LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 83RD LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
March 11, 2013

TO:
Honorable René Oliveira, Chair, House Committee On Business & Industry
 
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB1706 by Farrar (Relating to the promotion of breast-feeding and the prohibition against interference with or restriction of the right to breast-feed; providing a private cause of action for denial of this right.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend the Health and Safety Code, Chapter 165, to provide information to businesses with whom the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) engages about the right of mothers to breast-feed and prohibitions against discrimination. The bill would also encourage state agencies to develop mother friendly worksites to support breast-feeding practices and it creates a civil cause of action, whereby a person denied the right to breast-feed may seek injunctive relief and be awarded compensatory damages and attorney's fees.

A sample of agencies including the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC), the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), the Texas Water Development Board (TDWB) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) indicate that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed within the agency's existing resources. While the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) estimate there would be costs associated with implementing the provisions of the bill, it is assumed any costs could be absorbed within current resources.


Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.


Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 303 Facilities Commission, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety, 537 State Health Services, Department of, 539 Aging and Disability Services, Department of, 580 Water Development Board, 601 Department of Transportation, 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 701 Central Education Agency
LBB Staff:
UP, RB, JI, JJO, CH, TG, TB