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79R8687 T

By:  Delisi                                                       H.B. No. 2476



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to allowing the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel to hold 
telephonic hearings.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 74.102 (f) of the Civil Practice and 
Remedies Code is amended to read as follows:
	(f)  Meetings of the panel shall be held at the call of the 
chairman or on petition of at least three members of the panel.  As 
an exception to Chapter 551 of the Government Code and other law, if 
the chairman or the vice-chairman of the disclosure panel is 
physically present at a meeting, then any number of the other 
members of the disclosure panel may attend the meeting by use of 
telephone conference call, video conference call, or other similar 
telecommunication device.  This subsection applies for purposes of 
constituting a quorum, for purposes of voting, and for any other 
purpose allowing a disclosure panel member to otherwise fully 
participate in any disclosure panel meeting.  This subsection 
applies without exception with regard to the subject of the meeting 
or topics considered by the disclosure panel.  A meeting held by use 
of telephone conference call, video conference call, or other 
similar telecommunication device:
	a.  is subject to the notice requirements applicable to other 
meetings;
	b.  must specify in the notice of the meeting the location of 
the meeting at which the chair or vice-chair will be physically 
present;
	c.  must be open to the public and audible to the public at 
the location specified in the notice of the meeting as the location 
of the meeting at which the chair or vice-chair will be physically 
present; and
	d.  must provide two-way audio communication between all 
disclosure panel members attending the meeting during the entire 
meeting, and, if the two-way audio communication link with any 
member attending the meeting is disrupted at any time, the meeting 
may not continue until the two-way audio communication link is 
reestablished.
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only 
to a meeting of the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel that occurs on or 
after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.