BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 464

By: Lucio

Public Health

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) expanded the role of local health authorities, who are tasked with duties relating to disease prevention, containment, and health statistics within their jurisdictions. Many local health departments do not have a full-time health authority, but rather only have a part-time health authority. A part‑time health authority does not have the same access to vital information as a full-time health authority, which led to significant delay in communicating COVID-19 fatality data and made the coordination of fighting COVID-19 more difficult in certain areas of the state. S.B. 464 seeks to address this issue by requiring DSHS, if it provides information to a physician who serves part-time as health authority for a county, to also provide the information to the director of the local health department for the county in order to allow for a more coordinated effort in combating COVID-19 and future diseases.

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

S.B. 464 amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize a physician who is appointed under the Local Public Health Reorganization Act to serve as health authority for a county and who serves in that office part-time to do the following:

· coordinate with the director of the local health department for the county in the performance of the health authority's duties to report the presence of contagious, infectious, and dangerous epidemic diseases in the health authority's jurisdiction to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in the manner and at the times prescribed by DSHS; and

· notify DSHS that the physician serves part-time in the office of health authority for the county.

The bill requires DSHS, if it provides information to a physician who serves part-time as health authority for a county, to also provide the information to the director of the local health department for the county, including information on a death from a reportable or other communicable disease reported to DSHS under applicable provisions of the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.