Texas 2023 - 88th 3rd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB84 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Cain H.B. No. 84
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to informed consent before provision of certain medical
7	7	treatments and exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
10	10	(1) this state is responsible for ensuring that
11	11	individuals lawfully residing in this state have the right to
12	12	provide or withhold consent for any medical treatment;
13	13	(2) the decision in Canterbury v. Spence, 464 F.2d 772
14	14	(D.C. Cir. 1972), establishing the concept of informed consent, has
15	15	become a bedrock principle of the laws of this country and of each
16	16	state;
17	17	(3) the American Medical Association's Code of Medical
18	18	Ethics Opinion 2.1.1 recognizes the right of an individual to be
19	19	fully informed of a recommended medical treatment to allow the
20	20	individual to make an informed decision regarding the individual's
21	21	course of treatment, including whether to obtain or decline a
22	22	particular medical treatment;
23	23	(4) under 42 C.F.R. Section 482.13, a hospital is
24	24	required as a condition of participation in Medicare to have in
25	25	place a process for obtaining the informed consent of a patient
26	26	before providing treatment to the patient and to ensure "[t]he
27	27	patient or his or her representative (as allowed under State law)
28	28	has the right to make informed decisions regarding his or her care";
29	29	(5) the United States Supreme Court upheld mandatory
30	30	vaccination policies imposed by state and local governments to
31	31	combat smallpox in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905),
32	32	and acknowledged in Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins, 447 U.S.
33	33	74, 81 (1980), that a state may provide "individual liberties more
34	34	expansive than those conferred by the Federal Constitution";
35	35	(6) persons inside and outside this state have sought
36	36	or are seeking to compel or coerce individuals lawfully residing in
37	37	this state into obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine contrary to the
38	38	individuals' preferences;
39	39	(7) any attempt to compel or coerce an individual
40	40	lawfully residing in this state into obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine
41	41	contrary to the individual's preference is inconsistent with the
42	42	principles of informed consent; and
43	43	(8) Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as added
44	44	by this Act, prohibits any person from compelling or coercing an
45	45	individual lawfully residing in this state into obtaining medical
46	46	treatments involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.
47	47	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 161, Health and Safety
48	48	Code, is amended by adding Section 161.0086 to read as follows:
49	49	Sec. 161.0086. INFORMED CONSENT AND MEDICAL TREATMENT
50	50	EXEMPTIONS FOR COVID-19 VACCINATION. (a) In this section:
51	51	(1) "COVID-19" means the 2019 novel coronavirus
52	52	disease.
53	53	(2) "Health care facility" means a facility that is a
54	54	provider of services, as defined by Section 1861, Social Security
55	55	Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1395x).
56	56	(3) "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:
72	72	(1) an individual lacks the capacity to provide
73	73	informed consent for a medical treatment involving the
74	74	administration of a COVID-19 vaccine if the individual has been
75	75	compelled or coerced into obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine contrary to
76	76	the individual's vaccination preference; and
77	77	(2) a health care provider who advises or recommends
78	78	the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine is not considered to have
79	79	compelled or coerced an individual into obtaining a COVID-19
80	80	vaccine based solely on that advice or recommendation.
81	81	(e) A person may not take an adverse action or impose a
82	82	penalty of any kind against an individual lawfully residing in this
83	83	state for the individual's refusal or failure to obtain a medical
84	84	treatment involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.
85	85	(f) The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive
86	86	relief against a person to prevent the person from violating this
87	87	section. In an injunction issued under this subsection, a court may
88	88	include reasonable requirements to prevent further violations of
89	89	this section.
90	90	(g) A health care provider who violates Subsection (c) is
91	91	liable to the individual who is the subject of the violation for
92	92	damages in an amount of not less than $5,000. The prevailing party
93	93	in an action brought under this subsection may recover reasonable
94	94	expenses incurred as a result of the action, including court costs,
95	95	reasonable attorney's fees, investigation costs, witness fees, and
96	96	deposition expenses.
97	97	(h) A health care provider may assert an affirmative defense
98	98	to an action brought under Subsection (g) that the individual or an
99	99	individual legally authorized to consent on behalf of the
100	100	individual stated to the provider before the COVID-19 vaccine was
101	101	administered that the informed consent was voluntarily provided.
102	102	SECTION 3. Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as
103	103	added by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
104	104	the effective date of this Act.
105	105	SECTION 4. If any provision of this Act or its application
106	106	to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
107	107	not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
108	108	given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
109	109	this end the provisions of this Act are declared severable.
110	110	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
111	111	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
112	112	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
113	113	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
114	114	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
115	115	legislative session.