H.B. No. 2646

AN ACT

relating to the disclosure of information regarding communicable diseases to first responders and certain entities.

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

SECTION 1. Section 81.046, Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), and (f) and adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and (g) to read as follows:

(b) Reports, records, and information relating to cases or suspected cases of diseases or health conditions are not public information under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be released or made public on subpoena or otherwise except as provided by Subsections (c), (c-1), (d), and (f).

(c) Medical or epidemiological information, including information linking a person who is exposed to a person with a communicable disease, may be released:

(1) for statistical purposes if released in a manner that prevents the identification of any person;

(2) with the consent of each person identified in the information;

(3) to medical personnel treating the individual, appropriate state agencies in this state or another state, a health authority or local health department in this state or another state, or federal, county, or district courts to comply with this chapter and related rules relating to the control and treatment of communicable diseases and health conditions or under another state or federal law that expressly authorizes the disclosure of this information;

(4) to appropriate federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Public Health Service, but the information must be limited to the name, address, sex, race, and occupation of the patient, the date of disease onset, the probable source of infection, and other requested information relating to the case or suspected case of a communicable disease or health condition; [or]

(5) to medical personnel to the extent necessary in a medical emergency to protect the health or life of the person identified in the information;

(6) to governmental entities that provide first responders who may respond to a situation involving a potential communicable disease of concern and need the information to properly respond to the situation; or

(7) to a local health department or health authority for a designated monitoring period based on the potential risk for developing symptoms of a communicable disease of concern.

(c-1) A local health department or health authority shall provide to first responders the physical address of a person who is being monitored by the local department or authority for a communicable disease for the duration of the disease's incubation period. The local health department, health authority, or other governmental entity, as applicable, shall remove the person's physical address from any computer-aided dispatch system after the monitoring period expires.

(c-2) Only the minimum necessary information may be released under Subsections (c)(6) and (7) and (c-1), as determined by a health authority, local health department, governmental entity, or department.

(f) Reports, records, and information relating to cases or suspected cases of diseases or health conditions may be released to the extent necessary during a public health disaster, including an outbreak of a communicable disease, to law enforcement personnel and first responders solely for the purpose of protecting the health or life of a first responder or the person identified in the report, record, or information. Only the minimum necessary information may be released under this subsection, as determined by the health authority, the local health department, or the department.

(g) For purposes of this section, "first responder" has the meaning assigned by Section 421.095, Government Code.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2646 was passed by the House on May 15, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 121, Nays 6, 2 present, not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2646 was passed by the Senate on May 26, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: _____________________

Date

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Governor