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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the testing of certain inmates for HIV or AIDS. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 501.054, Government Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (g) and (i) and adding Subsection (j) to read |
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as follows: |
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(g) The department shall maintain the confidentiality of |
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test results of an inmate indicating HIV infection at all times, |
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including after the inmate's discharge, release from a state jail, |
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or release on parole or mandatory supervision. The department |
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[and] may not honor the request of an agency of the state or any |
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person who requests a test result as a condition of housing or |
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supervising the inmate while the inmate is on community supervision |
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or parole or mandatory supervision, unless honoring the request |
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would improve the ability of the inmate to obtain essential health |
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and social services. |
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(i) The department [institutional division] may test an |
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inmate confined in a facility operated by the correctional |
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institutions division for human immunodeficiency virus at any time, |
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but must test: |
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(1) during the diagnostic process, an inmate for whom |
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the department does not have a record of a positive test result; and |
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(2) an inmate who is eligible for release before the |
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inmate is released from the division. |
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(j) If the department [institutional division] determines |
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that an inmate has a positive test result, the department |
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[division] may segregate the inmate from other inmates. The |
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department [institutional division] shall report the results of a |
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positive test to the Department of State Health Services for the |
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purposes of notification and reporting as described by Sections |
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81.050-81.052, Health and Safety Code. |
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SECTION 2. Section 501.054(i), Government Code, as amended |
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by this Act, applies only to an inmate with respect to whom the |
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Texas Department of Criminal Justice begins the diagnostic process |
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on or after the effective date of this Act. An inmate with respect |
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to whom the department begins the diagnostic process before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the |
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time the department began the diagnostic process, and the former |
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law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |