Bill Text: TX SB1695 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to mosquito control districts established for an urgent public health purpose.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-05-20 - Committee report sent to Calendars [SB1695 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB1695-Comm_Sub.html
| By: Lucio, et al. | S.B. No. 1695 | |
| (Price) | ||
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| relating to mosquito control districts established for an urgent | ||
| public health purpose. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 344, Health and Safety Code, is amended | ||
| by designating Sections 344.001 through 344.007 as Subchapter A and | ||
| adding a subchapter heading to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER A. ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION, AND DISSOLUTION OF | ||
| MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICTS | ||
| SECTION 2. Chapter 344, Health and Safety Code, is amended | ||
| by adding Subchapter B to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER B. ESTABLISHMENT OF MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICTS FOR | ||
| URGENT PUBLIC HEALTH PURPOSE | ||
| Sec. 344.051. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "department" | ||
| means the Department of State Health Services. | ||
| Sec. 344.052. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds | ||
| that: | ||
| (1) scientists have concluded the Zika virus is a | ||
| cause for microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects; | ||
| (2) the department has reported that counties in the | ||
| Gulf Coast region and on the international border with Mexico are at | ||
| the highest risk in this state of developing localized cases of the | ||
| Zika virus; | ||
| (3) Cameron County, which is located on the | ||
| international border with Mexico, has had as of December 2016 at | ||
| least five documented cases of locally transmitted Zika virus; | ||
| (4) the powers of a mosquito control district may be | ||
| effective in combating the increased risk of transmission of the | ||
| Zika virus; and | ||
| (5) there is an urgent public health purpose for | ||
| establishing a mosquito control district in Cameron and Hidalgo | ||
| Counties and other high-risk counties to contain, eradicate, and | ||
| treat problems associated with communicable diseases, including | ||
| the Zika virus, the dengue virus, and the chikungunya virus, that | ||
| are carried by mosquitoes. | ||
| Sec. 344.053. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter | ||
| applies only to a county located on the international border with | ||
| Mexico: | ||
| (1) for which the department has documented a locally | ||
| transmitted case of the Zika virus; or | ||
| (2) that is adjacent to a county described by | ||
| Subdivision (1). | ||
| Sec. 344.054. ESTABLISHMENT. A county described by Section | ||
| 344.053 may establish an urgent public health mosquito control | ||
| district on issuance of an order by the county judge or | ||
| commissioners court of the county stating that an urgent public | ||
| health purpose requires establishment of the district and ordering | ||
| an election under Section 344.001. | ||
| Sec. 344.055. DUTIES OF COUNTY ESTABLISHING DISTRICT. A | ||
| county that establishes an urgent public health mosquito control | ||
| district under this subchapter shall: | ||
| (1) conduct surveillance of vectors carrying | ||
| communicable disease; | ||
| (2) address the capacity of the county public health | ||
| infrastructure, including by: | ||
| (A) establishing and operating communicable | ||
| disease and illness identification laboratories; | ||
| (B) training and hiring public health personnel | ||
| and research fellows; | ||
| (C) matching state, federal, and private | ||
| initiatives and efforts aimed at addressing and mitigating health | ||
| and environmental conditions that contribute to the breeding, | ||
| development, and spread of vectors carrying communicable disease; | ||
| (D) testing county residents for communicable | ||
| diseases and providing medical treatment to county residents who | ||
| have communicable diseases; and | ||
| (E) funding prevention measures and initiatives | ||
| to protect county residents from vectors carrying communicable | ||
| disease; and | ||
| (3) address the prevention and spread of vectors | ||
| carrying communicable disease by funding efforts to inform people | ||
| about the prevention and spread through community campaigns and | ||
| regional information efforts. | ||
| Sec. 344.056. SPECIAL PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE. | ||
| (a) In this section, "committee" means the special public health | ||
| advisory committee established under this section. | ||
| (b) Notwithstanding Section 344.004, the commissioners | ||
| court of a county that establishes an urgent public health mosquito | ||
| control district under this subchapter shall establish a special | ||
| public health advisory committee. | ||
| (c) The commissioners court shall appoint seven members to | ||
| the committee as follows: | ||
| (1) one member who is the county public health | ||
| administrator; | ||
| (2) three members who are public health administrators | ||
| at the executive director level in the most populated | ||
| municipalities in the county; and | ||
| (3) three members who are property taxpaying voters of | ||
| the county. | ||
| (d) The commissioner of state health services shall appoint | ||
| one delegate to serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the | ||
| committee. | ||
| (e) The county judge shall designate one committee member | ||
| appointed under Subsection (c) as the presiding officer of the | ||
| committee. The committee meets at the call of the presiding | ||
| officer. | ||
| (f) A committee member serves without compensation. | ||
| (g) A committee member must take an oath of office | ||
| prescribed by the commissioners court. | ||
| (h) The committee shall: | ||
| (1) make written recommendations to the commissioners | ||
| court that the committee considers necessary to: | ||
| (A) address the urgent public health purpose of | ||
| the mosquito control district established under this subchapter; | ||
| and | ||
| (B) implement the district's duties; and | ||
| (2) perform any other duty assigned to the committee | ||
| by the commissioners court. | ||
| Sec. 344.057. MOSQUITO CONTROL PERSONNEL. The | ||
| commissioners court of a county that establishes an urgent public | ||
| health mosquito control district under this subchapter may appoint: | ||
| (1) a mosquito control engineer as provided by Section | ||
| 344.005; or | ||
| (2) any other public health professional the | ||
| commissioners court determines is necessary to carry out the duties | ||
| of the district and to address the recommendations of the special | ||
| public health advisory committee established under Section | ||
| 344.056. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2017. | ||
