By:  Maxey                                            H.B. No. 1716
       73R4366 KLL-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to demonstration needle and syringe exchange and
    1-3  monitoring programs to reduce the incidence of acquired immune
    1-4  deficiency syndrome.
    1-5        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-6        SECTION 1.  Chapter 85, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
    1-7  adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
    1-8       SUBCHAPTER H.  DEMONSTRATION NEEDLE AND SYRINGE EXCHANGE
    1-9                        AND MONITORING PROGRAMS
   1-10        Sec. 85.161.  LEGISLATIVE DECLARATION.  The legislature finds
   1-11  that behaviors related to intravenous drug use account for the
   1-12  fastest growing rate of exposure to HIV infection in this state.
   1-13  The legislature declares that it is in the public interest to break
   1-14  the deadly connection between AIDS and intravenous drug use by
   1-15  allowing legal access to clean needles and syringes in a
   1-16  comprehensive effort to slow the spread of AIDS.
   1-17        Sec. 85.162.  DEMONSTRATION NEEDLE AND SYRINGE EXCHANGE AND
   1-18  MONITORING PROGRAMS.  (a)  The department, in cooperation with the
   1-19  Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, shall establish a
   1-20  demonstration needle and syringe exchange and monitoring program in
   1-21  one of the five municipalities with the highest incidences of
   1-22  reported AIDS cases as of September 1, 1993.  The department is the
   1-23  lead agency in establishing and administering the program.
   1-24        (b)  The department, with the assistance of the Texas
    2-1  Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, shall establish protocols in
    2-2  accordance with Section 85.163(a).
    2-3        (c)  The department and the Texas Commission on Alcohol and
    2-4  Drug Abuse shall evaluate the effectiveness of the program based on
    2-5  the criteria specified by Section 85.163(b).
    2-6        (d)  The department may authorize similar programs in other
    2-7  areas of the state as determined by the commissioner.
    2-8        Sec. 85.163.  REQUIREMENTS OF DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.  (a)  A
    2-9  demonstration program authorized by this subchapter shall:
   2-10              (1)  be incorporated into existing AIDS prevention and
   2-11  outreach projects in a selected municipality;
   2-12              (2)  provide for free and anonymous exchange of needles
   2-13  and syringes and provide that program participants receive an equal
   2-14  number of needles and syringes for those returned, not to exceed
   2-15  five syringes and needles for each exchange;
   2-16              (3)  require all needles and syringes distributed to be
   2-17  marked and checked for return rates;
   2-18              (4)  offer education on the transmission and prevention
   2-19  of HIV, and may offer referrals or services for other
   2-20  health-related issues such as sexually transmitted diseases,
   2-21  tuberculosis testing, and general health care;
   2-22              (5)  assist program participants in obtaining drug
   2-23  treatment services; and
   2-24              (6)  provide sterile materials such as bleach or
   2-25  sterile cotton to promote safe health practices.
   2-26        (b)  A demonstration program shall include an evaluation
   2-27  component to monitor:
    3-1              (1)  return rates of needles and syringes distributed;
    3-2              (2)  behavioral change of program participants, such as
    3-3  needle sharing, incorporation of prevention activities related to
    3-4  reducing the transmission of HIV by blood, and the use of condoms;
    3-5              (3)  program participation rates and the number of
    3-6  participants who are motivated to enter treatment as a result of
    3-7  the program and the status of their treatment; and
    3-8              (4)  the incidence of HIV infection among intravenous
    3-9  drug users to determine if there is a change as a result of the
   3-10  program.
   3-11        Sec. 85.164.  REPORT.  (a)  A municipality selected for a
   3-12  demonstration program or the person conducting a program shall
   3-13  submit a report evaluating the effectiveness of the program to the
   3-14  department.
   3-15        (b)  The department shall compile all information received
   3-16  from a demonstration program and shall report to the standing
   3-17  committees of the legislature having jurisdiction over public
   3-18  health.
   3-19        Sec. 85.165.  EFFECT OF OTHER LAW.  Sections 481.125(a) and
   3-20  (b) do not apply to:
   3-21              (1)  a person or organization conducting a needle and
   3-22  syringe exchange and monitoring program authorized by this
   3-23  subchapter; or
   3-24              (2)  a person receiving needles or syringes from a
   3-25  needle and syringe exchange and monitoring program authorized by
   3-26  this subchapter.
   3-27        Sec. 85.166.  DISTRIBUTION OF NEEDLES AND SYRINGES TO
    4-1  PROGRAM.  A person licensed as a wholesale drug distributor under
    4-2  Chapter 431 or a pharmacy licensed under the Texas Pharmacy Act
    4-3  (Article 4542a-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) may distribute
    4-4  needles and syringes to a needle and syringe exchange and
    4-5  monitoring program authorized by this subchapter.
    4-6        Sec. 85.167.  HANDLING OF NEEDLES AND SYRINGES.  (a)  A
    4-7  needle and syringe exchange and monitoring program authorized by
    4-8  this subchapter shall store hypodermic needles and syringes in a
    4-9  manner so as to be available only to authorized personnel and not
   4-10  to be openly available to program clients.
   4-11        (b)  All used disposable needles and used disposable syringes
   4-12  shall be destroyed in a manner that makes those needles and
   4-13  syringes unrecoverable.
   4-14        (c)  Used needles and syringes that have been discarded and
   4-15  are awaiting destruction shall be securely safeguarded until they
   4-16  are discarded.
   4-17        SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
   4-18        (b)  The Texas Department of Health or its successor shall
   4-19  establish the program required by Subchapter H, Chapter 85, Health
   4-20  and Safety Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1,
   4-21  1994.
   4-22        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   4-23  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   4-24  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   4-25  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   4-26  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.