1-1     By:  Corte, Maxey (Senate Sponsor - Duncan)             H.B. No. 21

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 15, 1997;

 1-3     May 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to liability for the donation of medical devices to

 1-9     certain nonprofit organizations.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is

1-12     amended by adding Chapter 88 to read as follows:

1-13                  CHAPTER 88.  DONATION OF MEDICAL DEVICES

1-14           Sec. 88.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:

1-15                 (1)  "Device" means braces, artificial appliances,

1-16     durable medical equipment, and other medical supplies.  The term

1-17     does not include a medical device that is injected, implanted, or

1-18     otherwise placed in the human body.

1-19                 (2)  "Donate" means to give without requiring anything

1-20     of monetary value from the recipient.

1-21                 (3)  "Nonprofit health care organization" means:

1-22                       (A)  an organization that is exempt from federal

1-23     income tax under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of

1-24     1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 501) by being listed as an exempt

1-25     organization in Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of that code and

1-26     that is organized and operated for the purpose of providing free or

1-27     reduced cost health care; or

1-28                       (B)  a bona fide charitable organization that is

1-29     organized and operated for the purpose of providing free or reduced

1-30     cost health care, that dedicates its assets to charitable purposes,

1-31     and that does not provide net earnings to, or operate in a manner

1-32     that inures to the benefit of, an officer, employee, or shareholder

1-33     of the organization.

1-34           Sec. 88.002.  LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES FROM DONATED DEVICE.  A

1-35     person authorized to possess a device is not liable for personal

1-36     injury, property damage, or death resulting from the nature, age,

1-37     packaging, or condition of a device that the person donates in good

1-38     faith to an entity that is authorized to possess the device and

1-39     that is a nonprofit health care organization for use in providing

1-40     free or reduced cost health care.

1-41           Sec. 88.003.  EXCEPTIONS.  (a)  This chapter does not apply

1-42     to a person who donates a device:

1-43                 (1)  knowing that use of the device would be harmful to

1-44     the health or well-being of another person;

1-45                 (2)  with actual conscious indifference to the health

1-46     or well-being of another person; or

1-47                 (3)  in violation of state or federal law.

1-48           (b)  This chapter does not apply to a nonprofit health care

1-49     organization unless the organization has liability insurance in

1-50     effect that satisfies the requirements of Section 84.007(g).

1-51           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

1-52     applies to a cause of action that accrues on or after that date.

1-53     An action that accrued before the effective date of this Act is

1-54     governed by the law in effect at the time the action accrued, and

1-55     that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-56           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-57     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-58     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-59     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-60     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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