swimming lagoon in use.
31	31	(c) Water in a public swimming pool or in an artificial
32	32	swimming lagoon [open to the public] may not show an acid reaction
33	33	to a standard pH test.
34	34	(e) Facilities shall be provided in a public swimming pool
35	35	or in an artificial swimming lagoon for adequate protection of
36	36	bathers against sputum contamination.
37	37	(f) A person known to be or suspected of being infected with
38	38	a transmissible condition of a communicable disease shall be
39	39	excluded from a public swimming pool and from an artificial
40	40	swimming lagoon.
41	41	(g) The construction and appliances of a public swimming
42	42	pool and of an artificial swimming lagoon must be such as to reduce
43	43	to a practical minimum the possibility of drowning or of injury to
44	44	bathers. The construction after September 4, 1945, of a public
45	45	swimming pool or the construction after September 1, 2017, of an
46	46	artificial swimming lagoon must conform to good public health
47	47	engineering practices.
48	48	(i) Dressing rooms of a public swimming pool or of an
49	49	artificial swimming lagoon shall contain shower facilities.
50	50	(j) A comb or hairbrush used by two or more persons may not
51	51	be permitted or distributed in a bathhouse of a public swimming pool
52	52	or of an artificial swimming lagoon.
53	53	(k) The operator or manager of a public swimming pool or of
54	54	an artificial swimming lagoon shall provide adequate and proper
55	55	approved facilities for the disposal of human excreta by the
56	56	bathers.
57	57	(l-1) Rules adopted under this chapter may not prohibit the
58	58	consumption of food or beverages in a public swimming pool or in an
59	59	artificial swimming lagoon that is privately owned and operated.
60	60	(m) In this section:
61	61	(1) "Artificial swimming lagoon" means an artificial
62	62	body of water open to the public for recreational purposes with more
63	63	than 20,000 square feet of surface area, an artificial liner, and a
64	64	disinfection system. The term includes only the portion of the body
65	65	of water that is designated for swimming.
66	66	(2) "Public[, "public] swimming pool" means an
67	67	artificial body of water, including a spa, maintained expressly for
68	68	public recreational purposes, swimming and similar aquatic sports,
69	69	or therapeutic purposes. The term does not include an artificial
70	70	swimming lagoon.
71	71	(n) A county or municipality may:
72	72	(1) require that the owner or operator of a public
73	73	swimming pool or of an artificial swimming lagoon within the
74	74	jurisdiction of the county or municipality obtain a permit for
75	75	operation of the public swimming pool or artificial swimming
76	76	lagoon;
77	77	(2) inspect a public swimming pool or an artificial
78	78	swimming lagoon within the jurisdiction of the county or
79	79	municipality for compliance with this section; and
80	80	(3) impose and collect a reasonable fee in connection
81	81	with a permit or inspection required under this subsection provided
82	82	the following are met:
83	83	(A) the auditor for the county shall review the
84	84	program every two years to ensure that the fees imposed do not
85	85	exceed the cost of the program; and
86	86	(B) the county refunds the permit holders any
87	87	revenue determined by the auditor to exceed the cost of the program.
88	88	(o) A county or municipality may by order close, for the
89	89	period specified in the order, a public swimming pool or an
90	90	artificial swimming lagoon within the jurisdiction of the county or
91	91	municipality if the operation of the public swimming pool or
92	92	artificial swimming lagoon violates this section or a permitting or
93	93	inspection requirement imposed by the county or municipality under
94	94	Subsection (n).
95	95	SECTION 3. Section 341.0645(a), Health and Safety Code, is
96	96	amended to read as follows:
97	97	(a) An owner, manager, operator, or other attendant in
98	98	charge of a public swimming pool as defined by Section 341.064,
99	99	wading pool, baby pool, hot tub, in-ground spa, water park, spray
100	100	fountain, or other artificial body of water typically used for
101	101	recreational swimming, bathing, or play shall comply with pool
102	102	safety standards adopted under this section.
103	103	SECTION 4. Section 481.134(a), Health and Safety Code, is
104	104	amended by adding Subdivision (4-a) to read as follows:
105	105	(4-a) "Public swimming pool" has the meaning assigned
106	106	by Section 341.064.
107	107	SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
108	108	of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
109	109	Services Commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement the
110	110	changes in law made by this Act.
111	111	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
112	112	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
113	113	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
114	114	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
115	115	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
116	116	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
117	117	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
118	118	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.