1-1     By:  Brimer (Senate Sponsor - Ratliff)                H.B. No. 3139

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 1997;

 1-3     April 30, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Economic Development; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to confidentiality of certain workers' compensation

 1-9     information.

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

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 402.083(a), Labor Code, is amended to

1-12     read as follows:

1-13           (a)  Information [in or derived from a claim file] regarding

1-14     an employee's workers' compensation injury, including information

1-15     in or derived from a claim file and information regarding an

1-16     injured employee's claim, [employee] is confidential and may not be

1-17     disclosed by the commission or any other person or entity except as

1-18     provided by this subtitle.

1-19           SECTION 2.  Section 402.086(a), Labor Code, is amended to

1-20     read as follows:

1-21           (a)  Information relating to a claim that is confidential

1-22     under this subtitle remains confidential when released to or

1-23     obtained by any person or entity, except when used in court for the

1-24     purposes of an appeal.

1-25           SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 407, Labor Code, is amended

1-26     by adding Section 407.0445 to read as follows:

1-27           Sec. 407.0445.  CONFIDENTIALITY OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.  An

1-28     employer applying to self-insure under Chapter 407 or having a

1-29     certificate to self-insure under Chapter 407 may, at any time,

1-30     request that financial statements submitted to the director of

1-31     self-insurance regulation be designated by the director as

1-32     confidential.  If the director agrees with the request and grants

1-33     the designation to certain financial statements, the information is

1-34     not open for public disclosure and shall be exempt from the

1-35     disclosure requirements under Chapter 552, Government Code.

1-36           SECTION 4.  Section 411.081, Labor Code, is amended by adding

1-37     Subsection (c) to read as follows:

1-38           (c)  All information contained in the commission's files

1-39     regarding reports made through the telephone hotline, including the

1-40     identity of a person who reports a violation under this section, is

1-41     confidential for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, and may

1-42     not be disclosed to the public or released by the commission except

1-43     as provided by Section 402.085.

1-44           SECTION 5.  Section 412.005, Labor Code, is amended by adding

1-45     Subsection (c) to read as follows:

1-46           (c)  Information relating to an open claim that is reported

1-47     to the director under this section by the office of the attorney

1-48     general is exempt from the disclosure requirements imposed under

1-49     Chapter 552, Government Code.

1-50           SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-51           SECTION 7.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-52     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-53     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-54     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-55     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

1-56     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

1-57     passage, and it is so enacted.

1-58                                  * * * * *