1-1 By: Carona S.B. No. 1156 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 1999; March 11, 1999, read 1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Health Services; 1-4 May 6, 1999, reported adversely, with favorable Committee 1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 6, 1999, 1-6 sent to printer.) 1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1156 By: Madla 1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-9 AN ACT 1-10 relating to regional injury prevention centers. 1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-12 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 9, Health and Safety Code, is 1-13 amended by adding Chapter 779 to read as follows: 1-14 CHAPTER 779. REGIONAL INJURY PREVENTION CENTERS 1-15 Sec. 779.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 1-16 (1) "Board" means the Texas Board of Health. 1-17 (2) "Department" means the Texas Department of Health. 1-18 Sec. 779.002. REGIONAL INJURY PREVENTION CENTERS. (a) The 1-19 department shall designate seven regional centers for injury 1-20 prevention for the state in the following localities: 1-21 (1) Dallas; 1-22 (2) Harris and Galveston counties; 1-23 (3) Bexar County; 1-24 (4) Lubbock; 1-25 (5) El Paso; 1-26 (6) Corpus Christi; 1-27 (7) Austin and Travis County; and 1-28 (8) Tyler. 1-29 (b) The regional injury prevention centers shall coordinate 1-30 injury prevention control activities within the public health 1-31 regions for the state designated by the department by rule. The 1-32 department may adopt rules permitting regional injury prevention 1-33 centers to provide services for regions served by other injury 1-34 prevention centers in this state as necessary to maximize efficient 1-35 use of resources and provide appropriate services in each region. 1-36 (c) Each regional injury prevention center shall affiliate 1-37 with a level I, II, or III trauma center as defined by the American 1-38 College of Surgeons. 1-39 Sec. 779.003. COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND ASSISTANCE. A regional 1-40 injury prevention center shall: 1-41 (1) work with communities and neighborhoods to help 1-42 establish their injury prevention priorities; 1-43 (2) help communities define and implement 1-44 interventions; 1-45 (3) develop links between electronic databases to 1-46 provide data to community entities; 1-47 (4) provide leadership by bringing community entities 1-48 together to address injury issues; and 1-49 (5) undertake a continuing epidemiologic evaluation of 1-50 the effectiveness of community based interventions in reducing the 1-51 number and extent of injuries and in reducing costs. 1-52 Sec. 779.004. RESOURCE CENTER. (a) The department shall 1-53 designate one of the regional injury prevention centers as the 1-54 statewide resource center to provide to the other regional injury 1-55 prevention centers: 1-56 (1) assistance on how to develop and implement an 1-57 injury prevention program; 1-58 (2) assistance on how to develop effective coalitions; 1-59 (3) public awareness campaigns on injury reductions; 1-60 and 1-61 (4) technical assistance on how to develop and 1-62 implement an evaluation process to determine the effectiveness of 1-63 injury prevention interventions. 1-64 (b) The department's designation of an injury prevention 2-1 center as the statewide resource center is for a five-year period. 2-2 Sec. 779.005. RESEARCH PROGRAMS. (a) A regional injury 2-3 prevention center may conduct a research program to improve 2-4 treatments for trauma victims and to reduce the severity of 2-5 injuries from trauma. 2-6 (b) A regional injury prevention center may accept gifts or 2-7 grants from public or private sources to be used for research. 2-8 Sec. 779.006. PROVIDING INFORMATION AT BIRTH. Because 2-9 injury is a leading cause of death among children and adolescents, 2-10 the department shall assist the regional injury prevention centers 2-11 in providing informational packets on injury prevention to parents 2-12 shortly after a birth. 2-13 Sec. 779.007. STATE LIABILITY. A regional injury prevention 2-14 center and the Coordinating Committee on Injury Prevention are 2-15 governmental units for purposes of Chapter 101, Civil Practice and 2-16 Remedies Code, and are entitled to governmental immunity. A tort 2-17 claim against a regional injury prevention center or the 2-18 Coordinating Committee on Injury Prevention must be made under 2-19 Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. 2-20 (b) An employee, director, officer, volunteer, or member or 2-21 former employee, director, officer, volunteer, or member of a 2-22 regional injury prevention center or the Coordinating Committee on 2-23 Injury Prevention is entitled to the benefits conferred to a state 2-24 employee under Chapter 104, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. 2-25 (c) An employee, director, officer, volunteer, or member or 2-26 a former employee, director, officer, volunteer, or member of a 2-27 regional injury prevention center or the Coordinating Committee on 2-28 Injury Prevention is a public servant for purposes of Chapter 108, 2-29 Civil Practice and Remedies Code. 2-30 Sec. 779.008. COORDINATING COMMITTEE. (a) The Coordinating 2-31 Committee on Injury Prevention shall advise the board and the 2-32 Advisory Commission on State Emergency Communications. 2-33 (b) The committee shall make recommendations to the board 2-34 regarding which entity shall operate each regional injury 2-35 prevention center. 2-36 (c) The committee is composed of three members appointed by 2-37 the governor, three members appointed by the lieutenant governor, 2-38 and one member appointed by the board from each of the following 2-39 entities: 2-40 (1) a representative from each injury prevention 2-41 center or public health region; 2-42 (2) a representative from the Texas Council on Family 2-43 Violence; 2-44 (3) a representative from the Texas Transportation 2-45 Institute; and 2-46 (4) a representative from law enforcement. 2-47 (d) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the 2-48 size, composition, or duration of the advisory committee. 2-49 Sec. 779.009. FUNDING; GIFTS AND GRANTS. (a) The 2-50 sponsoring entity of each regional injury prevention center shall 2-51 contribute 40 percent of the regional injury prevention center's 2-52 budget. The state shall provide 60 percent of each regional injury 2-53 prevention center's budget. It is the intent of the legislature 2-54 that to the extent possible, the money provided by the state shall 2-55 come from tobacco litigation money the state receives under the 2-56 Comprehensive Settlement Agreement and Release filed in the case of 2-57 The State of Texas v. The American Tobacco Co., et al., No. 2-58 5-96CV-91, in the United States District Court, Eastern District of 2-59 Texas. 2-60 (b) The state shall provide all funding for statewide 2-61 activities of the resource center. 2-62 (c) The department shall establish a program to award grants 2-63 to fund the regional injury prevention centers. 2-64 (d) The board shall adopt rules to establish criteria for 2-65 awarding the grants. The rules must require the department to 2-66 consider: 2-67 (1) the need of a region, based on population served 2-68 for injury prevention services and the extent to which the grant 2-69 would meet the identified need; 3-1 (2) assurances that the grant will be used to provide 3-2 quality services; and 3-3 (3) the availability of other funding sources. 3-4 (e) The department may approve grants according to adopted 3-5 rules. A grant awarded under this section is governed by Chapter 3-6 783, Government Code, and the rules adopted under that chapter. 3-7 (f) The department may accept gifts or grants from any 3-8 source for purposes related to this chapter. 3-9 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, but only 3-10 if a specific appropriation for the implementation of this Act is 3-11 made in H.B. No. 1, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 3-12 1999 (the General Appropriations Act). If H.B. No. 1 does not make 3-13 a specific appropriation for the implementation of this Act, this 3-14 Act has no effect. 3-15 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 3-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 3-20 * * * * *