| TO: | Honorable David Swinford, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB2223 by Villarreal (Relating to the regulation of crisis pregnancy centers.), As Introduced |
The bill would require an agent of a crisis pregnancy center to provide a woman seeking counseling or information about pregnancy or abortion only with information the agent knows to be factually or medically accurate.
Crisis pregnancy centers are required to display certain information in a notice clearly visible from the area where the center conducts intakes. The same information is required to be provided verbally to persons requesting services before any services are provided and a printed copy of the information must be included with any material distributed by the center. Crisis pregnancy centers violating the requirements would be ineligible to receive state funding. The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is required to withhold state money in the event of a violation and the center is liable to the state for any money already received during the state fiscal year in which the determination of violation is made; the center remains ineligible for state funding until the first anniversary of the determination. The attorney general is authorized to bring action to recover any amounts owed the state. Crisis pregnancy centers may appeal a determination of violation to the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
HHSC indicates no significant fiscal impact to the state. It is assumed that the cost of any suits brought by the attorney general or appeals made to the State Office of Administrative Hearings could be absorbed within available resources due to the small number of suits or appeals.
| Source Agencies: | 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 537 State Health Services, Department of
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, KJG, PP, LR
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