| 1 | 1 | | 87R12720 TYPED |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Paxton, et al. S.B. No. 1484 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to certain Department of State Health Services |
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| 8 | 8 | | procurements for communicable disease data collection and |
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| 9 | 9 | | investigations. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 81.005, Health and Safety Code, is |
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| 12 | 12 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 81.005. CONTRACTS. Subject to Section 81.0055, the |
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| 14 | 14 | | [The] department may enter into contracts or agreements with |
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| 15 | 15 | | persons as necessary to implement this chapter. The contracts or |
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| 16 | 16 | | agreements may provide for payment by the state for materials, |
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| 17 | 17 | | equipment, and services. |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 81, Health and Safety |
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| 19 | 19 | | Code, is amended by adding Section 81.0055 to read as follows: |
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| 20 | 20 | | Sec. 81.0055. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN DATA COLLECTION |
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| 21 | 21 | | PROCUREMENTS. (a) This section applies only to a procurement or |
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| 22 | 22 | | the extension of an existing contract in which a private vendor |
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| 23 | 23 | | assists the department in case investigations and epidemiological |
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| 24 | 24 | | studies by collecting an individual's private or confidential data |
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| 25 | 25 | | protected under the Health Insurance Portability and |
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| 26 | 26 | | Accountability Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-191) through individual |
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| 27 | 27 | | contact tracing, including contact tracing conducted by a call |
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| 28 | 28 | | center. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) The department must submit a written request to the |
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| 30 | 30 | | Legislative Budget Board for approval of a procurement described by |
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| 31 | 31 | | Subsection (a) before requesting a bid, proposal, or comparable |
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| 32 | 32 | | solicitation for the proposed procurement. The department must |
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| 33 | 33 | | provide to board personnel and each member of the Legislative |
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| 34 | 34 | | Budget Board information on the proposed procurement, including: |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) the purpose of the procurement; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) the need addressed by the procurement; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (3) a statement of any service to be performed under |
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| 38 | 38 | | the procurement; |
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| 39 | 39 | | (4) the proposed cost of the procurement; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (5) the data use and privacy agreement to which the |
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| 41 | 41 | | department and private vendor will adhere for the duration of the |
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| 42 | 42 | | investigation or study; and |
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| 43 | 43 | | (6) any other information required by the board. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (c) Not later than the seventh day after the date the |
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| 45 | 45 | | Legislative Budget Board receives the request and required |
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| 46 | 46 | | information from the department, board personnel shall: |
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| 47 | 47 | | (1) determine whether the proposed procurement |
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| 48 | 48 | | satisfies the minimum requirements established by this section; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) issue written notice that the board approves the |
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| 50 | 50 | | request for the proposed procurement required under Subdivision |
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| 51 | 51 | | (1). |
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| 52 | 52 | | (d) The legislative budget board shall include the written |
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| 53 | 53 | | notice in Subsection (c)(2) in the contract database maintained by |
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| 54 | 54 | | the legislative budget board. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (e) A vendor selected for a contract under this section: |
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| 56 | 56 | | (1) is subject to Chapter 181, Health and Safety Code, |
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| 57 | 57 | | including being subject to enforcement action; |
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| 58 | 58 | | (2) shall not provide or sell access to any protected |
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| 59 | 59 | | health information data collected; and |
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| 60 | 60 | | (3) shall destroy all protected health information |
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| 61 | 61 | | collected upon the expiration of the contract. |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 3. (a) As soon as practical after the effective |
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| 63 | 63 | | date of this Act, the Legislative Budget Board shall adopt any rules |
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| 64 | 64 | | and procedures necessary to implement the changes in law made by |
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| 65 | 65 | | this Act. |
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| 66 | 66 | | (b) Not later than December 1, 2022, the state auditor shall |
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| 67 | 67 | | audit each contract the Department of State Health Services entered |
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| 68 | 68 | | into for the conduct of individual contact tracing during the |
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| 69 | 69 | | disaster declared by the governor on March 13, 2020, or during an |
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| 70 | 70 | | extension of that declared disaster. |
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| 71 | 71 | | SECTION 4. (a) The legislature finds that any state |
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| 72 | 72 | | contract executed during, or during an extension of, the disaster |
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| 73 | 73 | | declared by the governor on March 13, 2020, by the Department of |
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| 74 | 74 | | State Health Services authorizing a person or entity to perform |
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| 75 | 75 | | individual contact tracing is no longer necessary to address public |
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| 76 | 76 | | health concerns. It is the intent of the legislature that the |
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| 77 | 77 | | department cancel any contract described by this subsection. |
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| 78 | 78 | | (b) The Department of State Health Services may not use any |
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| 79 | 79 | | money appropriated by this state to the department for state fiscal |
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| 80 | 80 | | years 2022 and 2023 to pay for a contract described by Subsection |
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| 81 | 81 | | (a) of this section. |
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| 82 | 82 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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