Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB943 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1127 JG-D
2	2	By: Cain H.B. No. 943
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to informed consent before the provision of certain
10	10	medical treatments involving COVID-19 vaccination.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Texas COVID-19
13	13	Vaccine Freedom Act.
14	14	SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:
15	15	(1) this state is responsible for ensuring that
16	16	individuals lawfully residing in this state have the right to
17	17	provide or withhold consent for any medical treatment;
18	18	(2) the decision in Canterbury v. Spence, 464 F.2d 772
19	19	(D.C. Cir. 1972), establishing the concept of informed consent, has
20	20	become a bedrock principle of the laws of this country and of each
21	21	state;
22	22	(3) the American Medical Association's Code of Medical
23	23	Ethics Opinion 2.1.1 recognizes an individual's right to be fully
24	24	informed of a recommended medical treatment to allow the individual
25	25	to make an informed decision regarding the individual's course of
26	26	treatment, including whether to obtain or decline a particular
27	27	medical treatment;
28	28	(4) under 42 C.F.R. Section 482.13, a hospital is
29	29	required as a condition of participation in Medicare to have in
30	30	place a process for obtaining a patient's informed consent before
31	31	providing treatment to the patient and to ensure "[t]he patient or
32	32	his or her representative (as allowed under State law) has the right
33	33	to make informed decisions regarding his or her care";
34	34	(5) the United States Supreme Court upheld mandatory
35	35	vaccination policies imposed by state and local governments to
36	36	combat smallpox in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905),
37	37	and acknowledged in PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins, 447 U.S.
38	38	74, 81 (1980), that a state may provide "individual liberties more
39	39	expansive than those conferred by the Federal Constitution";
40	40	(6) persons inside and outside this state have sought
41	41	or are seeking to compel or coerce individuals lawfully residing in
42	42	this state into being vaccinated against COVID-19 contrary to the
43	43	individuals' preferences;
44	44	(7) any attempt to compel or coerce an individual
45	45	lawfully residing in this state into being vaccinated against
46	46	COVID-19 contrary to the individual's preference is inconsistent
47	47	with the principles of informed consent; and
48	48	(8) Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as added
49	49	by this Act, prohibits any person from compelling or coercing an
50	50	individual lawfully residing in this state into obtaining medical
51	51	treatments involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.
52	52	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 161, Health and Safety
53	53	Code, is amended by adding Section 161.0086 to read as follows:
54	54	Sec. 161.0086. INFORMED CONSENT REQUIRED FOR MEDICAL
55	55	TREATMENTS INVOLVING COVID-19 VACCINATION. (a) In this section:
56	56	(1) "COVID-19" means the 2019 novel coronavirus
57	57	disease.
58	58	(2) "Health care provider" means an individual
59	59	licensed or otherwise authorized by this state to administer
60	60	vaccines.
61	61	(b) A person may not compel or coerce an individual lawfully
62	62	residing in this state into obtaining a medical treatment involving
63	63	the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, including a COVID-19
64	64	vaccine approved or authorized by the United States Food and Drug
65	65	Administration, contrary to the individual's vaccination
66	66	preference.
67	67	(c) A health care provider may not provide to an individual
68	68	lawfully residing in this state a medical treatment involving the
69	69	administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, including a COVID-19 vaccine
70	70	approved or authorized by the United States Food and Drug
71	71	Administration, unless the provider obtains the individual's
72	72	informed consent before administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
73	73	(d) For purposes of this section, an individual lacks the
74	74	capacity to provide informed consent for a medical treatment
75	75	involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine if the
76	76	individual has been compelled or coerced into being vaccinated
77	77	against COVID-19 contrary to the individual's vaccination
78	78	preference.
79	79	(e) A person may not take an adverse action or impose a
80	80	penalty of any kind against an individual lawfully residing in this
81	81	state for the individual's refusal or failure to obtain a medical
82	82	treatment involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.
83	83	(f) The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive
84	84	relief against a person to prevent the person from violating this
85	85	section. In an injunction issued under this subsection, a court may
86	86	include reasonable requirements to prevent further violations of
87	87	this section.
88	88	(g) A health care provider who violates Subsection (c) is
89	89	liable to the individual who is the subject of the violation for
90	90	damages in an amount of not less than $5,000. In an action brought
91	91	under this subsection, a claimant may recover reasonable expenses
92	92	incurred in bringing the action, including court costs, reasonable
93	93	attorney's fees, investigation costs, witness fees, and deposition
94	94	expenses.
95	95	SECTION 4. Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as
96	96	added by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
97	97	the effective date of this Act.
98	98	SECTION 5. If any provision of this Act or its application
99	99	to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
100	100	not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
101	101	given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
102	102	this end the provisions of this Act are declared severable.
103	103	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
104	104	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
105	105	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
106	106	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
107	107	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.