80R1097 ABC-D

By: Janek S.B. No. 810

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to control measures and court orders for management of persons with communicable diseases.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 81.082, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:

(c-1) A health authority may designate health care facilities within the health authority's jurisdiction that are capable of providing services for the examination, observation, quarantine, isolation, treatment, or imposition of control measures during a public health disaster or during an area quarantine under Section 81.085. A health authority may not designate a nursing home or other institution licensed under Chapter 242.

SECTION 2. Section 81.083, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:

(k) If the department or a health authority has reasonable cause to believe that a group of five or more individuals has been exposed to or infected with a communicable disease, the department or health authority may order the members of the group to implement control measures that are reasonable and necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, and spread of the disease in this state. If the department or health authority adopts control measures under this subsection, each member of the group is subject to the requirements of this section.

(l) An order under Subsection (k) must be in writing and be delivered personally or by registered or certified mail to each member of the group, or the member's parent, legal guardian, or managing conservator if the member is a minor. If the name, address, and county of residence of any member of the group is unknown at the time the order is issued, the department or health authority must publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county that includes the area of the suspected exposure and any other county in which the department or health authority suspects a member of the group resides. The notice must contain the following information:

(1) that the department or health authority has reasonable cause to believe that a group of individuals is ill with, has been exposed to, or is the carrier of a communicable disease;

(2) the suspected time and place of exposure to the disease;

(3) a copy of any orders under Subsection (k);

(4) instructions to an individual to provide the individual's name, address, and county of residence to the department or health authority if the individual knows or reasonably suspects that the individual was at the place of the suspected exposure at the time of the suspected exposure;

(5) that the department or health authority may request that an application for court orders under Subchapter G be filed for the group, if applicable; and

(6) that a criminal penalty applies to an individual who:

(A) is a member of the group; and

(B) knowingly refuses to perform or allow the performance of the control measures in the order.

SECTION 3. Section 81.151, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:

(e) A single application may be filed for a group if:

(1) the department or health authority reasonably suspects that a group of five or more persons has been exposed to or infected with a communicable disease; and

(2) each person in the group meets the criteria of this chapter for court orders for the management of a person with a communicable disease.

SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 81, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Section 81.1511 to read as follows:

Sec. 81.1511. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER TO GROUP. To the extent possible, and except as otherwise provided, if a group application is filed under Section 81.151(e), the provisions of this subchapter apply to the group in the same manner as they apply to an individual, except that:

(1) except as provided by Subdivision (2), any statement or determination regarding the conduct or status of a person must be made in regard to the majority of the members of the group;

(2) any finding or statement related to compliance with orders under Section 81.083 must be made for the entire group;

(3) any notice required to be provided to a person must:

(A) in addition to being sent to each individual in the group for whom the department or health authority has an address, be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county that includes the area of the suspected contamination and any other county in which the department or health authority suspects a member of the group resides;

(B) state that the group is appointed an attorney but that a member of the group is entitled to the member's own attorney on request; and

(C) include instructions for any person who reasonably suspects that the person was at the place of the suspected exposure at the time of the suspected exposure to provide the person's name, address, and county of residence to the department or health authority; and

(4) an affidavit of medical evaluation for the group may be based on evaluation of one or more members of the group if the physician reasonably believes that the condition of the individual or individuals represents the condition of the majority of the members of the group.

SECTION 5. Section 81.152, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) A group application must contain the following information according to the applicant's information and belief:

(1) a description of the group and the location where the members of the group may be found;

(2) a narrative of how the group has been exposed or infected;

(3) an estimate of how many persons are included in the group;

(4) to the extent known, a list containing the name, address, and county of residence in this state of each member of the group;

(5) if the applicant is unable to obtain the name and address of each member of the group:

(A) a statement that the applicant has sought each of the unknown names and addresses; and

(B) the reason that the names and addresses are unavailable; and

(6) a statement, to be included only in an application for inpatient treatment, that the members of the group fail or refuse to comply with written orders of the department or health authority under Section 81.083, if applicable.

SECTION 6. Subchapter G, Chapter 81, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Section 81.1531 to read as follows:

Sec. 81.1531. APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY FOR GROUP. (a) A judge shall appoint an attorney to represent a group identified in a group application under Section 81.151(e) and shall appoint an attorney for each person who is listed in the application if requested by a person in the group who does not have an attorney.

(b) To the extent possible, the provisions of this chapter that apply to an individual's attorney apply to a group's attorney.

SECTION 7. Sections 81.165(b) and (d), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) The hearing must be held not later than 72 hours after the time that the person was detained under the protective custody order. If the period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the hearing must be held on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. The judge or magistrate may postpone the hearing for an additional 24 hours if the judge or magistrate declares that an extreme emergency exists because of extremely hazardous weather conditions that threaten the safety of the person or another essential party to the hearing. If the area in which the person is found, or the area where the hearing will be held, is under a public health disaster, the judge or magistrate may postpone the hearing until the period of disaster is ended.

(d) The person and his attorney shall have an opportunity at the hearing to appear and present evidence to challenge the allegation that the person presents a substantial risk of serious harm to himself or others. If the health authority advises the court that the person must remain in isolation or quarantine and that exposure to the judge, jurors, or the public would jeopardize the health and safety of those persons and the public health, a magistrate or a master may order that a person entitled to a hearing for a protective custody order may not appear in person and may appear only by teleconference or another means the magistrate or master finds appropriate to allow the person to speak, to interact with witnesses, and to confer with the person's attorney.

SECTION 8. Sections 81.167(b) and (c), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) A person under a protective custody order shall be detained in an appropriate inpatient health facility that has been designated by the commissioner or by a health authority and selected by the health authority under Section 81.159.

(c) A person under a protective custody order may be detained in a nonmedical facility used to detain persons who are charged with or convicted of a crime only with the consent of the medical director of the facility and only if the facility has respiratory isolation capability for airborne communicable diseases. The person may not be detained in a nonmedical facility under this subsection for longer than 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, [and] the period prescribed by Section 81.165(b) for an extreme weather emergency, and the duration of a public health disaster. The person must be isolated from any person who is charged with or convicted of a crime.

SECTION 9. Section 81.168(c), Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The head of a facility shall discharge a person held under a protective custody order if:

(1) the head of the facility does not receive notice within 72 hours after detention begins, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, [and] the period prescribed by Section 81.165(b) for an extreme weather emergency, and the duration of a public health disaster, that a probable cause hearing was held and the person's continued detention was authorized;

(2) a final court order for the management of a person with a communicable disease has not been entered within the time prescribed by Section 81.154; or

(3) the health authority or commissioner determines that the person no longer meets the criteria for protective custody prescribed by Section 81.162.

SECTION 10. Section 81.169, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:

(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), if the health authority advises the court that the person must remain in isolation or quarantine and that exposure to the judge, jurors, or the public would jeopardize the health and safety of those persons and the public health, a judge may order that a person entitled to a hearing may not appear in person and may appear only by teleconference or another means that the judge finds appropriate to allow the person to speak, to interact with witnesses, and to confer with the person's attorney.

SECTION 11. Section 81.176, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 81.176. DESIGNATION OF FACILITY. In a court order for the temporary or extended management of a person with a communicable disease specifying inpatient care, the court shall commit the person to a health care facility designated by the commissioner or a health authority in accordance with Section 81.159.

SECTION 12. Section 81.177, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 81.177. COMMITMENT TO PRIVATE FACILITY. (a) The court may order a person committed to a private health care facility at no expense to the state if the court receives:

(1) an application signed by the person or the person's guardian or next friend requesting that the person be placed in a designated private health care facility at the person's or applicant's expense; and

(2) a written agreement from the head of the private health care facility to admit the person and to accept responsibility for the person in accordance with this chapter.

(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) and Section 81.175(e), the court may order a person committed to a private health care facility at no expense to the state, a county, a municipality, or a hospital district if:

(1) a state of disaster or a public health disaster has been declared or an area quarantine is imposed under Section 81.085;

(2) the health care facility is located within the disaster area or area quarantine, as applicable; and

(3) the judge determines that there is no public health care facility within the disaster area or area quarantine, as applicable, that has appropriate facilities and the capacity available to receive and treat the person.

(c) The head of the private facility designated under Subsection (b) shall accept responsibility with respect to the person who is committed to that facility.

SECTION 13. 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, 2007.