SRC-JLB, TJG S.B. 28 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 28
78R869 KSD-DBy: Zaffirini
S/C on Higher Education
2/20/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Texas does not require institutions of higher education to
vaccinate students with the meningitis vaccine and maintain information
regarding whether students choose not to receive the meningitis vaccine.
Last year, the University of Texas at Austin had a meningitis death on
campus which brought attention to students in the high-risk, college-aged
populations known to live in close quarters and share utensils or even
cigarettes.  As proposed, S.B. 28 requires institutions of higher
education to maintain information regarding whether and when a student
received a meningitis vaccination and who provided the immunization. 
   
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to
a state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 51Z, Education Code, by adding Section 51.9192,
as follows: 

Sec. 51.9192.  BACTERIAL MENINGITIS IMMUNIZATION RECORDS.  (a) Defines
"institution of higher education" and "new student." 

(b) Requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in
consultation with the Texas Department of Health, to prescribe procedures
by which each institution of higher education shall request and to make
reasonable efforts to obtain certain information from each new student of
the institution. 

(c) Requires an institution of higher education that administers a
bacterial meningitis immunization to a student to maintain a record of the
student's immunization and to request the student's written consent to the
release of the student's confidential immunization information as
described by Subsection (e). 

(d) Requires each institution of higher education to retain a record of
information collected and a copy of the consent form obtained under
Subsection (b) or (c) for not less than 10 years after the student first
enrolls at the institution. 

(e) Provides that a student's bacterial meningitis immunization
information collected and maintained by an institution of higher education
under this section is confidential. Authorizes an institution, on written
consent of the student, to release the information to certain entities. 

SECTION 2.  Provides that this Act applies only to students enrolling in
public institutions of higher education in this state on or after January
1, 2004, and to students at those institutions who are immunized against
bacterial meningitis by those institutions on or after that date. 

 SECTION 3.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2003.