By Wise H.B. No. 1798 75R4816 SAW-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to hospital licensure requirements relating to missing 1-3 infants. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 241, Health and Safety 1-6 Code, is amended by adding Section 241.0263 to read as follows: 1-7 Sec. 241.0263. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO MISSING CHILDREN. 1-8 (a) To be eligible for issuance or renewal of a license under this 1-9 chapter, a hospital must establish procedures in accordance with 1-10 department rules to: 1-11 (1) reduce the likelihood of infant patient abduction; 1-12 and 1-13 (2) aid in the identification of missing infants. 1-14 (b) The procedures required by the department under 1-15 Subsection (a)(1) may include: 1-16 (1) controlling access to infant care areas; 1-17 (2) expanding observation of infant care areas through 1-18 the use of video cameras; and 1-19 (3) requiring identification for hospital staff and 1-20 visitors as a condition of entrance to infant care areas. 1-21 (c) The procedures required by the department under 1-22 Subsection (a)(2) may include: 1-23 (1) footprinting, photographing, or writing 1-24 descriptions of infant patients at birth or on admission to the 2-1 hospital; and 2-2 (2) obtaining umbilical cord blood samples for infant 2-3 patients born at the hospital and storing the samples for genetic 2-4 testing purposes. 2-5 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and 2-6 applies only to a hospital license issued or renewed on or after 2-7 January 1, 1998. A hospital license issued or renewed before 2-8 January 1, 1998, is governed by the law as it existed immediately 2-9 before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in 2-10 effect for that purpose. 2-11 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.