Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB290 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R3657 SCL-D
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 290
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to mosquito control districts established for an urgent
8	8	public health purpose.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 344, Health and Safety Code, is amended
11	11	by designating Sections 344.001 through 344.007 as Subchapter A and
12	12	adding a subchapter heading to read as follows:
13	13	SUBCHAPTER A. ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION, AND DISSOLUTION OF
14	14	MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICTS
15	15	SECTION 2. Chapter 344, Health and Safety Code, is amended
16	16	by adding Subchapter B to read as follows:
17	17	SUBCHAPTER B. ESTABLISHMENT OF MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICTS FOR
18	18	URGENT PUBLIC HEALTH PURPOSE
19	19	Sec. 344.051. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
20	20	(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
21	21	Commission.
22	22	(2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
23	23	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
24	24	Sec. 344.052. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds
25	25	that:
26	26	(1) scientists have concluded the Zika virus is a
27	27	cause of microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects;
28	28	(2) the commission has reported that counties in the
29	29	Gulf Coast region and on the international border with Mexico are at
30	30	the highest risk in this state of developing localized cases of the
31	31	Zika virus;
32	32	(3) Cameron County, which is located on the
33	33	international border with Mexico, has had as of December 2016 at
34	34	least five documented cases of locally transmitted Zika virus;
35	35	(4) the powers of a mosquito control district may be
36	36	effective in combating the increased risk of transmission of the
37	37	Zika virus; and
38	38	(5) an urgent public health purpose exists for
39	39	establishing a mosquito control district in Cameron and Hidalgo
40	40	Counties and other high-risk counties to contain, eradicate, and
41	41	treat problems associated with communicable diseases, including
42	42	the Zika virus, the dengue virus, and the chikungunya virus, that
43	43	are carried by mosquitoes.
44	44	Sec. 344.053. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
45	45	applies only to a county located on the international border with
46	46	Mexico:
47	47	(1) for which the commission has documented a locally
48	48	transmitted case of the Zika virus; or
49	49	(2) that is adjacent to a county described by
50	50	Subdivision (1).
51	51	Sec. 344.054. ESTABLISHMENT. A county may establish an
52	52	urgent public health mosquito control district on issuance of an
53	53	order by the county judge or commissioners court of the county
54	54	stating that an urgent public health purpose requires establishment
55	55	of the district and ordering an election under Section 344.001.
56	56	Sec. 344.055. DUTIES OF COUNTY ESTABLISHING DISTRICT. A
57	57	county that establishes an urgent public health mosquito control
58	58	district under this subchapter shall:
59	59	(1) conduct surveillance of vectors carrying
60	60	communicable disease;
61	61	(2) address the capacity of the county public health
62	62	infrastructure, including by:
63	63	(A) establishing and operating communicable
64	64	disease and illness identification laboratories;
65	65	(B) training and hiring public health personnel
66	66	and research fellows;
67	67	(C) matching state, federal, and private
68	68	initiatives and efforts aimed at addressing and mitigating health
69	69	and environmental conditions that contribute to the breeding,
70	70	development, and spread of vectors carrying communicable disease;
71	71	(D) testing county residents for communicable
72	72	diseases and providing medical treatment to county residents who
73	73	have communicable diseases; and
74	74	(E) funding prevention measures and initiatives
75	75	to protect county residents from vectors carrying communicable
76	76	disease; and
77	77	(3) address the prevention and spread of vectors
78	78	carrying communicable disease by funding efforts to inform people
79	79	about the prevention and spread through community campaigns and
80	80	regional information efforts.
81	81	Sec. 344.056. SPECIAL PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
82	82	(a) In this section, "committee" means the special public health
83	83	advisory committee established under this section.
84	84	(b) Notwithstanding Section 344.004, the commissioners
85	85	court of a county that establishes an urgent public health mosquito
86	86	control district under this subchapter shall establish a special
87	87	public health advisory committee.
88	88	(c) The commissioners court shall appoint seven members to
89	89	the committee as follows:
90	90	(1) one member who is the county public health
91	91	administrator;
92	92	(2) three members who are public health administrators
93	93	at the executive director level in the most populated
94	94	municipalities in the county; and
95	95	(3) three members who are property taxpaying voters of
96	96	the county.
97	97	(d) The executive commissioner shall appoint one delegate
98	98	to serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the committee.
99	99	(e) The county judge shall designate one committee member
100	100	appointed under Subsection (c) as the presiding officer of the
101	101	committee. The committee meets at the call of the presiding
102	102	officer.
103	103	(f) A committee member serves without compensation.
104	104	(g) A committee member must take an oath of office
105	105	prescribed by the commissioners court.
106	106	(h) The committee shall:
107	107	(1) make written recommendations to the commissioners
108	108	court that the committee considers necessary to:
109	109	(A) address the urgent public health purpose of
110	110	the mosquito control district established under this subchapter;
111	111	and
112	112	(B) implement the district's duties; and
113	113	(2) perform any other duty assigned to the committee
114	114	by the commissioners court.
115	115	Sec. 344.057. MOSQUITO CONTROL PERSONNEL. The
116	116	commissioners court of a county that establishes an urgent public
117	117	health mosquito control district under this subchapter may appoint:
118	118	(1) a mosquito control engineer as provided by Section
119	119	344.005; or
120	120	(2) any other public health professional the
121	121	commissioners court determines is necessary to carry out the duties
122	122	of the district and to address the recommendations of the special
123	123	public health advisory committee established under Section
124	124	344.056.
125	125	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
126	126	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
127	127	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
128	128	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
129	129	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.