78R1599 SGA-D

By:  Smith of Tarrant                                             H.B. No. 224



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to deposition fees charged by certain physicians.                    
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 20, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is 
amended by adding Section 20.003 to read as follows:
	Sec. 20.003.  DEPOSITION FEES CHARGEABLE BY TREATING 
PHYSICIAN.  (a)  A physician who is or previously has been the 
treating physician for a party in a civil action may not charge a 
fee for each hour of that physician's deposition testimony related 
to the party's condition or treatment that exceeds 125 percent of 
the physician's usual hourly fee for a patient office visit.
	(b)  Subsection (a) does not apply to a physician providing 
expert testimony not relating to the condition or treatment of a 
current or former patient of the physician.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and the 
change in law made by Section 20.003, Civil Practice and Remedies 
Code, as added by this Act, applies only to the  deposition of a 
treating physician in a civil action filed on or after September 1, 
2003.  The deposition of a treating physician in a civil action 
filed before September 1, 2003, is governed by the law in effect on 
the date the action is filed and that law is continued in effect for 
that purpose.