BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 1816 |
By: Metcalf |
Homeland Security & Public Safety |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Concerns have been raised that vehicles used by medical supply distributors to transport prescription drugs and other medical supplies to pharmacies and hospitals are not provided the same road access as emergency vehicles in a disaster area when these items are most scarce and in the highest demand. C.S.H.B. 1816 seeks to address these concerns by granting a vehicle used to transport these medical supplies to an emergency care facility, pharmacy, or licensed nursing home located in a disaster area access to highways, streets, and bridges under certain circumstances as if the vehicle were an emergency vehicle.
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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. 1816 amends the Transportation Code to authorize a vehicle used by a medical supply distributor to transport prescription drugs and other medical supplies to an emergency care facility, pharmacy, or licensed nursing home located in an area declared a disaster area by the governor to have access to highways, streets, and bridges as if the transport vehicle were an emergency vehicle if the transport vehicle will not negatively impact evacuation activities or any response or recovery activities in the disaster area. The bill requires the Texas Division of Emergency Management, not later than September 1, 2018, to establish procedures to assist medical supply distributors in accessing highways, streets, and bridges as so authorized and requires the division to provide medical supply distributors with documentation specifying that access. The bill expressly does not create a cause of action against a law enforcement officer involved in assisting a medical supply distributor for any harm done to the distributor resulting from that assistance.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1816 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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