BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 780

By: Oliverson

Public Health

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

A bone marrow donation is potentially lifesaving for those who have been diagnosed with various cancers or other serious illnesses. The need for bone marrow donations is significant, especially for racial and ethnic minorities for whom it can be harder to find a donor match. It has been noted that, while the Department of Public Safety has provided individuals applying for their driver's license or identification card the option to register as an organ donor through the Donate Life Texas Registry for over a decade, the state is not currently offering a similar program to raise awareness of the importance of bone marrow donation or to provide Texans with the information on how to become a donor. C.S.H.B. 780 seeks to address this issue and facilitate an increase in bone marrow donations by providing for the establishment of a bone marrow donor recruitment program and the development of related informational materials that will be posted online and made available to appropriate health care facilities, blood banks, and driver's license offices.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 780 amends the Health and Safety Code to require the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to establish a bone marrow donor recruitment program to educate Texas residents about the following:

·         the need for bone marrow donors, including the particular need for donors from minority populations;

·         the requirements for registering as a potential donor with the federally authorized bone marrow donor registry, better known as the Be The Match Registry, established and maintained as part of the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program, including procedures for determining an individual's tissue type;

·         the medical procedures an individual must undergo to donate bone marrow or other sources of blood stem cells; and

·         the availability of information about bone marrow donation in health care facilities, blood banks, and driver's license offices.

C.S.H.B. 780 requires DSHS, in consultation with Be The Match, to develop written and electronic informational materials, including links to websites and machine-readable codes, regarding bone marrow donation and the process of registering with Be The Match. The bill authorizes the registry to develop and provide the informational materials to DSHS and requires DSHS and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to post the information on their respective websites. The bill authorizes appropriate health care facilities, blood banks, and driver's license offices to access the informational materials on those websites and print the materials to place in their facilities, blood banks, or offices to provide to Texas residents.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 780 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute changes the state agency responsible for establishing the recruitment program from the Health and Human Services Commission to DSHS.

The substitute specifies that the national bone marrow donor registry is the Be The Match Registry.

The substitute includes provisions regarding the informational materials that, as follows:

·         require DSHS to consult with Be The Match in developing the materials;

·         require the materials to include links to websites and machine-readable codes;

·         authorize Be The Match to develop the materials and provide them to DSHS; and

·         require DSHS and DPS to post the materials on their respective websites.

The substitute does not include the following:

·         provisions regarding the development of press, radio, and television materials to spread awareness of the recruitment program;

·         provisions regarding a report to the legislature; and

·         the requirement that the informational materials be made available to each person applying for a driver's license and that applicable signage be placed in each driver's license office.