| 1 | 1 | | By: Klick H.B. No. 3708 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to conduct that constitutes abuse in certain health care |
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| 7 | 7 | | facilities caring for persons with mental illness. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 161.131(1), Health and Safety Code, is |
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| 10 | 10 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (1) "Abuse" means an intentional, knowing, reckless, |
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| 12 | 12 | | or criminally negligent act or failure to act by an inpatient mental |
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| 13 | 13 | | health facility, a treatment facility, or a hospital, or an |
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| 14 | 14 | | employee of a facility or hospital, that places a patient or client |
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| 15 | 15 | | of the facility or hospital who is a person with mental illness in |
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| 16 | 16 | | imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental |
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| 17 | 17 | | impairment. The term includes a failure to supervise patients or |
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| 18 | 18 | | clients and a failure to take reasonable steps to protect patients |
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| 19 | 19 | | or clients from the actions of other patients or clients [has the |
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| 20 | 20 | | meaning assigned by the federal Protection and Advocacy for |
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| 21 | 21 | | Individuals with Mental Illness Act (42 U.S.C. Section 10801 et |
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| 22 | 22 | | seq.)]. |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section |
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| 24 | 24 | | 161.131, Health and Safety Code, applies only to a duty to report |
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| 25 | 25 | | abuse arising from an incident of abuse that occurs on or after the |
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| 26 | 26 | | effective date of this Act or to a penalty that may be imposed on a |
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| 27 | 27 | | violation of Subchapter L, Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, |
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| 28 | 28 | | involving an incident of abuse that occurs on or after the effective |
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| 29 | 29 | | date of this Act. For purposes of an incident of abuse that |
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| 30 | 30 | | occurred before the effective date of this Act, the duty to report |
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| 31 | 31 | | the abuse and a penalty that may be imposed on a violation involving |
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| 32 | 32 | | the abuse are governed by the law in effect at the time the incident |
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| 33 | 33 | | of abuse occurred. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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