Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4223 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R14265 PRL-D
2	2	By: Martinez Fischer H.B. No. 4223
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to youth injury mitigation and information training for
8	8	coaches and youth athletics personnel.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 13, Occupations Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Chapter 2053 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 2053. COACHES AND ATHLETICS PERSONNEL
13	13	Sec. 2053.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as
14	14	the Coach Safely Act.
15	15	Sec. 2053.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	16	(1) "Association" means an organization that
17	17	administers or conducts high-risk youth athletics activities on
18	18	property owned, leased, managed, or maintained by this state, an
19	19	agent of this state, or a state agency or political subdivision of
20	20	this state.
21	21	(2) "Athletics personnel" means athletic directors
22	22	and other persons actively involved in organizing, training, or
23	23	coaching sports activities for youth who are 14 years of age or
24	24	younger.
25	25	(3) "Coach" means any individual, whether paid,
26	26	unpaid, volunteer, or interim, who an association has approved to
27	27	organize, train, or supervise a youth athlete or team of youth
28	28	athletes. If an individual approved by the association is
29	29	unavailable, the term may include an individual selected by a youth
30	30	athlete or a team of youth athletes who has not been approved by the
31	31	association.
32	32	(4) "High-risk youth athletics activities" means any
33	33	organized sport with a significant possibility for a youth athlete
34	34	participating in the sport to sustain a serious physical injury,
35	35	including:
36	36	(A) baseball;
37	37	(B) basketball;
38	38	(C) cheerleading;
39	39	(D) field hockey;
40	40	(E) football;
41	41	(F) ice hockey;
42	42	(G) lacrosse;
43	43	(H) soccer; and
44	44	(I) volleyball.
45	45	(5) "Youth athlete" means an individual younger than
46	46	15 years of age that participates in an organized sport.
47	47	Sec. 2053.003. APPLICABILITY AND CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER.
48	48	(a) This chapter does not apply to:
49	49	(1) athletic trainers;
50	50	(2) physicians licensed to practice medicine in this
51	51	state;
52	52	(3) nurses licensed to practice nursing in this state;
53	53	(4) first responders; and
54	54	(5) any other health care professionals with acute
55	55	traumatic life support training.
56	56	(b) This chapter does not:
57	57	(1) eliminate the involvement of athletic trainers at
58	58	youth athletic events; or
59	59	(2) impose any additional liability on political
60	60	subdivisions of this state.
61	61	Sec. 2053.004. TRAINING POLICY; YOUTH INJURY MITIGATION AND
62	62	INFORMATION COURSE. (a) A youth athletics association that
63	63	sponsors or conducts sports training or high-risk youth athletic
64	64	activities for youth athletes shall adopt a policy to require all
65	65	the association's coaches and athletics personnel to complete, if
66	66	available at no cost, a youth injury mitigation and information
67	67	course that provides information on and awareness of actions and
68	68	measures that may be used to decrease the likelihood of a youth
69	69	athlete sustaining a serious injury while engaged or participating
70	70	in a high-risk youth athletic activity. The course may be online or
71	71	in person and must be approved by the Department of State Health
72	72	Services.
73	73	(b) A youth injury mitigation and information course must
74	74	provide information on:
75	75	(1) emergency preparedness, planning, and rehearsal
76	76	for traumatic injuries;
77	77	(2) concussions and head trauma;
78	78	(3) heat and extreme weather-related injury
79	79	familiarization;
80	80	(4) physical conditioning and training equipment
81	81	usage; and
82	82	(5) heart defects and abnormalities leading to sudden
83	83	cardiac arrest and death.
84	84	(c) A person required to complete a youth injury mitigation
85	85	and information course under this section must complete the course
86	86	not later than the 30th day following the date the person becomes
87	87	actively engaged in or serves as a coach or member of the athletic
88	88	personnel for an association.
89	89	(d) A person required to take a youth injury mitigation and
90	90	information course under this section shall annually complete the
91	91	course not later than the anniversary of the date the person became
92	92	actively engaged in serving as a coach or member of the athletics
93	93	personnel for an association.
94	94	Sec. 2053.005. RECORDS OF COURSE COMPLETION. An
95	95	association that conducts a high-risk youth athletic activity or
96	96	event that requires a coach or a member of the athletics personnel
97	97	to complete a youth injury mitigation and information course under
98	98	Section 2053.004 shall maintain a record of the individual's course
99	99	completion during the period the person serves as a coach or member
100	100	of the athletics personnel for that association.
101	101	Sec. 2053.006. IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. A coach or member
102	102	of the athletics personnel of an association is immune from civil
103	103	liability for any injury sustained by a youth athlete as a result of
104	104	participation in a high-risk youth athletic activity on
105	105	establishing that the coach or member:
106	106	(1) completed the injury mitigation and information
107	107	course required under Section 2053.004; and
108	108	(2) reasonably conformed their conduct to the safety
109	109	techniques and methods identified in the course.
110	110	SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
111	111	of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
112	112	Services Commission shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
113	113	Chapter 2053, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
114	114	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.