BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2249

By: Sheffield

Public Health

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties point to recent data indicating that the number of immunization exemptions for school children has drastically increased in Texas over the past decade and contend that these exemptions tend to cluster within certain schools, creating pockets of vulnerable children and posing greater risks to the community as a whole. H.B. 2249 seeks to provide for greater transparency regarding vaccine exemption information and reports to better inform parents and communities of potential public health risks.

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.

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. 2249 amends the Health and Safety Code to include epidemiological reports of disease outbreaks and individual cases of vaccine preventable diseases among the epidemiological reports to be required by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The bill requires DSHS to prepare and submit to the legislature and the governor, not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, a biennial report that contains a report of outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases in Texas and de-identified immunization exemption information, including the number of persons claiming an exemption under statutory provisions relating to statewide immunization requirements for children, immunization requirements for admission to a public elementary or secondary school or to an institution of higher education, bacterial meningitis vaccination requirements, and immunization requirements for children in certain child-care facilities.

H.B. 2249 amends the Education Code to require a required annual report of the immunization status of students to include de-identified immunization exemption information and to require each school district to provide such a report to DSHS for the district as a whole and for each school campus in the district. The bill requires the Texas Education Agency to update the form developed for an annual report of the immunization status of students to comply with those requirements. The bill requires DSHS to make the required annual report of the immunization status of students for each district and for each school campus available to the public in electronic form on the DSHS website. The bill requires a district or school campus, on request of a student's parent or legal guardian, to provide to the parent or guardian, for the campus at which the student is enrolled, a copy of the immunization rate disaggregated by type of vaccine and a copy of the information submitted in the required annual report of the immunization status of students. The bill applies beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2017.