Bill Text: TX SB1901 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to emergency response employees or volunteers and others exposed or potentially exposed to certain diseases or parasites.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-25 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB1901 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-SB1901-Introduced.html
84R7136 AJZ-F | ||
By: Campbell | S.B. No. 1901 |
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relating to emergency response employees or volunteers and others | ||
exposed or potentially exposed to certain diseases or parasites. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Article 18.22(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) A person who is arrested for a misdemeanor or felony and | ||
who during the commission of that offense or an arrest following the | ||
commission of that offense causes an emergency response employee or | ||
volunteer, as defined by Section 81.003, Health and Safety Code, [ |
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shall, at the direction of the court having jurisdiction over the | ||
arrested person, undergo a medical procedure or test designed to | ||
show or help show whether the person has a communicable disease. | ||
The court may direct the person to undergo the procedure or test on | ||
its own motion or on the request of the emergency response employee | ||
or volunteer [ |
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voluntarily to the procedure or test, the court shall require the | ||
person to submit to the procedure or test. Notwithstanding any | ||
other law, the person performing the procedure or test shall make | ||
the test results available to the local health authority and the | ||
designated infection control officer of the affected emergency | ||
response employee or volunteer, and the local health authority or | ||
the designated infection control officer of the affected employee | ||
or volunteer shall notify the emergency response employee or | ||
volunteer [ |
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the fact that a medical procedure or test was performed on a person | ||
under this article, or use the results of the procedure or test, in | ||
any criminal proceeding arising out of the alleged offense. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 607.102, Government Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 607.102. NOTIFICATION. An [ |
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emergency response employee or volunteer, as defined by Section | ||
81.003, Health and Safety Code, [ |
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to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or a disease caused | ||
by a select agent or toxin identified or listed under 42 C.F.R. | ||
Section 73.3 is entitled to receive notification of the exposure in | ||
the manner prescribed by Section 81.048, Health and Safety Code. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 81.003, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a), (1-b), and (1-c) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(1-a) "Emergency response employee or volunteer" | ||
means an individual acting in the course and scope of employment or | ||
service as a volunteer as emergency medical service personnel, a | ||
peace officer, a detention officer, a county jailer, or a fire | ||
fighter. | ||
(1-b) "Executive commissioner" means the executive | ||
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission. | ||
(1-c) "Designated infection control officer" means | ||
the person serving as an entity's designated infection control | ||
officer under Section 81.012. | ||
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 81, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended by adding Sections 81.012 and 81.013 to read as | ||
follows: | ||
Sec. 81.012. DESIGNATED INFECTION CONTROL OFFICER. (a) An | ||
entity that employs or uses the services of an emergency response | ||
employee or volunteer shall nominate a designated infection control | ||
officer and an alternate designated infection control officer to: | ||
(1) receive notification of a potential exposure to an | ||
infectious disease from a health care facility; | ||
(2) notify the appropriate health care providers of a | ||
potential exposure to an infectious disease; | ||
(3) act as a liaison between the entity's emergency | ||
response employees or volunteers who may have been exposed to a | ||
reportable disease during the course and scope of employment or | ||
service as a volunteer; | ||
(4) investigate and evaluate an exposure incident, | ||
using current evidence-based information on the possible risks of | ||
communicable disease presented by the exposure incident; and | ||
(5) monitor all follow-up treatment provided to the | ||
affected emergency response employee or volunteer, in accordance | ||
with applicable federal, state, and local law. | ||
(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules for the | ||
department to approve the designated infection control officer and | ||
alternate designated infection control officer nominated under | ||
Subsection (a). | ||
Sec. 81.013. CONSIDERATION OF FEDERAL LAW AND REGULATIONS. | ||
The executive commissioner shall review the Ryan White HIV/AIDS | ||
Treatment Extension Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-87) or any | ||
successor law and any regulations adopted under the law and | ||
determine whether adopting by rule any part of the federal law or | ||
regulations is in the best interest of the state to further achieve | ||
the purposes of this chapter. If the executive commissioner | ||
determines that adopting the federal law or regulations is in the | ||
best interest of the state to further achieve the purposes of this | ||
chapter, the executive commissioner may by rule adopt all or a part | ||
of the federal law or regulations. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 81.046(c), Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(c) Medical or epidemiological information may be released: | ||
(1) for statistical purposes if released in a manner | ||
that prevents the identification of any person; | ||
(2) with the consent of each person identified in the | ||
information; | ||
(3) to medical personnel treating the individual, | ||
appropriate state agencies in this state or another state, a health | ||
authority or local health department in this state or another | ||
state, or federal, county, or district courts to comply with this | ||
chapter and related rules relating to the control and treatment of | ||
communicable diseases and health conditions or under another state | ||
or federal law that expressly authorizes the disclosure of this | ||
information; | ||
(4) to appropriate federal agencies, such as the | ||
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States | ||
Public Health Service, but the information must be limited to the | ||
name, address, sex, race, and occupation of the patient, the date of | ||
disease onset, the probable source of infection, and other | ||
requested information relating to the case or suspected case of a | ||
communicable disease or health condition; [ |
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(5) to medical personnel to the extent necessary in a | ||
medical emergency to protect the health or life of the person | ||
identified in the information; or | ||
(6) to a designated infection control officer. | ||
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 81.048, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 81.048. NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE EMPLOYEE OR | ||
VOLUNTEER [ |
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SECTION 7. Sections 81.048(b), (c), and (g), Health and | ||
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Notice of a positive test result for a reportable | ||
disease designated under Subsection (a) shall be given to an | ||
emergency response employee or volunteer [ |
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(1) the emergency response employee or volunteer | ||
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defined by Section 74.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code; | ||
(2) the hospital has knowledge that the person has a | ||
reportable disease and has medical reason to believe that the | ||
person had the disease when the person was admitted to the hospital; | ||
and | ||
(3) the emergency response employee or volunteer | ||
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disease during the course and scope of the person's employment or | ||
service as a volunteer [ |
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(c) Notice of the possible exposure shall be given: | ||
(1) by the hospital to the local health authority; | ||
(2) by the hospital to the designated infection | ||
control officer of [ |
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services of the affected emergency response employee or volunteer | ||
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(3) by the local health authority or the designated | ||
infection control officer of the entity that employs or uses the | ||
services of the affected emergency response employee or volunteer | ||
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(g) A hospital that gives notice of a possible exposure | ||
under Subsection (c) or a local health authority or designated | ||
infection control officer that receives notice of a possible | ||
exposure under Subsection (c) may give notice of the possible | ||
exposure to a person other than the affected emergency response | ||
employee or volunteer [ |
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the person demonstrates that the person was exposed to the | ||
reportable disease while providing emergency care. The executive | ||
commissioner [ |
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adopt rules to implement this subsection. | ||
SECTION 8. Sections 81.050(b) and (h), Health and Safety | ||
Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) A person whose occupation or whose volunteer service is | ||
included in one or more of the following categories may request the | ||
department or a health authority to order testing of another person | ||
who may have exposed the person to a reportable disease, including | ||
HIV infection: | ||
(1) a law enforcement officer; | ||
(2) a fire fighter; | ||
(3) an emergency medical service employee or | ||
paramedic; | ||
(4) a correctional officer; | ||
(5) an employee, contractor, or volunteer, other than | ||
a correctional officer, who performs a service in a correctional | ||
facility as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, or a secure | ||
correctional facility or secure detention facility as defined by | ||
Section 51.02, Family Code; [ |
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(6) an employee of a juvenile probation department; or | ||
(7) any other emergency response employee or | ||
volunteer. | ||
(h) The department or the department's designee shall | ||
inform the person who requested the order and the designated | ||
infection control officer of the person who requested the order, if | ||
that person is an emergency response employee or volunteer, of the | ||
results of the test. If the person subject to the order is found to | ||
have a reportable disease, the department or the department's | ||
designee shall inform that person and the person who requested the | ||
order of the need for medical follow-up and counseling services. | ||
The department or the department's designee shall develop protocols | ||
for coding test specimens to ensure that any identifying | ||
information concerning the person tested will be destroyed as soon | ||
as the testing is complete. | ||
SECTION 9. Sections 81.095(a) and (b), Health and Safety | ||
Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) In a case of accidental exposure of a health care worker | ||
to blood or other body fluids of a patient in a licensed hospital, | ||
the hospital, following a report of the exposure incident, shall | ||
take reasonable steps to test the patient for hepatitis B, [ |
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hepatitis C, HIV, or any reportable disease or parasite. | ||
(b) This subsection applies only in a case of accidental | ||
exposure of certified emergency medical services personnel, an | ||
emergency response employee or volunteer [ |
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of an emergency or during transport to the hospital to blood or | ||
other body fluids of a patient who is transported to a licensed | ||
hospital. The hospital receiving the patient, following a report | ||
of the exposure incident, shall take reasonable steps to test the | ||
patient for hepatitis B, [ |
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disease or parasite if the report shows there is significant risk to | ||
the person exposed. The organization that employs the person or for | ||
which the person works as a volunteer in connection with rendering | ||
the assistance is responsible for paying the costs of the test. The | ||
hospital shall provide the test results to the department or to the | ||
local health authority and to the designated infection control | ||
officer of the entity employing or using the services of an affected | ||
emergency response employee or volunteer, which are responsible for | ||
following the procedures prescribed by Section 81.050(h) to inform | ||
the person exposed and, if applicable, the patient regarding the | ||
test results. The hospital shall follow applicable reporting | ||
requirements prescribed by Subchapter C. This subsection does not | ||
impose a duty on a hospital to provide any further testing, | ||
treatment, or services or to perform further procedures. | ||
SECTION 10. Sections 81.0955(a) and (b), Health and Safety | ||
Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) This section applies only to the accidental exposure to | ||
the blood or other body fluids of a person who dies at the scene of | ||
an emergency or during transport to the hospital involving an | ||
emergency response employee or volunteer [ |
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another [ |
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an emergency or during transport of a person to the hospital. | ||
(b) A hospital, certified emergency medical services | ||
personnel, justice of the peace, medical examiner, or a physician | ||
on behalf of the person exposed, following a report of the exposure | ||
incident, shall take reasonable steps to have [ |
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person tested for communicable diseases. The hospital, certified | ||
emergency medical services personnel, justice of the peace, medical | ||
examiner, or physician shall provide the test results to the | ||
department or to the local health authority and to the designated | ||
infection control officer of an affected emergency response | ||
employee or volunteer responsible for following the procedures | ||
prescribed by Section 81.050(h) to inform the person exposed. If | ||
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shall inform the next of kin of the deceased person regarding the | ||
test results. The hospital, certified emergency medical services | ||
personnel, or physician shall follow applicable reporting | ||
requirements prescribed by Subchapter C. This subsection does not | ||
impose a duty on a hospital, certified emergency medical services | ||
personnel, medical examiner, or a physician to provide any further | ||
testing, treatment, or services or to perform further procedures. | ||
This subsection does not impose a duty on a justice of the peace to | ||
order that further testing, treatment, or services be provided or | ||
further procedures be performed. The executive commissioner [ |
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implement this subsection. | ||
SECTION 11. Section 81.102(c), Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(c) Protocols adopted under Subsection (a)(5)(D) | ||
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criteria for testing that respect the rights of the person with the | ||
infection and the person who may be exposed to that infection. The | ||
protocols may not require the person who may have been exposed to be | ||
tested and must ensure the confidentiality of the person with the | ||
infection in accordance with this chapter. | ||
SECTION 12. Section 81.103(b), Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) A test result may be released to: | ||
(1) the department under this chapter; | ||
(2) a local health authority if reporting is required | ||
under this chapter; | ||
(3) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of | ||
the United States Public Health Service if reporting is required by | ||
federal law or regulation; | ||
(4) the physician or other person authorized by law | ||
who ordered the test; | ||
(5) a physician, nurse, or other health care personnel | ||
who have a legitimate need to know the test result in order to | ||
provide for their protection and to provide for the patient's | ||
health and welfare; | ||
(6) the person tested or a person legally authorized | ||
to consent to the test on the person's behalf; | ||
(7) the spouse of the person tested if the person tests | ||
positive for AIDS or HIV infection, antibodies to HIV, or infection | ||
with any other probable causative agent of AIDS; | ||
(8) a person authorized to receive test results under | ||
Article 21.31, Code of Criminal Procedure, concerning a person who | ||
is tested as required or authorized under that article; | ||
(9) a person exposed to HIV infection as provided by | ||
Section 81.050; [ |
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(10) a county or district court to comply with this | ||
chapter or rules relating to the control and treatment of | ||
communicable diseases and health conditions; and | ||
(11) a designated infection control officer of an | ||
affected emergency response employee or volunteer. | ||
SECTION 13. Section 81.107(a), Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) In a case of accidental exposure to blood or other body | ||
fluids under Section 81.102(a)(5)(D) [ |
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care agency or facility may test a person who may have exposed the | ||
health care worker or other emergency response employee or | ||
volunteer to HIV without the person's specific consent to the test. | ||
SECTION 14. Not later than December 1, 2015, the executive | ||
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall | ||
adopt the rules required by Section 81.012, Health and Safety Code, | ||
as added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |