TITLE: Relating to AIDS, HIV, and hepatitis education and testing for inmates, state jail defendants, and employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

SUMMARY: Relating to AIDS, HIV, and hepatitis education and testing for inmates, state jail defendants, and employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to AIDS, HIV, and hepatitis education and testing for inmates, state jail defendants, and employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 501.054, Government Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 501.054. AIDS,[AND] HIV,AND HEPATITIS EDUCATION; TESTING. (a) In this section:(1) [] "AIDS [] " and "HIV [] " [and "test result"] have the meanings assigned by Section 81.101, Health and Safety Code. (2) "Test result" means any statement that indicates that an individual has or has not been tested for a particular disease or condition. The term includes a test result described by Section 81.101, Health and Safety Code. (b) The department, in consultation with the [Texas] Department of State Health Services,shall establish education programs to educate inmates and employees of the department about AIDS,[and] HIV,and hepatitis.In establishing the programs for inmates, the department shall design a program that deals with issues related to AIDS,[and] HIV,and hepatitis that are relevant to inmates while confined and a program that deals with issues related to AIDS,[and] HIV,and hepatitis that will be relevant to inmates after the inmates are released. The department shall design the programs to take into account relevant cultural and other differences among inmates. The department shall require each inmate in a facility operated by the department to participate in education programs established under this subsection. (c) The department shall require each employee of the department to participate in programs established under this section at least once during each calendar year. (d) The department shall ensure that education programs for employees include information and training relating to infection control procedures. The department shall also ensure that employees have infection control supplies and equipment readily available. (e) The department, in consultation with the [Texas] Department of State Health Services,shall periodically revise education programs established under this section so that the programs reflect the latest medical information available on AIDS,[and] HIV,and hepatitis.(f) The department shall adopt a policy for handling persons who have [with] AIDS or hepatitis or are infected with HIV and [infection who] are in the custody of the department or under the department's supervision. The policy for handling persons who have AIDS or are infected with HIV must be substantially similar to a model policy developed [by the Texas Department of Health] under Subchapter G, Chapter 85, Health and Safety Code. (g) The department shall maintain the confidentiality of test results of an inmate indicating the presence of AIDS, hepatitis, or HIV infection at all times, including after the inmate's discharge, release from a state jail, or release on parole or mandatory supervision. The department may not honor the request of an agency of the state or any person who requests a test result as a condition of housing or supervising the inmate while the inmate is on community supervision or parole or mandatory supervision, unless honoring the request would improve the ability of the inmate to obtain essential health and social services. (h) The department shall report to the legislature not later than January 15 of each odd-numbered year concerning the implementation of this section and the participation of inmates and employees of the department in education programs established under this section. (i) The department may test an inmate confined in a facility operated by the correctional institutions division for AIDS, hepatitis, or HIV infection [human immunodeficiency virus] at any time, but must test: (1) during the diagnostic process, an inmate for whom the department does not have a record of a positive test result; and (2) an inmate who is eligible for release before the inmate is released from the division. (j) If the department determines that an inmate has a positive test result, the department may segregate the inmate from other inmates. The department shall report the results of a positive test to the Department of State Health Services for the purposes of notification and reporting as described by Sections 81.050-81.052, Health and Safety Code. SECTION 2. Section 507.023, Government Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 507.023. AIDS,[AND] HIV,AND HEPATITIS EDUCATION; TESTING. (a) The department [state jail division] shall establish and provide education programs to educate [state jail division] employees at and defendants in state jail felony facilities about AIDS,[and] HIV,and hepatitis in the same manner as the department [institutional division] establishes and provides programs for employees and inmates under Section 501.054. (b) The department [state jail division] shall adopt a policy for handling a defendant with AIDS,[or] HIV,or hepatitis and shall test a defendant for AIDS,hepatitis, or HIV infection in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as apply to an inmate [the institutional division] under Section 501.054. (c) In this section, "AIDS" and "HIV" have the meanings assigned by Section 81.101, Health and Safety Code. SECTION 3. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall establish the programs, adopt the policies, and initiate the testing procedures required by Sections 501.054 and 507.023, Government Code, as amended by this Act, not later than January 1, 2014. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.