73R6956 MLR-F
By Hirschi H.B. No. 486
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 486:
By Hirschi C.S.H.B. No. 486
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the screening and treatment for tuberculosis of
1-3 employees, volunteers, and inmates in county jails and other
1-4 correctional facilities.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
1-7 amended by adding Chapter 89 to read as follows:
1-8 CHAPTER 89. SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS IN JAILS AND
1-9 OTHER CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
1-10 SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1-11 Sec. 89.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-12 (1) "Community corrections facility" means a facility
1-13 established under Article 42.13, Code of Criminal Procedure.
1-14 (2) "County jail" means a facility operated by or for
1-15 a county for the confinement of persons accused or convicted of an
1-16 offense and that has a capacity of 100 beds or more and includes:
1-17 (A) a facility operated by or for a county for
1-18 the confinement of persons accused or convicted of an offense;
1-19 (B) a county jail or a correctional facility
1-20 authorized by Subchapter F, Chapter 351, Local Government Code; and
1-21 (C) a county corrections center authorized by
1-22 Subchapter H, Chapter 351, Local Government Code.
1-23 (3) "Health authority" has the meaning assigned by
1-24 Section 121.021.
2-1 (4) "Local health department" means a health
2-2 department created under Subchapter D, Chapter 121.
2-3 (5) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice
2-4 medicine in a state of the United States.
2-5 (6) "Public health district" means a health district
2-6 established under Subchapter E, Chapter 121.
2-7 (7) "Screening test" means a rapid analytical
2-8 laboratory or other procedure to determine the need for further
2-9 diagnostic evaluation.
2-10 (8) "Tuberculosis" means a disease caused by
2-11 Mycobacterium tuberculosis or other members of the Mycobacterium
2-12 tuberculosis complex.
2-13 (Sections 89.002-89.010 reserved for expansion
2-14 SUBCHAPTER B. SCREENING OF JAIL EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS
2-15 Sec. 89.011. SCREENING FOR JAIL EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS.
2-16 (a) The commissioners court of each county and the district
2-17 judges governing a community corrections facility, through the
2-18 community supervision and corrections department, shall require
2-19 that each employee or volunteer working or providing services in a
2-20 county jail or a community corrections facility, who meets the
2-21 screening guidelines prescribed by board rule, present to the court
2-22 or judicial district a certificate signed by a physician that
2-23 states that:
2-24 (1) the employee or volunteer has been tested for
2-25 tuberculosis infection in accordance with board rules; and
2-26 (2) the results of the test indicate that the person
2-27 does not have tuberculosis.
3-1 (b) In lieu of a screening test, an employee or volunteer
3-2 with a history of a positive screening test may provide:
3-3 (1) documentation of that positive test result and of
3-4 any diagnostic and therapeutic follow-up; and
3-5 (2) a certificate signed by a physician that states
3-6 that the person does not have tuberculosis.
3-7 (c) The health authority may require an employee or
3-8 volunteer to have an additional screening test or medical
3-9 examination if the department determines that an additional test or
3-10 examination is necessary and appropriate to protect the public
3-11 health.
3-12 Sec. 89.012. FOLLOW-UP EVALUATIONS AND TREATMENT. (a) An
3-13 employee or a volunteer with a positive screening test result must
3-14 obtain a diagnostic evaluation from the person's own physician to
3-15 determine if the person has tuberculosis.
3-16 (b) If the employee or volunteer has tuberculosis, the
3-17 commissioners court or the judicial district, as appropriate, may
3-18 not permit the person to begin or continue the person's employment
3-19 duties or volunteer services unless the person is under treatment
3-20 for the disease by a physician and the person provides to the court
3-21 or judicial district a certificate signed by the attending
3-22 physician stating that the patient is noninfectious.
3-23 Sec. 89.013. CERTIFICATE REQUIRED. (a) The commissioners
3-24 court, judicial district, or a designee of either shall confirm
3-25 that each employee or volunteer required to be screened under this
3-26 subchapter has the required certificate.
3-27 (b) The commissioners court or judicial district may not
4-1 permit an employee or volunteer to carry out the person's duties if
4-2 the person does not have the required certificate.
4-3 Sec. 89.014. COST OF TESTS, FOLLOW-UP, AND TREATMENT. The
4-4 employee or volunteer shall pay the expense of a screening test,
4-5 diagnostic evaluation, or other professional medical service
4-6 required under this subchapter unless the commissioners court or a
4-7 local health department or public health district elects to provide
4-8 the service.
4-9 (Sections 89.015-89.050 reserved for expansion
4-10 SUBCHAPTER C. INMATE SCREENING AND TREATMENT
4-11 Sec. 89.051. INMATE SCREENING REQUIRED. (a) Each inmate in
4-12 a county jail or community corrections facility shall undergo a
4-13 screening test for tuberculosis infection approved by the board if:
4-14 (1) the inmate will probably be confined in jail or a
4-15 community corrections facility for more than 14 days; and
4-16 (2) the inmate meets the screening guidelines
4-17 prescribed by board rules.
4-18 (b) The inmate must be tested on or before the 14th day
4-19 after the day the inmate is first confined.
4-20 (c) An inmate listed by Subsection (a) is not required to be
4-21 retested at each rebooking if the inmate is booked into a jail or a
4-22 community corrections facility more than once during a calendar
4-23 year unless the inmate shows symptoms of tuberculosis or is known
4-24 to have been exposed to tuberculosis.
4-25 Sec. 89.052. RESCREENING; DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATIONS. The
4-26 department or a health authority may require the commissioners
4-27 court or the judicial district to provide an additional screening
5-1 test or a diagnostic evaluation if the health authority determines
5-2 that an additional screening test or a diagnostic evaluation is
5-3 necessary and appropriate to protect the health of the jail
5-4 inmates, employees, volunteers, or the public.
5-5 Sec. 89.053. FOLLOW-UP EVALUATIONS. (a) If an inmate has a
5-6 confirmed positive screening test result, the commissioners court
5-7 or judicial district shall provide a diagnostic evaluation to
5-8 determine whether the inmate has tuberculosis.
5-9 (b) The sheriff, jail administrator, or director of the
5-10 community corrections facility shall provide appropriate
5-11 accommodations to an inmate who has tuberculosis or is suspected of
5-12 having tuberculosis, including respiratory isolation, if necessary,
5-13 and adequate medical care and treatment that meet the accepted
5-14 standards of medical practice.
5-15 (c) The county jail or community corrections facility shall
5-16 provide preventive therapy to an infected inmate if the preventive
5-17 therapy is prescribed by the attending physician and the inmate
5-18 consents to the treatment.
5-19 Sec. 89.054. INMATE TRANSFER AND RELEASE. A copy of an
5-20 inmate's medical records or documentation of screenings or
5-21 treatment received during confinement must accompany an inmate
5-22 transferred from one jail or community corrections facility to
5-23 another and be available for medical review on arrival of the
5-24 inmate.
5-25 (Sections 89.055-89.070 reserved for expansion
5-26 SUBCHAPTER D. REPORTING; RULEMAKING; MINIMUM STANDARDS
5-27 Sec. 89.071. REPORTING. (a) A case of tuberculosis shall
6-1 be reported to the appropriate health authority or to the
6-2 department not later than the third day after the day on which the
6-3 diagnosis is suspected.
6-4 (b) The results of a screening test shall be reported to the
6-5 department monthly in a manner approved by the department.
6-6 Sec. 89.072. RULEMAKING. The department shall recommend to
6-7 the Commission on Jail Standards and the Texas Department of
6-8 Criminal Justice rules to carry out this chapter, including rules
6-9 describing:
6-10 (1) the types of screening tests and diagnostic
6-11 evaluations and the scope of the professional examinations that may
6-12 be used to meet the requirements of this chapter;
6-13 (2) the categories of employees, volunteers, or
6-14 inmates who must have a screening test under this chapter;
6-15 (3) the form and content of the certificate required
6-16 under Subchapter B for employees and volunteers;
6-17 (4) the deadlines for filing a certificate;
6-18 (5) the transfer of employee or volunteer certificates
6-19 and inmate records between county or judicial district facilities;
6-20 (6) the frequency of screening tests for employees,
6-21 volunteers, and inmates;
6-22 (7) the criteria for requiring an additional screening
6-23 test or a diagnostic evaluation or examination; and
6-24 (8) the reporting of a screening test or an evaluation
6-25 or examination result to the appropriate health authority or to the
6-26 department.
6-27 Sec. 89.073. ADOPTION OF LOCAL STANDARDS. (a) The
7-1 standards prescribed by this chapter and the rules adopted by the
7-2 board relating to screening tests or examinations for tuberculosis
7-3 required for certain employees and volunteers are minimum
7-4 standards.
7-5 (b) With the prior approval of the department:
7-6 (1) a commissioners court or a judicial district may
7-7 adopt and enforce standards for carrying out this chapter if the
7-8 standards are compatible with and equal to or more stringent than
7-9 the standards prescribed by this chapter and the board's rules; and
7-10 (2) a private facility may adopt and enforce standards
7-11 for carrying out this chapter if the standards are compatible with
7-12 and equal to or more stringent than the standards prescribed by
7-13 this chapter and the board's rules.
7-14 (c) The board shall adopt substantive and procedural rules
7-15 to govern the submission of county, judicial district, or private
7-16 jail standards. At a minimum these rules must contain:
7-17 (1) a procedure for the submission of standards for
7-18 departmental review; and
7-19 (2) an internal departmental appeal process by which a
7-20 county, judicial district, or private entity may seek a review of
7-21 the department's decision to reject the entity's proposed
7-22 standards.
7-23 SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Department of Health shall supply
7-24 the materials, drugs, and laboratory service to jails and community
7-25 corrections facilities that are necessary to accomplish the
7-26 screening required by this Act. The department is not required to
7-27 supply a private jail, but a private jail may receive reimbursement
8-1 under its contract with a county.
8-2 (b) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall provide
8-3 funds for administering screenings, evaluating inmates, and
8-4 administering drugs to inmates suspected of having an active case
8-5 of tuberculosis, for inmates whose paperwork and processing
8-6 required under Section 8(a), Article 42.09, Code of Criminal
8-7 Procedure, has been completed, and inmates in a community
8-8 corrections facility. The department shall reimburse a county or
8-9 judicial district in the same manner as provided for reimbursements
8-10 under Section 499.123, Government Code.
8-11 (c) A county or judicial district shall provide funds for
8-12 administering screenings, evaluating inmates, and administering
8-13 drugs to inmates suspected of having an active case of
8-14 tuberculosis, for inmates who are pretrial, inmates whose paperwork
8-15 and processing under Section 8(a), Article 42.09, Code of Criminal
8-16 Procedure, is incomplete, or inmates who are not to be transferred
8-17 to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility.
8-18 SECTION 3. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this
8-19 Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
8-20 (b) Each county commissioners court and governing body of a
8-21 judicial district shall begin the screening activities prescribed
8-22 by Chapter 89, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, not
8-23 later than March 15, 1994.
8-24 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
8-25 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-26 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-27 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
9-1 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.