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House Bill 1093 |
House Author: Pickett |
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Effective: 9-1-09 |
Senate Sponsor: Nelson |
House Bill 1093 amends the Health and Safety Code to transfer, on May 1, 2010, all functions and activities relating to regional poison control centers performed by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) jointly with the Commission on State Emergency Communications to the commission. The bill replaces the commissioner of public health or a qualified individual designated by the commissioner with the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission or an individual designated by the executive commissioner as a nonvoting ex officio member of the Commission on State Emergency Communications. The bill modifies the list of designated regional poison control centers for the state by replacing the R. E. Thomason General Hospital, El Paso County Hospital District, with the University Medical Center of El Paso, El Paso County Hospital District, and the Northwest Texas Hospital, Amarillo Hospital District, with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Amarillo. The bill requires the coordinating committee on poison control to coordinate the activities of the designated regional poison control centers in addition to advising the commission and modifies the committee's composition. The bill requires the revenue received from an imposed 9-1-1 equalization surcharge to be periodically allocated to fund other activities related to the poison control centers, in addition to funding the centers.
House Bill 1093 requires DSHS, on request of the commission, to provide epidemiological support to the regional poison control centers and requires each center to provide DSHS with access to data and information. The bill sets deadlines of January 1, 2010, and February 1, 2010, by which DSHS and the commission are required to enter into certain memorandums of understanding relating to the responsibilities, powers, and duties of each agency in the transfer.