HBA-DMH H.B. 3011 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3011 By: Smithee Civil Practices 3/27/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1995, the Texas Legislature passed legislation regarding medical liability lawsuits which required a cost bond or expert report to be filed withing 90 days of the filing of the lawsuit. If a bond is filed in lieu of a expert report, an expert report must be filed with 180 days of the filing of a lawsuit. The legislation also gave a judge the authority to extend the time for filing. This legislation has resulted in inconsistent enforcement of cost bond and expert report requirements across the state. House Bill 3011 modifies the requirements for filing a cost bond and utilizing a furnished expert report. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 3011 amends the Medical Liability and Insurance Improvement Act of Texas to provide that any motion filed against a physician or health care provider in a health care liability claim seeking an extension of time must be filed with the court and served on the opposing party prior to the expiration of the established time period. The bill prohibits anything in provisions regarding cost bonds, deposits, and expert reports from being construed to require the furnishing, rather than filing, of an expert report regarding any issue other than an issue relating to liability or causation. If the party producing an expert report utilizes that report for any purpose other than for compliance with requirements, the bill requires the restrictions on the use of the report to be deemed waived. The bill removes provisions relating to a court-required grace period for failure to comply with a deadline, under certain circumstances. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.