By: Leach H.B. No. 128       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to a required resource access assistance offer before an   abortion is performed or induced.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 171, Health and Safety   Code, is amended by adding Section 171.01205 to read as follows:          Sec. 171.01205.  REQUIRED PRE-ABORTION RESOURCE ACCESS   ASSISTANCE OFFER. (a) In addition to the informed consent   requirements under Section 171.012, except during a medical   emergency, and before the abortion is performed or induced, the   physician who is to perform or induce an abortion shall confirm the   pregnant woman received a resource access assistance offer, as   required by this section, by verifying the unique identifying   number, devoid of the woman's personally identifiable information,   as provided by the commission.          (b)  A care agent providing a resource access assistance   offer under this section:                (1)  must be:                      (A)  licensed in this state as a counselor,   physician, psychologist, social worker, nurse, advanced practice   registered nurse, community health worker, physician's assistant,   or marriage and family therapist; or                      (B)  acting under the supervision of an individual   described by Paragraph (A);                (2)  must:                      (A)  be authorized under a contract with the   commission to provide resource access assistance offers and support   services on behalf of this state in accordance with this section;                      (B)  complete a training program on identifying   and assisting victims of human trafficking using a standardized   curriculum created by the human trafficking prevention task force   established under Section 402.035, Government Code; and                      (C)  comply with medical records privacy laws   under Chapter 181;                (3)  in the two years preceding the offer may not:                      (A)  have performed or induced an abortion; or                      (B)  have served as a director, board member,   officer, volunteer, or employee for an abortion facility licensed   under Chapter 245; and                (4)  may not refer a woman to an abortion provider.          (c)  The resource access assistance offer must be provided by   and on behalf of this state at no cost to the pregnant woman from a   care agent who meets the qualifications described by Subsection   (b). The care agent during the resource access assistance offer   shall provide:                (1)  medically accurate information using the   informational materials described by Section 171.014;                (2)  an assessment of eligibility for and offer of   assistance in obtaining support services other than abortion for   the woman or unborn child's biological father, including housing,   employment, resume development, child care, prenatal and   postpartum medical care, mental health or behavioral counseling,   adoption services, financial assistance, abuse or neglect   prevention assistance, substance or alcohol abuse prevention   assistance, and health benefit plan coverage;                (3)  education on available public and private   resources to address the woman's or biological father's   socioeconomic needs; and                (4)  screening for:                      (A)  family violence, abuse, and neglect   victimization;                      (B)  coercion of abortion; and                      (C)  human trafficking victimization.          (d)  A care agent who obtains information that the pregnant   woman is a victim of human trafficking or coercion of abortion may:                (1)  submit a report to the appropriate law enforcement   agency of the suspected human trafficking or coercion of abortion,   if, before submitting the report, the care agent:                      (A)  provides to the pregnant woman a written   disclosure that the woman's identifying information will be   provided in the report; and                      (B)  after receiving the written disclosure   described by Paragraph (A), the pregnant woman consents to the care   agent submitting the report; or                (2)  provide to the pregnant woman information on the   methods available for the woman to report human trafficking or   coercion of abortion to the appropriate law enforcement agency.          (e)  A care agent shall request a unique identifying number,   devoid of the pregnant woman's personally identifiable   information, from the system developed by the commission to certify   that the woman received the resource access assistance offer.          (f)  The commission shall develop and maintain an   authentication system that provides the pregnant woman a unique   identifying number required under this section. The system must:                (1)  allow a care agent to request a unique identifying   number for the pregnant woman;                (2)  allow a physician who is to perform or induce an   abortion to verify the unique identifying number;                (3)  ensure that the identity of an individual pregnant   woman, care agent, or physician, who is to perform or induce the   abortion, is not disclosed in the authentication system; and                (4)  remove any individually identifying information   of the pregnant woman, care agent, or physician as soon as the   information is not needed to verify the unique identifying number.          (g)  The commission shall establish a single toll-free   telephone number through which a woman seeking an abortion in this   state may receive a resource access assistance offer on a 24-hour   basis. The commission must ensure the placed call automatically   routes the woman to a care agent at a contracting agency to provide   the resource access assistance offer.          (h)  The pregnant woman:                (1)  is not required to:                      (A)  provide any information to the care agent or   contracting agency; or                      (B)  initiate or complete services offered under   this section to obtain an abortion;                (2)  may decline services under this section at any   time; and                (3)  if accepting a resource assistance offer, shall   retain access to the offer until the second anniversary of the date   of acceptance, regardless of the woman's pregnancy.          SECTION 2.  Section 171.0121, Health and Safety Code, is   amended to read as follows:          Sec. 171.0121.  MEDICAL RECORD. (a) Before the abortion   begins, a copy of the signed, written certification received by the   physician under Section 171.012(a)(6) and documentation of the   receipt of the resource access assistance offer required under   Section 171.01205 must be placed in the pregnant woman's medical   records.          (b)  A copy of the signed, written certification required   under Sections 171.012(a)(5) and (6) and documentation of the   receipt of the resource access assistance offer required under   Section 171.01205 shall be retained by the facility where the   abortion is performed until:                (1)  the seventh anniversary of the date it is signed;   or                (2)  if the pregnant woman is a minor, the later of:                      (A)  the seventh anniversary of the date it is   signed; or                      (B)  the woman's 21st birthday.          SECTION 3.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 171.01205, Health   and Safety Code, as added by this Act, and Section 171.0121, Health   and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, a physician is not required   to comply with the changes in law made by this Act before April 1,   2023.          (b)  Not later than August 31, 2022, the executive   commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall   adopt rules as necessary to implement this Act.          (c)  Not later than April 1, 2023, the Health and Human   Services Commission shall contract with one or more contracting   agencies that employ care agents throughout this state to provide   the pre-abortion resource access assistance offer and assistance in   obtaining support services described by Section 171.01205, Health   and Safety Code, as added by this Act.          SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to   an abortion performed or induced on or after April 1, 2023. An   abortion performed or induced before April 1, 2023, is governed by   the law applicable to the abortion immediately before the effective   date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that   purpose.          SECTION 5.  It is the intent of the legislature that every   provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word   in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to   each person or entity, are severable from each other. If any   application of any provision in this Act to any person, group of   persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be invalid for any   reason, the remaining applications of that provision to all other   persons and circumstances shall be severed and may not be affected.          SECTION 6.  The Health and Human Services Commission is   required to implement this Act only if the legislature appropriates   money specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not   appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the commission   may, but is not required to, implement the Act using other   appropriations available for the purpose.          SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the   last day of the legislative session.