By Madla S.B. No. 515
77R2501 YDB-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment of an adult fatality review team and
1-3 to the reporting and investigation of certain adult deaths.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 8, Health and Safety Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Chapter 672 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 672. ADULT FATALITY REVIEW AND INVESTIGATION
1-8 Sec. 672.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-9 (1) "Abuse" means:
1-10 (A) the negligent or wilful infliction of
1-11 injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or cruel punishment
1-12 with resulting emotional or physical harm leading to death; or
1-13 (B) sexual abuse of an adult, including any
1-14 involuntary or nonconsensual sexual conduct that would constitute
1-15 an offense under Section 21.08, Penal Code, or Chapter 22, Penal
1-16 Code.
1-17 (2) "Autopsy" and "inquest" have the meanings assigned
1-18 by Article 49.01, Code of Criminal Procedure.
1-19 (3) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by
1-20 Section 71.004, Family Code.
1-21 (4) "Health care provider" means any health care
1-22 practitioner or facility that provides medical evaluation or
1-23 treatment, including dental and mental health evaluation or
1-24 treatment.
2-1 (5) "Review" means a reexamination of information
2-2 regarding a deceased adult from relevant agencies, professionals,
2-3 and health care providers.
2-4 (6) "Review team" means an unexpected fatality review
2-5 team established under this chapter.
2-6 (7) "Unexpected death" includes a death of an adult
2-7 that before investigation appears:
2-8 (A) to have occurred without anticipation or
2-9 forewarning; and
2-10 (B) to have been caused by suicide, family
2-11 violence, or abuse.
2-12 Sec. 672.002. ESTABLISHMENT OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) A
2-13 multidisciplinary and multiagency unexpected fatality review team
2-14 may be established for a county to conduct reviews of unexpected
2-15 deaths that occur within the county. A review team for a county
2-16 with a population of less than 50,000 may join with an adjacent
2-17 county or counties to establish a combined review team.
2-18 (b) The commissioners court of a county may oversee the
2-19 activities of the review team or may designate a county department
2-20 to oversee those activities. The commissioners court may designate
2-21 a nonprofit agency or a political subdivision of the state involved
2-22 in the support or treatment of victims of family violence, abuse,
2-23 or suicide to oversee the activities of the review team if the
2-24 governing body of the nonprofit agency or political subdivision
2-25 concurs.
2-26 (c) Any person who may be a member of a review team under
2-27 Subsection (d) may initiate the establishment of a review team and
3-1 call the first organizational meeting of the team.
3-2 (d) A review team may include:
3-3 (1) a criminal prosecutor involved in prosecuting
3-4 crimes involving family violence;
3-5 (2) a peace officer;
3-6 (3) a justice of the peace or medical examiner;
3-7 (4) a public health professional;
3-8 (5) a representative of the Department of Protective
3-9 and Regulatory Services engaged in providing adult protective
3-10 services; and
3-11 (6) a mental health services provider.
3-12 (e) Members of a review team may select additional team
3-13 members according to community resources and needs.
3-14 (f) A review team shall select a presiding officer from its
3-15 members.
3-16 (g) Members selected under Subsection (e) must reflect the
3-17 geographical, cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity of the county
3-18 or counties represented.
3-19 Sec. 672.003. PURPOSE AND POWERS OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) The
3-20 purpose of a review team is to decrease the incidence of
3-21 preventable adult deaths by:
3-22 (1) providing assistance, direction, and coordination
3-23 to the investigations of deaths from suicide, family violence, or
3-24 abuse;
3-25 (2) promoting cooperation, communication, and
3-26 coordination among agencies involved in responding to unexpected
3-27 deaths;
4-1 (3) developing an understanding of the causes and
4-2 incidence of unexpected deaths in the county or counties in which
4-3 the review team is located; and
4-4 (4) advising the legislature, appropriate state
4-5 agencies, and local law enforcement agencies on changes to law,
4-6 policy, or practice that will reduce the number of unexpected
4-7 deaths.
4-8 (b) To achieve its purpose, a review team may:
4-9 (1) develop and implement, according to local needs
4-10 and resources, appropriate protocols;
4-11 (2) meet on a regular basis to review fatality cases
4-12 suspected to have resulted from suicide, family violence, or abuse
4-13 and recommend methods to improve coordination of services and
4-14 investigations between agencies that are represented on the team;
4-15 (3) collect and maintain data, as appropriate; and
4-16 (4) submit the report required under Section 672.008.
4-17 Sec. 672.004. DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICER. The presiding
4-18 officer of a review team may:
4-19 (1) send notices to the review team members of a
4-20 meeting to review a fatality involving suspected suicide, family
4-21 violence, or abuse;
4-22 (2) provide a list to the review team members of each
4-23 fatality to be reviewed at the meeting; and
4-24 (3) ensure that the review team operates according to
4-25 the protocols developed by the review team.
4-26 Sec. 672.005. REVIEW PROCEDURE. (a) The review team of the
4-27 county in which the event that was the cause of the unexpected
5-1 death occurred, as stated on the death certificate, or as otherwise
5-2 indicated by the medical examiner or justice of the peace notified
5-3 of the death, may review the death.
5-4 (b) On receipt of the list of fatalities under Section
5-5 672.004, each review team member shall review available records for
5-6 information regarding each listed unexpected death.
5-7 Sec. 672.006. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. (a) A review team may
5-8 request information and records regarding adult deaths resulting
5-9 from suicide, family violence, or abuse as necessary to carry out
5-10 the review team's purpose and duties. Records and information that
5-11 may be requested under this section include:
5-12 (1) medical, dental, and mental health care
5-13 information; and
5-14 (2) information and records maintained by any state or
5-15 local government agency, including:
5-16 (A) a birth certificate;
5-17 (B) law enforcement investigative data;
5-18 (C) medical examiner investigative data;
5-19 (D) juvenile court records;
5-20 (E) parole and probation information and
5-21 records; and
5-22 (F) adult protective services information and
5-23 records.
5-24 (b) On request of the presiding officer of a review team,
5-25 the custodian of the relevant information or records relating to
5-26 the deceased adult shall provide the information or records to the
5-27 review team.
6-1 (c) This section does not authorize the release of the
6-2 original or copies of the mental health or medical records of any
6-3 member of the deceased adult's family, the guardian or caretaker of
6-4 the deceased adult, or an alleged or suspected perpetrator of
6-5 family violence or abuse of the adult that are in the possession of
6-6 any state or local government agency as provided in Subsection
6-7 (a)(2). Information relating to the mental health or medical
6-8 condition of a member of the deceased adult's family, the guardian
6-9 or caretaker of the deceased adult, or the alleged or suspected
6-10 perpetrator of family violence or abuse of the deceased adult
6-11 acquired as part of an investigation by a state or local government
6-12 agency as provided in Subsection (a)(2) may be provided to the
6-13 review team.
6-14 (d) This section does not authorize any interference with a
6-15 criminal investigation, inquest, or autopsy.
6-16 Sec. 672.007. MEETING OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) A meeting of a
6-17 review team is closed to the public and not subject to the open
6-18 meetings law, Chapter 551, Government Code.
6-19 (b) This section does not prohibit a review team from
6-20 requesting the attendance at a closed meeting of a person who is
6-21 not a member of the review team and who has information regarding a
6-22 fatality resulting from suicide, family violence, or abuse.
6-23 (c) Except as necessary to carry out a review team's purpose
6-24 and duties, members of a review team and persons attending a review
6-25 team meeting may not disclose what occurred at the meeting.
6-26 (d) A member of a review team participating in the review of
6-27 an unexpected death is immune from civil or criminal liability
7-1 arising from participation in a review team, including civil or
7-2 criminal liability arising from information presented in or
7-3 opinions formed as a result of a meeting.
7-4 Sec. 672.008. REPORT. (a) Not later than December 15 of
7-5 each even-numbered year, each review team shall submit to the
7-6 Department of Protective and Regulatory Services a report on deaths
7-7 reviewed.
7-8 (b) Subject to Section 672.009, the Department of Protective
7-9 and Regulatory Services shall make the reports received under
7-10 Subsection (a) available to the public.
7-11 Sec. 672.009. USE OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS;
7-12 CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) Information and records acquired by a review
7-13 team in the exercise of its purpose and duties under this chapter
7-14 are confidential and exempt from disclosure under the open records
7-15 law, Chapter 552, Government Code, and may only be disclosed as
7-16 necessary to carry out the review team's purpose and duties.
7-17 (b) A report of a review team or a statistical compilation
7-18 of data reports is a public record subject to the open records law,
7-19 Chapter 552, Government Code, as if the review team were a
7-20 governmental body under that chapter, if the report or statistical
7-21 compilation does not contain any information that would permit the
7-22 identification of an individual and is not otherwise confidential
7-23 or privileged.
7-24 (c) A member of a review team may not disclose any
7-25 information that is confidential under this section.
7-26 (d) Information and records of a review team that are
7-27 confidential under this section are not subject to subpoena or
8-1 discovery and may not be introduced into evidence in any civil or
8-2 criminal proceeding, except that information and records otherwise
8-3 available from other sources are not immune from subpoena,
8-4 discovery, or introduction into evidence solely because they were
8-5 presented during proceedings of a review team or are maintained by
8-6 a review team.
8-7 Sec. 672.010. GOVERNMENTAL UNIT. A review team established
8-8 under this chapter is a local governmental unit for purposes of
8-9 Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
8-10 Sec. 672.011. REPORT OF UNEXPECTED FATALITY. (a) A person,
8-11 including a health care provider, who knows of the death of an
8-12 adult that resulted from, or that occurred under circumstances
8-13 indicating death may have resulted from, suicide, family violence,
8-14 or abuse, shall immediately report the death to the medical
8-15 examiner of the county in which the death occurred or, if the death
8-16 occurred in a county that does not have a medical examiner's office
8-17 or that is not part of a medical examiner's district, to a justice
8-18 of the peace in that county.
8-19 (b) The requirement of this section is in addition to any
8-20 other reporting requirement imposed by law.
8-21 Sec. 672.012. PROCEDURE IN THE EVENT OF REPORTABLE DEATH.
8-22 (a) A medical examiner or justice of the peace notified of a death
8-23 under Section 672.011 may hold an inquest under Chapter 49, Code of
8-24 Criminal Procedure, to determine whether the death was caused by
8-25 suicide, family violence, or abuse.
8-26 (b) Without regard to whether an inquest is held under
8-27 Subsection (a), the medical examiner or justice of the peace shall
9-1 immediately notify the county or entity designated under Section
9-2 672.002(b) of:
9-3 (1) each notification of death received under Section
9-4 672.011;
9-5 (2) each death found to be caused by suicide, family
9-6 violence, or abuse; or
9-7 (3) each death that may be a result of suicide, family
9-8 violence, or abuse, without regard to whether the suspected
9-9 suicide, family violence, or abuse is determined to be a sole or
9-10 contributing cause and without regard to whether the cause of death
9-11 is conclusively determined.
9-12 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.