Texas 2021 - 87th 3rd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB168 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87S31122 JG-D
2	2	By: Harrison H.B. No. 168
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to informed consent before the provision of certain
8	8	medical treatments involving COVID-19 vaccination.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Texas COVID
11	11	Vaccine Freedom Act.
12	12	SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:
13	13	(1) this state is responsible for ensuring that
14	14	individuals lawfully residing in this state have the right to
15	15	provide or withhold consent for any medical treatment;
16	16	(2) the decision in Canterbury v. Spence, 464 F.2d 772
17	17	(D.C. Cir. 1972), establishing the concept of informed consent, has
18	18	become a bedrock principle of the laws of this country and of each
19	19	state;
20	20	(3) the American Medical Association's Code of Medical
21	21	Ethics Opinion 2.1.1 recognizes the right of an individual to be
22	22	fully informed of a recommended medical treatment to allow the
23	23	individual to make an informed decision regarding the individual's
24	24	course of treatment, including whether to obtain or decline a
25	25	particular medical treatment;
26	26	(4) under 42 C.F.R. Section 482.13, a hospital is
27	27	required as a condition of participation in Medicare to have in
28	28	place a process for obtaining the informed consent of a patient
29	29	before providing treatment to the patient and to ensure "[t]he
30	30	patient or his or her representative (as allowed under State law)
31	31	has the right to make informed decisions regarding his or her care";
32	32	(5) the United State Supreme Court upheld mandatory
33	33	vaccination policies imposed by state and local governments to
34	34	combat smallpox in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905),
35	35	and acknowledged in Pruneyard Shopping Ctr. v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74,
36	36	81 (1980), that a state may provide "individual liberties more
37	37	expansive than those conferred by the Federal Constitution";
38	38	(6) persons inside and outside this state have sought
39	39	or are seeking to compel or coerce individuals lawfully residing in
40	40	this state into being vaccinated against COVID-19 contrary to the
41	41	individuals' preferences;
42	42	(7) any attempt to compel or coerce an individual
43	43	lawfully residing in this state into being vaccinated against
44	44	COVID-19 contrary to the individual's preference is inconsistent
45	45	with the principles of informed consent; and
46	46	(8) Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as added
47	47	by this Act, prohibits any person from compelling or coercing an
48	48	individual lawfully residing in this state into obtaining medical
49	49	treatments involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.
50	50	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 161, Health and Safety
51	51	Code, is amended by adding Section 161.0086 to read as follows:
52	52	Sec. 161.0086. INFORMED CONSENT REQUIRED FOR MEDICAL
53	53	TREATMENTS INVOLVING COVID-19 VACCINATION. (a) In this section:
54	54	(1) "COVID-19" means the 2019 novel coronavirus
55	55	disease.
56	56	(2) "Health care provider" means an individual
57	57	licensed or otherwise authorized by this state to administer
58	58	vaccines.
59	59	(b) A person may not compel or coerce an individual lawfully
60	60	residing in this state into obtaining a medical treatment involving
61	61	the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, including a COVID-19
62	62	vaccine approved or authorized by the United States Food and Drug
63	63	Administration, contrary to the individual's vaccination
64	64	preference.
65	65	(c) A health care provider may not provide to an individual
66	66	lawfully residing in this state a medical treatment involving the
67	67	administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, including a COVID-19 vaccine
68	68	approved or authorized by the United States Food and Drug
69	69	Administration, unless the provider obtains the individual's
70	70	informed consent before administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
71	71	(d) For purposes of this section, an individual lacks the
72	72	capacity to provide informed consent for a medical treatment
73	73	involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine if the
74	74	individual has been compelled or coerced into being vaccinated
75	75	against COVID-19 contrary to the individual's vaccination
76	76	preference.
77	77	(e) A person may not take an adverse action or impose a
78	78	penalty of any kind against an individual lawfully residing in this
79	79	state for the individual's refusal or failure to obtain a medical
80	80	treatment involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.
81	81	(f) The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive
82	82	relief against a person to prevent the person from violating this
83	83	section. In an injunction issued under this subsection, a court may
84	84	include reasonable requirements to prevent further violations of
85	85	this section.
86	86	(g) A health care provider who violates Subsection (c) is
87	87	liable to the individual who is the subject of the violation for
88	88	damages in an amount of not less than $5,000. In an action brought
89	89	under this subsection, a claimant may recover reasonable expenses
90	90	incurred in bringing the action, including court costs, reasonable
91	91	attorney's fees, investigation costs, witness fees, and deposition
92	92	expenses.
93	93	SECTION 4. Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as
94	94	added by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
95	95	the effective date of this Act.
96	96	SECTION 5. If any provision of this Act or its application
97	97	to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
98	98	not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
99	99	given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
100	100	this end the provisions of this Act are declared severable.
101	101	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
102	102	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
103	103	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
104	104	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
105	105	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
106	106	legislative session.