HBA-JRA S.B. 519 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 519 By: Zaffirini Public Health 4/30/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hepatitis B is a chronic liver disease that can be passed from mother to child during pregnancy. Prenatal testing can ensure that pregnant women carrying the hepatitis B virus are identified, as well as provide for medical follow-up and immunization of their infants. Currently, a doctor or other authorized person is mandated to take a blood sample from a pregnant woman and submit it to a laboratory for syphilis and HIV testing. S.B. 519 adds hepatitis B test to the list of medical conditions for which a physician or authorized person attending a pregnant woman during gestation or delivery must test. Additionally, the bill requires medical information relating to hepatitis B and syphilis to be supplied to those individuals who test positive for those medical conditions. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sections 81.090(a), (c), (k), (m), and (n), Health and Safety Code, as follows: (a) Includes a standard serologic test for hepatitis B infection approved by the Texas Board of Health (board) among a list of tests to be conducted on blood samples which are to be sent to a laboratory approved under this section, as required by a physician or other person permitted by law to attend a pregnant woman during gestation or at the delivery of an infant. Makes a nonsubstantive change. (c) Requires a physician or other person in attendance at a delivery to take or cause to be taken a blood sample from the mother on admission for delivery, rather than from the mother or from the umbilical cord of the infant within 24 hours. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. (k) Includes hepatitis B among those diseases about which the health care provider is required to distribute printed materials to the patient prior to taking the blood sample. (m) Includes hepatitis B and syphilis among those diseases about which, if a screening test and a confirmatory test conducted under this section show that a woman is or may be infected with it, the physician or other person who submitted the sample for the test is required to provide or make available to the woman disease-specific information on the disease diagnosed. Provides that counseling under Section 81.109 (Counseling Required for Positive Test Results), Health and Safety Code, is to be made available to the woman if HIV infection or AIDS is diagnosed. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. (n) Makes a conforming change. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.