87S30237 JG-D
By: Tinderholt H.B. No. 86
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prohibited COVID-19 vaccine passports; providing a
civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 161.0085, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 161.0085. COVID-19 VACCINE PASSPORTS PROHIBITED;
CIVIL PENALTY.
SECTION 2. Section 161.0085, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding
Subsections (c-1) and (f) to read as follows:
(c) A business in this state may not require a customer or an
employee of the business to provide any documentation certifying
the customer's or employee's COVID-19 vaccination or
post-transmission recovery on entry to, to gain access to, [or] to
receive service from, or to be employed by the business. A business
that fails to comply with this subsection is not eligible to receive
a grant or enter into a contract payable with state funds.
(c-1) A public or private primary or secondary school in
this state may not require a student to provide documentation
certifying the student's COVID-19 vaccination or post-transmission
recovery for entry or admission to the school. A public or private
primary or secondary school in this state that fails to comply with
this subsection is not eligible to receive a grant or enter into a
contract payable with state funds.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, each appropriate state
agency shall ensure that businesses in this state comply with
Subsection (c) and [may] require compliance with that subsection as
a condition for a license, permit, or other state authorization
necessary for conducting business in this state.
(e) This section may not be construed to:
(1) restrict a business or public or private primary
or secondary school from implementing COVID-19 screening and
infection control protocols for customers or students, as
applicable, in accordance with authoritative or controlling
government-issued guidance [state and federal law] to protect
public health; or
(2) interfere with an individual's right to access the
individual's personal health information under federal law.
(f) A governmental entity, business, or public or private
primary or secondary school that violates this section is liable to
this state for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for
each violation. The attorney general may bring an action to collect
the civil penalty imposed under this subsection.
SECTION 3. Section 161.0085, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
the effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect February 1, 2022.