Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1616 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1616
2		-	(Klick)
3	2
4	3
5	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	5		AN ACT
7	6		relating to powers and duties of governmental entities during a
8	7		public health disaster; providing civil penalties.
9	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	9		SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 418, Government Code, is
11	10		amended by adding Sections 418.1012 and 418.1013 to read as
12	11		follows:
13	12		Sec. 418.1012. DEFINITION. Notwithstanding Section
14	13		418.004, in this subchapter, the term "disaster" does not include
15	14		an epidemic or the spread of a communicable disease.
16	15		Sec. 418.1013. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This
17	16		subchapter does not apply to a public health disaster as defined by
18	17		Section 81.003, Health and Safety Code.
19	18		SECTION 2. Section 81.083(l), Health and Safety Code, is
20	19		amended to read as follows:
21	20		(l) An order under Subsection (k) must be in writing and be
22	21		delivered personally or by registered or certified mail to each
23	22		member of the group, or the member's parent, legal guardian, or
24	23		managing conservator if the member is a minor. If the name,
25	24		address, and county of residence of any member of the group is
26	25		unknown at the time the order is issued, the department or health
27	26		authority must publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation
28	27		in the county that includes the area of the suspected exposure and
29	28		any other county in which the department or health authority
30	29		suspects a member of the group resides. The notice must contain the
31	30		following information:
32	31		(1) that the department or health authority has
33	32		reasonable cause to believe that a group of individuals is ill with,
34	33		has been exposed to, or is the carrier of a communicable disease;
35	34		(2) the suspected time and place of exposure to the
36	35		disease;
37	36		(3) a copy of any orders under Subsection (k);
38	37		(4) instructions to an individual to provide the
39	38		individual's name, address, and county of residence to the
40	39		department or health authority if the individual knows or
41	40		reasonably suspects that the individual was at the place of the
42	41		suspected exposure at the time of the suspected exposure;
43	42		(5) that the department or health authority may
44	43		request that an application for court orders under Subchapter G be
45	44		filed for the group, if applicable; and
46	45		(6) that a civil [criminal] penalty applies to an
47	46		individual who:
48	47		(A) is a member of the group; and
49	48		(B) knowingly refuses to perform or allow the
50	49		performance of the control measures in the order.
51	50		SECTION 3. The heading to Section 81.085, Health and Safety
52	51		Code, is amended to read as follows:
53	52		Sec. 81.085. AREA QUARANTINE; CIVIL [CRIMINAL] PENALTY.
54	53		SECTION 4. Section 81.085(h), Health and Safety Code, is
55	54		amended to read as follows:
56	55		(h) A person is liable to this state for a civil penalty of
57	56		not more than $500 [commits an offense] if the person knowingly
58	57		fails or refuses to obey a rule, order, or instruction of the
59	58		department or an order or instruction of a health authority issued
60	59		under a department rule and published during an area quarantine
61	60		under this section. On request of the department or a health
62	61		authority, the attorney general or the district or county attorney
63	62		for the county in which the violation occurs may:
64	63		(1) sue to collect the civil penalty; and
65	64		(2) recover reasonable investigation costs,
66	65		attorney's fees, and witness and deposition fees incurred by the
67	66		attorney general, district or county attorney, department, or
68	67		health authority, as applicable, in the civil action [An offense
69	68		under this subsection is a felony of the third degree].
70	69		SECTION 5. Sections 81.087, 81.088, and 81.089, Health and
71	70		Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
72	71		Sec. 81.087. VIOLATION OF CONTROL MEASURE ORDERS; CIVIL
73	72		[CRIMINAL] PENALTY. (a) A person is liable to this state for a
74	73		civil penalty of not more than $500 [commits an offense] if the
75	74		person knowingly refuses to perform or allow the performance of
76	75		certain control measures ordered by the department or a health
77	76		authority [or the department] under Sections 81.083-81.086.
78	77		(b) On request of the department or a health authority, the
79	78		attorney general or the district or county attorney for the county
80	79		in which the violation occurs may:
81	80		(1) sue to collect the civil penalty; and
82	81		(2) recover reasonable investigation costs,
83	82		attorney's fees, and witness and deposition fees incurred by the
84	83		attorney general, district or county attorney, department, or
85	84		health authority, as applicable, in the civil action [An offense
86	85		under this section is a Class B misdemeanor].
87	86		Sec. 81.088. REMOVAL, ALTERATION, OR DESTRUCTION OF
88	87		QUARANTINE DEVICES; CIVIL [CRIMINAL] PENALTY. (a) A person is
89	88		liable to this state for a civil penalty of not more than $500
90	89		[commits an offense] if the person knowingly or intentionally:
91	90		(1) removes, alters, or attempts to remove or alter an
92	91		object the person knows is a quarantine device, notice, or security
93	92		item in a manner that diminishes the effectiveness of the device,
94	93		notice, or item; or
95	94		(2) destroys an object the person knows is a
96	95		quarantine device, notice, or security item.
97	96		(b) On request of the department or a health authority, the
98	97		attorney general or the district or county attorney for the county
99	98		in which the violation occurs may:
100	99		(1) sue to collect the civil penalty; and
101	100		(2) recover reasonable investigation costs,
102	101		attorney's fees, and witness and deposition fees incurred by the
103	102		attorney general, district or county attorney, department, or
104	103		health authority, as applicable, in the civil action [An offense
105	104		under this section is a Class B misdemeanor].
106	105		Sec. 81.089. TRANSPORTATION; CIVIL [CRIMINAL] PENALTY. (a)
107	106		A person is liable to this state for a civil penalty of not more than
108	107		$500 [commits an offense] if, before notifying the department or
109	108		health authority at a port of entry or a place of first landing or
110	109		first arrival in this state, the person knowingly or intentionally:
111	110		(1) transports or causes to be transported into this
112	111		state an object the person knows or suspects may be infected or
113	112		contaminated with a communicable disease that is a threat to the
114	113		public health;
115	114		(2) transports or causes to be transported into this
116	115		state an individual who the person knows has or is the carrier of a
117	116		communicable disease that is a threat to the public health; or
118	117		(3) transports or causes to be transported into this
119	118		state a person, animal, or object in a private or common carrier or
120	119		a private conveyance that the person knows is or suspects may be
121	120		infected or contaminated with a communicable disease that is a
122	121		threat to the public health.
123	122		(b) On request of the department or a health authority, the
124	123		attorney general or the district or county attorney for the county
125	124		in which the violation occurs may:
126	125		(1) sue to collect the civil penalty; and
127	126		(2) recover reasonable investigation costs,
128	127		attorney's fees, and witness and deposition fees incurred by the
129	128		attorney general, district or county attorney, department, or
130	129		health authority, as applicable, in the civil action [An offense
131	130		under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that if the
132	131		person acts with the intent to harm or defraud another, the offense
133	132		is a felony of the third degree].
134	133		SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
135	134		a violation of law that occurs on or after the effective date of
136	135		this Act. A violation of law that occurs before the effective date
137	136		of this Act is governed by the law as it existed on the date the
138	137		violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
139	138		that purpose. For purposes of this section, a violation of law
140	139		occurred before the effective date of this Act if any element of the
141	140		violation occurred before that date.
142	141		SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.