1-1 By: Lindsay S.B. No. 968 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 8, 1999; March 9, 1999, read 1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Health Services; 1-4 March 17, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5, 1-5 Nays 0; March 17, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to access to criminal history record information for 1-9 certain hospitals and hospital districts. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is 1-12 amended by adding Section 411.136 to read as follows: 1-13 Sec. 411.136. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION: 1-14 PUBLIC HOSPITALS AND HOSPITAL DISTRICTS. (a) In this section, 1-15 "public hospital" means a hospital that is owned, operated, or 1-16 leased by a county, municipality, or hospital authority. 1-17 (b) A public hospital or hospital district is entitled to 1-18 obtain from the department criminal history record information 1-19 maintained by the department that relates to a person who is: 1-20 (1) an applicant for employment or a volunteer 1-21 position with the public hospital or hospital district; 1-22 (2) an employee of or a volunteer with the public 1-23 hospital or hospital district; or 1-24 (3) an applicant for employment with or an employee of 1-25 a person or business that contracts with the public hospital or 1-26 hospital district. 1-27 (c) The public hospital or hospital district shall adopt a 1-28 uniform method to obtain criminal history information from persons 1-29 described by Subsection (b). The public hospital or hospital 1-30 district may require the complete name, driver's license number, 1-31 fingerprints, or social security number of those persons. 1-32 (d) The public hospital or hospital district may dismiss a 1-33 person or deny a person employment or a volunteer position or 1-34 refuse to allow a person to work in a public hospital or hospital 1-35 district facility if: 1-36 (1) the person fails or refuses to provide information 1-37 described by Subsection (c); or 1-38 (2) the person's criminal history record information 1-39 reveals a conviction or deferred adjudication that renders the 1-40 person unqualified or unsuitable for employment or a volunteer 1-41 position. 1-42 (e) All criminal history record information received by a 1-43 public hospital or hospital district under this section is 1-44 privileged, confidential, and intended for the exclusive use of the 1-45 entity that obtained the information. The public hospital or 1-46 hospital district may not release or disclose criminal history 1-47 record information to any person or agency except in a criminal 1-48 proceeding, in a hearing conducted by the public hospital or 1-49 hospital district, to another governmental entity as required by 1-50 law, or as required by court order. 1-51 (f) The public hospital or hospital district shall develop 1-52 procedures for the custody and use of information obtained under 1-53 this section. After use of the information, the public hospital or 1-54 hospital district administrator or the administrator's designee 1-55 shall destroy the information in accordance with the public 1-56 hospital's or hospital district's document destruction procedures. 1-57 (g) A public hospital, a hospital district, a member of the 1-58 governing board of the public hospital or hospital district, or an 1-59 employee of a public hospital or hospital district is not civilly 1-60 liable for failure to comply with this chapter if the public 1-61 hospital or hospital district makes a good faith effort to comply. 1-62 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 1-63 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 1-64 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 2-4 * * * * *