Bill Text: TX HB1984 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to creating the criminal offense of misrepresenting medical history to obtain unnecessary medical treatment for a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-22 - Filed [HB1984 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HB1984-Introduced.html
| 89R2190 MEW-F | ||
| By: McQueeney | H.B. No. 1984 | |
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| relating to creating the criminal offense of misrepresenting | ||
| medical history to obtain unnecessary medical treatment for a | ||
| child, elderly individual, or disabled individual. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Alyssa's Law. | ||
| SECTION 2. Chapter 22, Penal Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Section 22.042 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 22.042. MISREPRESENTING MEDICAL HISTORY TO OBTAIN | ||
| UNNECESSARY MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR CHILD, ELDERLY INDIVIDUAL, OR | ||
| DISABLED INDIVIDUAL. (a) In this section: | ||
| (1) "Child" means a person younger than 18 years of | ||
| age. | ||
| (2) "Disabled individual" and "elderly individual" | ||
| have the meanings assigned by Section 22.04. | ||
| (3) "Health care institution or provider" means a | ||
| health care institution or a health care provider, as those terms | ||
| are defined by Section 74.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, or | ||
| an affiliate, as defined by that section, of a health care | ||
| institution or health care provider. | ||
| (4) "Medical history" means any oral, written, or | ||
| electronic communication regarding an individual's current or | ||
| previous symptoms, diagnoses, or family medical history. The term | ||
| does not include a communication regarding an individual's | ||
| vaccination history. | ||
| (b) A person commits an offense if: | ||
| (1) the person knowingly misrepresents the medical | ||
| history of a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual to a | ||
| health care institution or provider with the intent to obtain | ||
| unnecessary medical treatment for the child, elderly individual, or | ||
| disabled individual; and | ||
| (2) the unnecessary medical treatment for the child, | ||
| elderly individual, or disabled individual obtained by | ||
| misrepresentation under Subdivision (1) causes the child, elderly | ||
| individual, or disabled individual to suffer: | ||
| (A) bodily injury; or | ||
| (B) mental deficiency, impairment, or injury. | ||
| (c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third | ||
| degree. | ||
| SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
| to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is | ||
| governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, | ||
| and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For | ||
| purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the | ||
| effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred | ||
| before that date. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
