1-1 By: Wise (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.B. No. 1798 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 21, 1997; 1-3 April 22, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Health 1-4 and Human Services; May 1, 1997, reported favorably by the 1-5 following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; May 1, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to recommendations for hospitals relating to missing 1-9 infants. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 241, Health and Safety 1-12 Code, is amended by adding Section 241.0263 to read as follows: 1-13 Sec. 241.0263. RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO MISSING INFANTS. 1-14 (a) The department shall recommend hospital security procedures 1-15 to: 1-16 (1) reduce the likelihood of infant patient abduction; 1-17 and 1-18 (2) aid in the identification of missing infants. 1-19 (b) In making recommendations, the department shall consider 1-20 hospital size and location and the number of births at a hospital. 1-21 (c) The procedures recommended by the department under 1-22 Subsection (a)(1) may include: 1-23 (1) controlling access to newborn nurseries; 1-24 (2) expanding observation of newborn nurseries through 1-25 the use of video cameras; and 1-26 (3) requiring identification for hospital staff and 1-27 visitors as a condition of entrance to newborn nurseries. 1-28 (d) The procedures recommended by the department under 1-29 Subsection (a)(2) may include: 1-30 (1) footprinting, photographing, or writing 1-31 descriptions of infant patients at birth; and 1-32 (2) obtaining umbilical cord blood samples for infant 1-33 patients born at the hospital and storing the samples for genetic 1-34 testing purposes. 1-35 (e) Each hospital licensed under this chapter shall consider 1-36 implementing the procedures recommended under this section. 1-37 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 1-38 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 1-39 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-40 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-41 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-42 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 1-43 * * * * *