84R7574 JSC-D
	By: Farrar	H.B. No. 3966

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the regulation of limited service pregnancy centers;
	providing civil penalties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subtitle H, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended by adding Chapter 172 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 172. LIMITED SERVICE PREGNANCY CENTERS
	Sec. 172.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
	(1)  "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
	Commission.
	(2)  "Comprehensive birth control services" means all
	drugs and medical devices that have been approved by the United
	States Food and Drug Administration for birth control.
	(3)  "Limited service pregnancy center" means an
	organization, including a pregnancy counseling organization,
	crisis pregnancy center, pregnancy care center, or pregnancy
	support center, that for a fee or free of charge provides pregnancy
	counseling or information but does not perform abortions or make
	referrals to an abortion provider, does not provide or make
	referrals for comprehensive birth control services, and is not
	licensed or certified by this state or the federal government to
	provide medical or health care services. The term does not include a
	licensed health care provider, hospital, or family planning clinic
	that performs abortions, provides contraception, or provides
	abortion or contraception referrals.
	(4)  "Medically inaccurate information" means
	information not supported by the weight of peer-reviewed research
	conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and
	recognized as accurate by leading professional organizations and
	agencies with relevant expertise in the field.
	Sec. 172.002.  REPORTING REQUIREMENT. (a) A limited service
	pregnancy center in this state shall submit to the commission and
	the appropriate local health authority a monthly report that
	contains:
	(1)  the number of women who received services at the
	center;
	(2)  the average cost incurred by the center in
	providing the services to each woman;
	(3)  a list of the services provided at the center;
	(4)  the credentials of each person providing each type
	of service; and
	(5)  de-identified statistics on:
	(A)  the number of pregnancy tests performed and
	number of pregnancy tests with a positive result; and
	(B)  the number of tests performed for sexually
	transmitted infections and the number of positive test results and
	for which diseases.
	(b)  The commission shall publish the reported information
	on the commission's Internet website. If the commission contracts
	with an organization for the distribution of state funding to
	limited service pregnancy centers, that organization must publish
	the reported information on the organization's Internet website.
	Sec. 172.003.  FALSE OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS PROHIBITED. A
	limited service pregnancy center may not make false or misleading
	statements, including:
	(1)  providing medically inaccurate information; and
	(2)  misrepresenting the services provided at the
	center or the qualifications of center staff.
	Sec. 172.004.  VIOLATION; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A limited
	service pregnancy center that violates this chapter is liable to
	the state for a civil penalty of not less than $50 but not more than
	$500 for each violation. Each day a continuing violation occurs
	constitutes a separate violation.
	(b)  The attorney general, the district or county attorney
	for the county, or the municipal attorney of the municipality in
	which the violation is alleged to have occurred may bring an action
	to recover a civil penalty under this section or to enjoin
	violations of this chapter.
	(c)  Before a suit may be brought for a violation of this
	chapter, the attorney general, the district or county attorney for
	the county, or the municipal attorney of the municipality in which
	the violation is alleged to have occurred shall provide to the
	limited service pregnancy center notice that:
	(1)  describes the violation;
	(2)  states the amount of the proposed penalty for the
	violation; and
	(3)  gives 10 days from the receipt of the notice to
	cure the violation to avoid the penalty.
	Sec. 172.005.  STATE FUNDING PROHIBITED. The commission, or
	an organization distributing state funds under contract with the
	commission, may not grant or distribute state funding to a limited
	service pregnancy center that violates this chapter.
	SECTION 2.  A limited service pregnancy center is not
	required to submit a report required by Section 172.002, Health and
	Safety Code, as added by this Act, before January 1, 2016.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.