1-1 By: Truitt (Senate Sponsor - Madla) H.B. No. 2676 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2001; 1-3 May 11, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Health 1-4 and Human Services; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the 1-5 following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to the establishment of a domestic violence fatality 1-9 review team in certain counties. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 4, Family Code, is amended by 1-12 adding Chapter 93 to read as follows: 1-13 CHAPTER 93. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FATALITY REVIEW TEAMS 1-14 Sec. 93.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 1-15 (1) "Autopsy" and "inquest" have the meanings assigned 1-16 by Article 49.01, Code of Criminal Procedure. 1-17 (2) "Bureau of vital statistics" means the bureau of 1-18 vital statistics of the Texas Department of Health. 1-19 (3) "Health care provider" means a health care 1-20 practitioner or facility that provides a medical evaluation or 1-21 treatment, including a dental and medical health evaluation or 1-22 treatment. 1-23 (4) "Meeting" means a face-to-face meeting or a 1-24 meeting held by telephone or another electronic medium. 1-25 (5) "Person" means a person older than 18 years of 1-26 age. 1-27 (6) "Preventable domestic violence death" means a 1-28 death that may have been prevented by reasonable medical, social, 1-29 legal, psychological, or educational intervention. The term 1-30 includes a death caused by: 1-31 (A) an intentional or unintentional injury; 1-32 (B) medical neglect; 1-33 (C) lack of access to medical care; or 1-34 (D) suicide. 1-35 (7) "Review" means the reexamination of information 1-36 regarding a deceased person acquired from relevant agencies, 1-37 professionals, and health care providers. 1-38 (8) "Review team" means a domestic violence fatality 1-39 review team established under this chapter. 1-40 (9) "Unexpected death" includes the death of a person 1-41 that, before an investigation is conducted, appears to have 1-42 occurred without anticipation or forewarning as a result of: 1-43 (A) trauma, suspicious or obscure circumstances, 1-44 abuse or neglect, or an unknown cause; or 1-45 (B) suicide. 1-46 Sec. 93.002. ESTABLISHMENT OF REVIEW TEAM; FUNDING. (a) A 1-47 multidisciplinary and multiagency domestic violence fatality review 1-48 team may be established in a county with a population of one 1-49 million or more that contains two or more municipalities, each of 1-50 which has a population of 250,000 or more, to review domestic 1-51 violence deaths and unexpected deaths in the county. 1-52 (b) Any person who may be a member of a review team under 1-53 Subsection (c) may initiate the establishment of a review team and 1-54 may call the first organizational meeting of the team. 1-55 (c) A review team may consist of: 1-56 (1) a criminal prosecutor involved in prosecuting 1-57 domestic violence crimes; 1-58 (2) the judge of the family violence county criminal 1-59 court or the court exercising similar jurisdiction; 1-60 (3) the sheriff; 1-61 (4) a justice of the peace; 1-62 (5) a medical examiner; 1-63 (6) a police chief; 1-64 (7) a physician experienced in diagnosing and treating 2-1 domestic violence abuse and neglect; 2-2 (8) a mental health services provider; 2-3 (9) a public health professional; 2-4 (10) a domestic violence family service provider; 2-5 (11) a domestic violence victims advocate; 2-6 (12) a domestic violence probation officer or another 2-7 similar probation officer; and 2-8 (13) a battering intervention advocate. 2-9 (d) The commissioners court for the county shall determine 2-10 the method for funding the review team. 2-11 Sec. 93.003. PURPOSE AND DUTIES OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) The 2-12 purpose of a review team is to decrease the incidence of 2-13 preventable domestic violence deaths by: 2-14 (1) promoting cooperation, communication, and 2-15 coordination among agencies involved in responding to domestic 2-16 violence deaths in the county; 2-17 (2) recommending changes to agencies, through the 2-18 appropriate review team member, that will reduce the number of 2-19 preventable domestic violence deaths; and 2-20 (3) addressing the need for changes to law, policy, or 2-21 practice that will assist the team and the represented agencies in 2-22 fulfilling their duties. 2-23 (b) To achieve its purpose, a review team shall: 2-24 (1) develop and implement protocols and procedures for 2-25 handling each domestic violence fatality case; 2-26 (2) investigate ways to implement the recommendations 2-27 made by the team; 2-28 (3) meet on a regular basis to review domestic 2-29 violence fatality cases and recommend methods to improve the 2-30 coordination of services and investigations between agencies that 2-31 are represented on the team; 2-32 (4) collect and maintain data; and 2-33 (5) submit to the bureau of vital statistics reports 2-34 on deaths reviewed by the team. 2-35 (c) A review team shall initiate prevention measures as 2-36 indicated by the review team's findings. 2-37 Sec. 93.004. DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICER. A review team 2-38 shall designate a presiding officer for the team who shall: 2-39 (1) send to the review team members notices of each 2-40 meeting to review a domestic violence fatality or unexpected death; 2-41 (2) provide to the review team members a list of each 2-42 domestic violence fatality or unexpected death to be reviewed at a 2-43 meeting; and 2-44 (3) submit a report to the bureau of vital statistics 2-45 not later than the 30th day after the date the review occurred. 2-46 Sec. 93.005. REVIEW PROCEDURE. (a) A review team shall 2-47 review injuries, illnesses, or events that were the cause of a 2-48 death, as stated on the person's death certificate, that occurs in 2-49 the county. 2-50 (b) On receipt of the list of domestic violence fatalities 2-51 and unexpected deaths under Section 93.004(2), each review team 2-52 member shall review the member's records and, if appropriate, the 2-53 records of the member's agency for information regarding each 2-54 listed victim. 2-55 Sec. 93.006. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. (a) A review team may 2-56 request records and other information regarding a deceased person 2-57 as necessary to carry out the review team's purpose and duties. 2-58 Records and other information that may be requested under this 2-59 section include: 2-60 (1) medical, dental, and mental health information; 2-61 (2) information relating to social services provided 2-62 to the person and any emergency shelter the person may have used; 2-63 and 2-64 (3) information and records maintained by a state 2-65 agency or an agency of a political subdivision of the state, 2-66 including: 2-67 (A) a birth certificate; 2-68 (B) a law enforcement agency's investigative 2-69 information; 3-1 (C) the medical examiner's investigative 3-2 information, including autopsy and inquest; 3-3 (D) court records; 3-4 (E) parole and probation information and 3-5 records; and 3-6 (F) records and other information relating to 3-7 protective services. 3-8 (b) On request by the presiding officer of a review team, 3-9 the custodian of the relevant records or other information relating 3-10 to a deceased person shall provide the requested records to the 3-11 review team. 3-12 (c) Information relating to the mental health or medical 3-13 condition of a member of the deceased person's family or of any 3-14 alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse obtained as part of an 3-15 investigation by a state agency or an agency of a political 3-16 subdivision of the state may be provided to the review team. This 3-17 subsection does not authorize the release of the original or a copy 3-18 of a mental health or medical record of any member of the deceased 3-19 person's family or of any alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse 3-20 that is in the possession of a state agency or an agency of a 3-21 political subdivision of the state as provided by Subsection 3-22 (a)(3). 3-23 Sec. 93.007. MEETING OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) A meeting of the 3-24 review team is closed to the public and is not subject to Chapter 3-25 551, Government Code. 3-26 (b) This section does not prohibit a review team from 3-27 requesting the attendance at a closed meeting of a person who is 3-28 not a member of the review team and who has information regarding a 3-29 deceased person. 3-30 (c) Except as necessary to carry out a review team's purpose 3-31 and duties, a member of a review team and any other person 3-32 attending a review team meeting may not disclose what occurred at 3-33 the meeting. 3-34 Sec. 93.008. USE OF RECORDS AND OTHER INFORMATION; 3-35 CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) Records and other information acquired by a 3-36 review team in the exercise of its purpose and duties under this 3-37 chapter are confidential and are not public information for 3-38 purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code. The records and other 3-39 information may be disclosed only as necessary to carry out the 3-40 review team's purpose or duties. 3-41 (b) A report prepared by a review team or a statistical 3-42 compilation of data prepared by a review team may be released under 3-43 this chapter only if the report or statistical compilation does not 3-44 contain any information that would permit the identification of an 3-45 individual. 3-46 (c) A member of a review team may not disclose any 3-47 information that is confidential under this section. 3-48 Sec. 93.009. STATUS OF REVIEW TEAM FOR PURPOSES OF OTHER 3-49 LAW. For the purposes of Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies 3-50 Code, a review team is a governmental unit and a unit of local 3-51 government. 3-52 Sec. 93.010. CIVIL LIABILITY FOR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION. 3-53 Subject to the limits described in Section 101.023(b), Civil 3-54 Practice and Remedies Code, a team organized pursuant to this 3-55 chapter, or any member thereof, may be civilly liable for damages 3-56 caused by the disclosure of information gathered pursuant to an 3-57 investigation if such disclosure is made in violation of Section 3-58 93.007 and Section 93.008. 3-59 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001. 3-60 * * * * *