Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1592 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R871 SCL-D
2	2	By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1592
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to powers and duties of governmental entities during a
8	8	public health disaster; providing civil penalties.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 418, Government Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Sections 418.1012 and 418.1013 to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	Sec. 418.1012. DEFINITION. Notwithstanding Section
14	14	418.004, in this subchapter, the term "disaster" does not include
15	15	an epidemic or the spread of a communicable disease.
16	16	Sec. 418.1013. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This
17	17	subchapter does not apply to a public health disaster as defined by
18	18	Section 81.003, Health and Safety Code.
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 81.083(l), Health and Safety Code, is
20	20	amended to read as follows:
21	21	(l) An order under Subsection (k) must be in writing and be
22	22	delivered personally or by registered or certified mail to each
23	23	member of the group, or the member's parent, legal guardian, or
24	24	managing conservator if the member is a minor. If the name,
25	25	address, and county of residence of any member of the group is
26	26	unknown at the time the order is issued, the department or health
27	27	authority must publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation
28	28	in the county that includes the area of the suspected exposure and
29	29	any other county in which the department or health authority
30	30	suspects a member of the group resides. The notice must contain the
31	31	following information:
32	32	(1) that the department or health authority has
33	33	reasonable cause to believe that a group of individuals is ill with,
34	34	has been exposed to, or is the carrier of a communicable disease;
35	35	(2) the suspected time and place of exposure to the
36	36	disease;
37	37	(3) a copy of any orders under Subsection (k);
38	38	(4) instructions to an individual to provide the
39	39	individual's name, address, and county of residence to the
40	40	department or health authority if the individual knows or
41	41	reasonably suspects that the individual was at the place of the
42	42	suspected exposure at the time of the suspected exposure;
43	43	(5) that the department or health authority may
44	44	request that an application for court orders under Subchapter G be
45	45	filed for the group, if applicable; and
46	46	(6) that a civil [criminal] penalty applies to an
47	47	individual who:
48	48	(A) is a member of the group; and
49	49	(B) knowingly refuses to perform or allow the
50	50	performance of the control measures in the order.
51	51	SECTION 3. The heading to Section 81.085, Health and Safety
52	52	Code, is amended to read as follows:
53	53	Sec. 81.085. AREA QUARANTINE; CIVIL [CRIMINAL] PENALTY.
54	54	SECTION 4. Section 81.085(h), Health and Safety Code, is
55	55	amended to read as follows:
56	56	(h) A person is liable to this state for a civil penalty of
57	57	not more than $500 [commits an offense] if the person knowingly
58	58	fails or refuses to obey a rule, order, or instruction of the
59	59	department or an order or instruction of a health authority issued
60	60	under a department rule and published during an area quarantine
61	61	under this section. On request of the department or a health
62	62	authority, the attorney general or the district or county attorney
63	63	for the county in which the violation occurs may:
64	64	(1) sue to collect the civil penalty; and
65	65	(2) recover reasonable investigation costs,
66	66	attorney's fees, and witness and deposition fees incurred by the
67	67	attorney general, district or county attorney, department, or
68	68	health authority, as applicable, in the civil action [An offense
69	69	under this subsection is a felony of the third degree].
70	70	SECTION 5. Sections 81.087, 81.088, and 81.089, Health and
71	71	Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
72	72	Sec. 81.087. VIOLATION OF CONTROL MEASURE ORDERS; CIVIL
73	73	[CRIMINAL] PENALTY. (a) A person is liable to this state for a
74	74	civil penalty of not more than $500 [commits an offense] if the
75	75	person knowingly refuses to perform or allow the performance of
76	76	certain control measures ordered by the department or a health
77	77	authority [or the department] under Sections 81.083-81.086.
78	78	(b) On request of the department or a health authority, the
79	79	attorney general or the district or county attorney for the county
80	80	in which the violation occurs may:
81	81	(1) sue to collect the civil penalty; and
82	82	(2) recover reasonable investigation costs,
83	83	attorney's fees, and witness and deposition fees incurred by the
84	84	attorney general, district or county attorney, department, or
85	85	health authority, as applicable, in the civil action [An offense
86	86	under this section is a Class B misdemeanor].
87	87	Sec. 81.088. REMOVAL, ALTERATION, OR DESTRUCTION OF
88	88	QUARANTINE DEVICES; CIVIL [CRIMINAL] PENALTY. (a) A person is
89	89	liable to this state for a civil penalty of not more than $500
90	90	[commits an offense] if the person knowingly or intentionally:
91	91	(1) removes, alters, or attempts to remove or alter an
92	92	object the person knows is a quarantine device, notice, or security
93	93	item in a manner that diminishes the effectiveness of the device,
94	94	notice, or item; or
95	95	(2) destroys an object the person knows is a
96	96	quarantine device, notice, or security item.
97	97	(b) On request of the department or a health authority, the
98	98	attorney general or the district or county attorney for the county
99	99	in which the violation occurs may:
100	100	(1) sue to collect the civil penalty; and
101	101	(2) recover reasonable investigation costs,
102	102	attorney's fees, and witness and deposition fees incurred by the
103	103	attorney general, district or county attorney, department, or
104	104	health authority, as applicable, in the civil action [An offense
105	105	under this section is a Class B misdemeanor].
106	106	Sec. 81.089. TRANSPORTATION; CIVIL [CRIMINAL] PENALTY. (a)
107	107	A person is liable to this state for a civil penalty of not more than
108	108	$500 [commits an offense] if, before notifying the department or
109	109	health authority at a port of entry or a place of first landing or
110	110	first arrival in this state, the person knowingly or intentionally:
111	111	(1) transports or causes to be transported into this
112	112	state an object the person knows or suspects may be infected or
113	113	contaminated with a communicable disease that is a threat to the
114	114	public health;
115	115	(2) transports or causes to be transported into this
116	116	state an individual who the person knows has or is the carrier of a
117	117	communicable disease that is a threat to the public health; or
118	118	(3) transports or causes to be transported into this
119	119	state a person, animal, or object in a private or common carrier or
120	120	a private conveyance that the person knows is or suspects may be
121	121	infected or contaminated with a communicable disease that is a
122	122	threat to the public health.
123	123	(b) On request of the department or a health authority, the
124	124	attorney general or the district or county attorney for the county
125	125	in which the violation occurs may:
126	126	(1) sue to collect the civil penalty; and
127	127	(2) recover reasonable investigation costs,
128	128	attorney's fees, and witness and deposition fees incurred by the
129	129	attorney general, district or county attorney, department, or
130	130	health authority, as applicable, in the civil action [An offense
131	131	under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that if the
132	132	person acts with the intent to harm or defraud another, the offense
133	133	is a felony of the third degree].
134	134	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
135	135	a violation of law that occurs on or after the effective date of
136	136	this Act. A violation of law that occurs before the effective date
137	137	of this Act is governed by the law as it existed on the date the
138	138	violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
139	139	that purpose. For purposes of this section, a violation of law
140	140	occurred before the effective date of this Act if any element of the
141	141	violation occurred before that date.
142	142	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.