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.

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