BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 232 |
By: Farrar |
Business & Industry |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Recent reports indicate that the public is generally unaware of state law protecting a mother's right to breast-feed and that this lack of awareness has led to mothers not being welcome to breast-feed their babies in some establishments. Interested parties seek changes in current law to increase awareness of a mother's right to breast-feed, to institute meaningful enforcement measures to protect that right, and to direct state agencies to develop mother-friendly worksite policies. C.S.H.B. 232 seeks to amend the applicable law to address these issues.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 232 amends the Health and Safety Code to clarify that a mother is entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location in which the mother and the child are otherwise authorized to be. The bill prohibits the revocation of a mother's authority to be in a location for the sole reason that she begins to breast-feed. The bill prohibits a person from interfering with or restricting the right of a mother to breast-feed. The bill requires each state agency, to the extent reasonably practicable, to develop a policy supporting the practice of worksite breast-feeding under statutory provisions relating to the designation of a business as "mother-friendly."
C.S.H.B. 232 requires the comptroller of public accounts at least annually to include in the comptroller's tax policy e-newsletter or otherwise electronically provide notification of the right of a mother to breast-feed and the prohibition against interference with or restriction of that right. The bill requires the comptroller to make the notice available at each taxpayer seminar offered by the office of the comptroller and authorizes the comptroller to also provide the notification with any other notice or document mailed to a person with whom the comptroller communicates.
C.S.H.B. 232 sets out provisions establishing a mother's authority to bring a civil action against a person alleged to have violated the mother's right to breast-feed, including provisions relating to the entitlement of injunctive relief, damages of up to $500 for each day of violation, and reasonable attorney's fees and court costs. The bill prohibits a mother from bringing such a civil action if the violation is alleged to have occurred at a private home and alleged to have been committed by the person who owns the home. The bill sets certain limits on the amount of damages for which a person may be liable in a case involving multiple violations.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2015.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 232 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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