Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB128 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R4291 MPF-D
2	2	By: Hall S.B. No. 128
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to hospital reporting requirements regarding suspected
10	10	child abuse, exploitation, or neglect; authorizing an
11	11	administrative penalty.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, is amended
14	14	by adding Subchapter N to read as follows:
15	15	SUBCHAPTER N. CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION, OR NEGLECT REPORTING
16	16	REQUIREMENTS
17	17	Sec. 241.451. SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION, OR
18	18	NEGLECT REPORTS. (a) In this section, "abuse," "exploitation,"
19	19	and "neglect" have the meanings assigned by Section 261.001, Family
20	20	Code.
21	21	(b) Not later than the fifth day of each month, a hospital
22	22	shall submit a report to the commission containing the following
23	23	information:
24	24	(1) the number of reports made during the preceding
25	25	month by the hospital or an agent or employee of the hospital to the
26	26	Department of Family and Protective Services under Chapter 261,
27	27	Family Code, regarding alleged or suspected abuse, exploitation, or
28	28	neglect of a child;
29	29	(2) whether the hospital informed the parent, legal
30	30	guardian, managing conservator, or possessory conservator of a
31	31	child who is the subject of a report described by Subdivision (1)
32	32	that the parent, legal guardian, managing conservator, or
33	33	possessory conservator may obtain an alternative opinion regarding
34	34	the appropriate course of medical treatment for the child; and
35	35	(3) any code indicating alleged or suspected abuse,
36	36	exploitation, or neglect that the hospital used for purposes of
37	37	diagnosing or treating a child who is the subject of a report
38	38	described by Subdivision (1), including, as applicable, the Current
39	39	Procedural Terminology (CPT) code, the Diagnosis Related Group
40	40	(DRG) code, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
41	41	code, or another common identifier.
42	42	(c) A hospital shall attach to each report submitted under
43	43	Subsection (b) a signed affidavit from each physician who during
44	44	the period covered by the report assigned or caused to be assigned a
45	45	code described by Subsection (b)(3) for purposes of diagnosing or
46	46	treating a child who is a subject of the report. The affidavit must
47	47	include the name of the physician who assigned the code or caused
48	48	the code to be assigned and a statement establishing whether the
49	49	physician assigned the code based on the physician's direct
50	50	observation of the child or based on information provided to the
51	51	physician by an agent or employee of the hospital. The information
52	52	contained in an affidavit required under this subsection is
53	53	confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552,
54	54	Government Code.
55	55	(d) If the information required to be included in the report
56	56	under Subsection (b)(3) is not available at the time a report is
57	57	submitted, the hospital shall include that information in the next
58	58	report required to be submitted by the hospital after the date the
59	59	information required by that subdivision becomes available and
60	60	attach to that next report any affidavit described by Subsection
61	61	(c) related to that information.
62	62	(e) A hospital shall submit the report required under
63	63	Subsection (b) in the form and manner prescribed by commission
64	64	rule.
65	65	Sec. 241.452. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) The commission
66	66	shall impose an administrative penalty on a hospital that violates
67	67	Section 241.451.
68	68	(b) Before imposing an administrative penalty on a hospital
69	69	under Subsection (a), the commission must provide written notice to
70	70	the hospital that:
71	71	(1) the hospital is in violation of Section 241.451
72	72	because the hospital has failed to timely submit a report required
73	73	under that section;
74	74	(2) the hospital has 15 days to submit the required
75	75	report; and
76	76	(3) if the hospital does not submit the required
77	77	report within 15 days of receiving notice of the violation, the
78	78	hospital will be subject to an administrative penalty for each day
79	79	the violation continues.
80	80	(c) The commission shall set an administrative penalty
81	81	imposed under this section in an amount sufficient to ensure
82	82	compliance by hospitals with Section 241.451, subject to the
83	83	limitations prescribed by Subsection (d).
84	84	(d) For a hospital with one of the following total gross
85	85	revenues as reported to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
86	86	Services or to another entity designated by commission rule in the
87	87	year preceding the year in which an administrative penalty is
88	88	imposed under this section, the penalty imposed by the commission
89	89	may not exceed:
90	90	(1) $10 for each day the hospital violates Section
91	91	241.451, beginning on the 16th day after the date the hospital
92	92	received notice from the commission, if the hospital's total gross
93	93	revenue is less than $10 million;
94	94	(2) $100 for each day the hospital violates Section
95	95	241.451, beginning on the 16th day after the date the hospital
96	96	received notice from the commission, if the hospital's total gross
97	97	revenue is $10 million or more and less than $100 million; and
98	98	(3) $1,000 for each day the hospital violates Section
99	99	241.451, beginning on the 16th day after the date the hospital
100	100	received notice from the commission, if the hospital's total gross
101	101	revenue is $100 million or more.
102	102	(e) Each day a violation continues is considered a separate
103	103	violation.
104	104	(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
105	105	administrative penalty ceases to be incurred on the date a
106	106	violation is corrected.
107	107	(g) In determining the amount of an administrative penalty
108	108	to impose on a hospital under this section, the commission shall
109	109	consider:
110	110	(1) previous violations by the hospital;
111	111	(2) the seriousness of the violation;
112	112	(3) the demonstrated good faith of the hospital; and
113	113	(4) any other matters as justice may require.
114	114	(h) An administrative penalty collected under this section
115	115	shall be deposited to the credit of an account in the general
116	116	revenue fund administered by the commission. Money in the account
117	117	may be appropriated only to the commission.
118	118	Sec. 241.453. SUMMARY REPORT. The commission shall submit
119	119	a written quarterly report to the legislature summarizing the
120	120	content of the reports submitted to the commission under Section
121	121	241.451(b) during the preceding quarter.
122	122	Sec. 241.454. RULES. The executive commissioner shall
123	123	adopt rules necessary to implement this subchapter.
124	124	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.