1-1 By: Moncrief S.B. No. 57
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed December 7, 1992; January 13, 1993,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human
1-4 Services; May 5, 1993, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 5, 1993,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE VOTE
1-8 Yea Nay PNV Absent
1-9 Zaffirini x
1-10 Ellis x
1-11 Madla x
1-12 Moncrief x
1-13 Nelson x
1-14 Patterson x
1-15 Shelley x
1-16 Truan x
1-17 Wentworth x
1-18 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 57 By: Moncrief
1-19 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-20 AN ACT
1-21 relating to the screening and treatment for tuberculosis of
1-22 employees, volunteers, and inmates in county jails and other
1-23 correctional facilities.
1-24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-25 SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
1-26 amended by adding Chapter 89 to read as follows:
1-27 CHAPTER 89. SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS
1-28 IN JAILS AND OTHER CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
1-29 SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1-30 Sec. 89.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-31 (1) "Community corrections facility" means a facility
1-32 established under Article 42.13, Code of Criminal Procedure.
1-33 (2) "County jail" means a facility operated by or for
1-34 a county for the confinement of persons accused or convicted of an
1-35 offense and that has a capacity of 100 beds or more and includes:
1-36 (A) a facility operated by or for a county for
1-37 the confinement of persons accused or convicted of an offense;
1-38 (B) a county jail or a correctional facility
1-39 authorized by Subchapter F, Chapter 351, Local Government Code; and
1-40 (C) a county corrections center authorized by
1-41 Subchapter H, Chapter 351, Local Government Code.
1-42 (3) "Health authority" has the meaning assigned by
1-43 Section 121.021.
1-44 (4) "Local health department" means a health
1-45 department created under Subchapter D, Chapter 121.
1-46 (5) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice
1-47 medicine in a state of the United States.
1-48 (6) "Public health district" means a health district
1-49 established under Subchapter E, Chapter 121.
1-50 (7) "Screening test" means a rapid analytical
1-51 laboratory or other procedure to determine the need for further
1-52 diagnostic evaluation.
1-53 (8) "Tuberculosis" means a disease caused by
1-54 Mycobacterium tuberculosis or other members of the Mycobacterium
1-55 tuberculosis complex.
1-56 (Sections 89.002 to 89.010 reserved for expansion
1-57 SUBCHAPTER B. SCREENING OF JAIL EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS
1-58 Sec. 89.011. SCREENING OF JAIL EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS.
1-59 (a) The commissioners court of each county and the district
1-60 judges governing a community corrections facility, through the
1-61 community supervision and corrections department, shall require
1-62 that each employee or volunteer working or providing services in a
1-63 county jail or a community corrections facility, who meets the
1-64 screening guidelines prescribed by board rule, present to the court
1-65 or judicial district a certificate signed by a physician that
1-66 states that:
1-67 (1) the employee or volunteer has been tested for
1-68 tuberculosis infection in accordance with board rules; and
2-1 (2) the results of the test indicate that the person
2-2 does not have tuberculosis.
2-3 (b) In lieu of a screening test, an employee or volunteer
2-4 with a history of a positive screening test may provide:
2-5 (1) documentation of that positive test result and of
2-6 any diagnostic and therapeutic follow-up; and
2-7 (2) a certificate signed by a physician that states
2-8 that the person does not have tuberculosis.
2-9 (c) The health authority may require an employee or
2-10 volunteer to have an additional screening test or medical
2-11 examination if the department determines that an additional test or
2-12 examination is necessary and appropriate to protect the public
2-13 health.
2-14 Sec. 89.012. FOLLOW-UP EVALUATIONS AND TREATMENT. (a) An
2-15 employee or a volunteer with a positive screening test result must
2-16 obtain a diagnostic evaluation from the person's own physician to
2-17 determine if the person has tuberculosis.
2-18 (b) If the employee or volunteer has tuberculosis, the
2-19 commissioners court or the judicial district, as appropriate, may
2-20 not permit the person to begin or continue the person's employment
2-21 duties or volunteer services unless the person is under treatment
2-22 for the disease by a physician and the person provides to the court
2-23 or judicial district a certificate signed by the attending
2-24 physician stating that the patient is noninfectious.
2-25 Sec. 89.013. CERTIFICATE REQUIRED. (a) The commissioners
2-26 court, judicial district, or a designee of either shall confirm
2-27 that each employee or volunteer required to be screened under this
2-28 subchapter has the required certificate.
2-29 (b) The commissioners court or judicial district may not
2-30 permit an employee or volunteer to carry out the person's duties if
2-31 the person does not have the required certificate.
2-32 Sec. 89.014. COST OF TESTS, FOLLOW-UP, AND TREATMENT. The
2-33 employee or volunteer shall pay the expense of a screening test,
2-34 diagnostic evaluation, or other professional medical service
2-35 required under this subchapter unless the commissioners court or a
2-36 local health department or public health district elects to provide
2-37 the service.
2-38 (Sections 89.015 to 89.050 reserved for expansion
2-39 SUBCHAPTER C. INMATE SCREENING AND TREATMENT
2-40 Sec. 89.051. INMATE SCREENING REQUIRED. (a) Each inmate in
2-41 a county jail or community corrections facility shall undergo a
2-42 screening test for tuberculosis infection approved by the board if:
2-43 (1) the inmate will probably be confined in jail or a
2-44 community corrections facility for more than 14 days; and
2-45 (2) the inmate meets the screening guidelines
2-46 prescribed by board rules.
2-47 (b) The inmate must be tested on or before the 14th day
2-48 after the day the inmate is first confined.
2-49 (c) An inmate listed by Subsection (a) is not required to be
2-50 retested at each rebooking if the inmate is booked into a jail or a
2-51 community corrections facility more than once during a 12-month
2-52 period unless the inmate shows symptoms of tuberculosis or is known
2-53 to have been exposed to tuberculosis.
2-54 Sec. 89.052. RESCREENING; DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATIONS. The
2-55 department or a health authority may require the commissioners
2-56 court or the judicial district to provide an additional screening
2-57 test or a diagnostic evaluation if the health authority determines
2-58 that an additional screening test or a diagnostic evaluation is
2-59 necessary and appropriate to protect the health of the jail
2-60 inmates, employees, volunteers, or the public.
2-61 Sec. 89.053. FOLLOW-UP EVALUATIONS. (a) If an inmate has a
2-62 confirmed positive screening test result, the commissioners court
2-63 or judicial district shall provide a diagnostic evaluation to
2-64 determine whether the inmate has tuberculosis.
2-65 (b) The sheriff, jail administrator, or director of the
2-66 community corrections facility shall provide appropriate
2-67 accommodations to an inmate who has tuberculosis or is suspected of
2-68 having tuberculosis, including respiratory isolation, if necessary,
2-69 and adequate medical care and treatment that meet the accepted
2-70 standards of medical practice.
3-1 (c) The county jail or community corrections facility shall
3-2 provide preventive therapy to an infected inmate if the preventive
3-3 therapy is prescribed by the attending physician and the inmate
3-4 consents to the treatment.
3-5 Sec. 89.054. INMATE TRANSFER AND RELEASE. A copy of an
3-6 inmate's medical records or documentation of screenings or
3-7 treatment received during confinement must accompany an inmate
3-8 transferred from one jail or community corrections facility to
3-9 another and be available for medical review on arrival of the
3-10 inmate.
3-11 (Sections 89.055 to 89.070 reserved for expansion
3-12 SUBCHAPTER D. REPORTING; RULEMAKING; MINIMUM STANDARDS
3-13 Sec. 89.071. REPORTING. (a) A case of tuberculosis shall
3-14 be reported to the appropriate health authority or to the
3-15 department not later than the third day after the day on which the
3-16 diagnosis is suspected.
3-17 (b) The results of a screening test shall be reported to the
3-18 department monthly in a manner approved by the department.
3-19 Sec. 89.072. RULEMAKING. The department shall recommend to
3-20 the Commission on Jail Standards and the Texas Department of
3-21 Criminal Justice rules to carry out this chapter, including rules
3-22 describing:
3-23 (1) the types of screening tests and diagnostic
3-24 evaluations and the scope of the professional examinations that may
3-25 be used to meet the requirements of this chapter;
3-26 (2) the categories of employees, volunteers, or
3-27 inmates who must have a screening test under this chapter;
3-28 (3) the form and content of the certificate required
3-29 under Subchapter B for employees and volunteers;
3-30 (4) the deadlines for filing a certificate;
3-31 (5) the transfer of employee or volunteer certificates
3-32 and inmate records between county or judicial district facilities;
3-33 (6) the frequency of screening tests for employees,
3-34 volunteers, and inmates;
3-35 (7) the criteria for requiring an additional screening
3-36 test or a diagnostic evaluation or examination; and
3-37 (8) the reporting of a screening test or an evaluation
3-38 or examination result to the appropriate health authority or to the
3-39 department.
3-40 Sec. 89.073. ADOPTION OF LOCAL STANDARDS. (a) The
3-41 standards prescribed by this chapter and the rules adopted by the
3-42 board relating to screening tests or examinations for tuberculosis
3-43 required for certain employees and volunteers are minimum
3-44 standards.
3-45 (b) With the prior approval of the department:
3-46 (1) a commissioners court or a judicial district may
3-47 adopt and enforce standards for carrying out this chapter if the
3-48 standards are compatible with and equal to or more stringent than
3-49 the standards prescribed by this chapter and the board's rules; and
3-50 (2) a private facility may adopt and enforce standards
3-51 for carrying out this chapter if the standards are compatible with
3-52 and equal to or more stringent than the standards prescribed by
3-53 this chapter and the board's rules.
3-54 (c) The board shall adopt substantive and procedural rules
3-55 to govern the submission of county, judicial district, or private
3-56 jail standards. At a minimum these rules must contain:
3-57 (1) a procedure for the submission of standards for
3-58 departmental review; and
3-59 (2) an internal departmental appeal process by which a
3-60 county, judicial district, or private entity may seek a review of
3-61 the department's decision to reject the entity's proposed
3-62 standards.
3-63 SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Department of Health shall supply
3-64 the materials, drugs, and laboratory service to jails and community
3-65 corrections facilities that are necessary to accomplish the
3-66 screening required by this Act. The department is not required to
3-67 supply a private jail, but a private jail may receive reimbursement
3-68 under its contract with a county.
3-69 (b) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall provide
3-70 funds for administering screenings, evaluating inmates, and
4-1 administering drugs to inmates suspected of having an active case
4-2 of tuberculosis, for inmates whose paperwork and processing
4-3 required under Subsection (a), Section 8, Article 42.09, Code of
4-4 Criminal Procedure, has been completed, and inmates in a community
4-5 corrections facility. The department shall reimburse a county or
4-6 judicial district in the same manner as provided for reimbursements
4-7 under Section 499.123, Government Code.
4-8 (c) A county or judicial district shall provide funds for
4-9 administering screenings, evaluating inmates, and administering
4-10 drugs to inmates suspected of having an active case of
4-11 tuberculosis, for inmates who are pretrial, inmates whose paperwork
4-12 and processing under Subsection (a), Section 8, Article 42.09, Code
4-13 of Criminal Procedure, is incomplete, or inmates who are not to be
4-14 transferred to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility.
4-15 (d) It is the intent of the legislature that the county
4-16 provide only 33 percent of the cost of the program required under
4-17 this Act. The Texas Department of Health is authorized to provide
4-18 grants to counties which require assistance to fulfill this
4-19 expression of intent.
4-20 SECTION 3. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this
4-21 Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
4-22 (b) Each county commissioners court and governing body of a
4-23 judicial district shall begin the screening activities prescribed
4-24 by Chapter 89, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, not
4-25 later than March 15, 1994.
4-26 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-27 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-28 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-29 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-30 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
4-31 * * * * *
4-32 Austin,
4-33 Texas
4-34 May 5, 1993
4-35 Hon. Bob Bullock
4-36 President of the Senate
4-37 Sir:
4-38 We, your Committee on Health and Human Services to which was
4-39 referred S.B. No. 57, have had the same under consideration, and I
4-40 am instructed to report it back to the Senate with the
4-41 recommendation that it do not pass, but that the Committee
4-42 Substitute adopted in lieu thereof do pass and be printed.
4-43 Zaffirini,
4-44 Chair
4-45 * * * * *
4-46 WITNESSES
4-47 FOR AGAINST ON
4-48 ___________________________________________________________________
4-49 Name: Mary Ellen Schattman x
4-50 Representing: TX Asso of Public & Non-Profit
4-51 City: Fort Worth
4-52 -------------------------------------------------------------------
4-53 Name: Susan Steeg x
4-54 Representing: TDH
4-55 City: Austin
4-56 -------------------------------------------------------------------
4-57 Name: Jim Allison x
4-58 Representing: Co Judges & Comm Asso of Tx
4-59 City: Austin
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