BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

H.B. 2940

By: King, Tracy O.

Public Health

Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Currently a person whose duty it is to file a death certificate or fetal death certificate is required to fill out a certain standard vital statistics form. H.B. 2940 seeks to require the Department of State Health Services to improve its database by allowing such a person to enter dates in a way that improves the readability of the certified death certificate.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

 

ANALYSIS

 

H.B. 2940 amends the Health and Safety Code to require the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to ensure that the form prescribed for death certificates and fetal death certificates instructs the person required to file the form to enter the date in the standard order of "month, day, year" and spell out the name of the month when entering the date.  The bill requires DSHS to revise and make available the required forms not later than January 1, 2012, and specifies that a person required to file a death certificate or fetal death certificate is not required to use the revised form before February 1, 2012.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.