Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4444 by Martinez Fischer (Relating to consumer protections against surprise billing.), As Introduced
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined at this time.
The bill amends the Business and Commerce Code to classify surprise medical billing as a deceptive trade practice. The bill takes effect September 1, 2019.
Based on analysis by the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the provisions of the bill relating to surprise billing could result in increased revenue due to civil penalties. However, since the extent of these civil penalties cannot be reasonably estimated, the revenue implications to the state cannot be determined at this time.
Based on analysis by the Office of the Attorney General, the Texas Department of Insurance, and the Consumer Credit Commission, the provisions of the bill relating to protections against deceptive trade practices could be absorbed within existing state resources.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
302 Office of the Attorney General, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 454 Department of Insurance, 466 Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner