H.B. No. 581

	AN ACT
	relating to the waiver of sovereign immunity in certain employment
	lawsuits by nurses and in certain employment discrimination actions
	in connection with a workers' compensation claim.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 301.413, Occupations Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l) to read as
	follows:
	(g)  Subject to Subsection (h), a nurse employed by a
	hospital operated by or on behalf of a state or local governmental
	entity who alleges a violation of Subsection (b) may sue the state
	or local governmental entity for relief under this section, and the
	sovereign immunity of the state or local governmental entity from
	suit and from liability is waived for the limited purpose of
	allowing the nurse to maintain a lawsuit in state court to obtain
	that relief.  Relief under this section is in addition to any other
	remedies a nurse may have under state or federal law as a public
	employee.  In this subsection:
	(1)  "Local governmental entity," "public employee,"
	and "state governmental entity" have the meanings assigned by
	Section 554.001, Government Code.
	(2)  "Hospital" has the meaning assigned by Section
	241.003, Health and Safety Code, and includes a mental hospital
	licensed under Chapter 577, Health and Safety Code.
	(h)  Relief may be granted in a lawsuit brought under
	Subsection (g) for an alleged violation of Subsection (b)(1) based
	on a report made by a nurse under Section 301.4025(b) only if the
	nurse:
	(1)  made the report:
	(A)  in writing, which may be provided
	electronically; or
	(B)  verbally, if authorized by the nurse's
	employer or another entity at which the nurse is authorized to
	practice;
	(2)  made the report to:
	(A)  the nurse's supervisor;
	(B)  a committee authorized under state or federal
	law to receive reports under Section 301.4025(b); or
	(C)  an individual or committee authorized by the
	nurse's employer or another entity at which the nurse is authorized
	to practice; and
	(3)  made the report not later than:
	(A)  the fifth day after the date the nurse became
	aware of the situation if the situation involves a single incident;
	or
	(B)  the fifth day after the date the nurse became
	aware of the most recent occurrence of the situation if the
	situation involves multiple incidents or a pattern of behavior.
	(i)  For purposes of Subsection (h), "supervisor" means an
	individual who has authority over the responsibilities of the nurse
	making the report or an individual who is in the nurse's chain of
	command.
	(j)  The following provisions of Chapter 554, Government
	Code, apply to a lawsuit under Subsection (g):
	(1)  the type of relief and the amount of damages
	available to a public employee under Section 554.003;
	(2)  the time during which a public employee must seek
	relief under Section 554.005; and
	(3)  the requirement that a public employee use the
	grievance or appeal procedures of the state or local governmental
	entity before suing for relief under Section 554.006.
	(k)  A lawsuit under Subsection (g) against a state
	governmental entity shall be brought in a district court in Travis
	County or a county in which all or part of the acts or omissions
	giving rise to the cause of action occurred.
	(l)  A lawsuit under Subsection (g) against a local
	governmental entity shall be brought in a district court in a county
	in which all or part of the entity is located.
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act to Section
	301.413, Occupations Code, applies to an action commenced on or
	after the effective date of this Act. An action commenced before
	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed
	immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
	continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 581 was passed by the House on May 10,
	2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 100, Nays 28, 2 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 581 on May 23, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 14,
	2 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 581 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 21, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 22, Nays
	9.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor