HBA-ATS H.B. 1679 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1679
By: Corte
Civil Practices
4/20/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Texas law provides that a person authorized to possess a device (braces,
artificial appliances, durable medical equipment, and other medical
supplies), is not liable for personal injury, property damage, or death
that is a result of the nature, age, packaging, or condition, of the device
donated in good faith to a nonprofit health care organization.  No similar
protection is afforded to persons who donate drugs.  Consequently, people
who donate drugs to nonprofit health care organizations may be held liable
for the drug's defectiveness. 

H.B. 1679 includes a drug, in addition to a device, as a medical product
donated in good faith to a nonprofit health care organization for which a
person is not held liable if the product's defectiveness cause's personal
injury, property damage, or death of a recipient.  However, a person does
not escape liability if the person donates a drug that the person knows to
be contaminated or otherwise tainted. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 88, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added
by Chapter 662, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, by
redesignating it as Chapter 89, Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
and amending it, as follows: 

CHAPTER 89.  New title: DONATION OF DRUGS AND MEDICAL DEVICES

Sec. 89.001.  DEFINITIONS.  Defines "drug." Specifies that a "nonprofit
health care organization" is defined according to Section 501, Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.), and its subsequent amendments. 

Sec. 89.002.  New title: LIABILITY FROM DONATED DRUG OR DEVICE.  Includes a
drug, in addition to a device, as a medical product donated in good faith
to a nonprofit health care organization for which a person is not held
liable if the product's defectiveness causes personal injury, property
damage, or death of a recipient.  Makes conforming changes. 

Sec. 89.003.  EXCEPTIONS.  Includes a drug that the person knows to be
contaminated or otherwise tainted as an occurrence that is not encompassed
within the exception to liability. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.