85R8395 SCL-D     By: Lucio S.B. No. 1695       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to mosquito control districts established for an urgent   public health purpose.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Chapter 344, Health and Safety Code, is amended   by designating Sections 344.001 through 344.007 as Subchapter A and   adding a subchapter heading to read as follows:   SUBCHAPTER A. ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION, AND DISSOLUTION OF   MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICTS          SECTION 2.  Chapter 344, Health and Safety Code, is amended   by adding Subchapter B to read as follows:   SUBCHAPTER B. ESTABLISHMENT OF MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICTS FOR   URGENT PUBLIC HEALTH PURPOSE          Sec. 344.051.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "department"   means the Department of State Health Services.          Sec. 344.052.  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds   that:                (1)  scientists have concluded the Zika virus is a   cause for microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects;                (2)  the department has reported that counties in the   Gulf Coast region and on the international border with Mexico are at   the highest risk in this state of developing localized cases of the   Zika virus;                (3)  Cameron County, which is located on the   international border with Mexico, has had as of December 2016 at   least five documented cases of locally transmitted Zika virus;                (4)  the powers of a mosquito control district may be   effective in combating the increased risk of transmission of the   Zika virus; and                (5)  there is an urgent public health purpose for   establishing a mosquito control district in Cameron and Hidalgo   Counties and other high-risk counties to contain, eradicate, and   treat problems associated with communicable diseases, including   the Zika virus, the dengue virus, and the chikungunya virus, that   are carried by mosquitos.          Sec. 344.053.  APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter   applies only to a county located on the international border with   Mexico:                (1)  for which the department has documented a locally   transmitted case of the Zika virus; or                (2)  that is adjacent to a county described by   Subdivision (1).          Sec. 344.054.  ESTABLISHMENT.  A county described by Section   344.053 may establish an urgent public health mosquito control   district on issuance of an order by the county judge or   commissioners court of the county stating that an urgent public   health purpose requires establishment of the district and ordering   an election under Section 344.001.          Sec. 344.055.  DUTIES OF COUNTY ESTABLISHING DISTRICT. A   county that establishes an urgent public health mosquito control   district under this subchapter shall:                (1)  conduct surveillance of vectors carrying   communicable disease;                (2)  address the capacity of the county public health   infrastructure, including by:                      (A)  establishing and operating communicable   disease and illness identification laboratories;                      (B)  training and hiring public health personnel   and research fellows;                      (C)  matching state, federal, and private   initiatives and efforts aimed at addressing and mitigating health   and environmental conditions that contribute to the breeding,   development, and spread of vectors carrying communicable disease;                      (D)  testing county residents for communicable   diseases and providing medical treatment to county residents who   have communicable diseases; and                      (E)  funding prevention measures and initiatives   to protect county residents from vectors carrying communicable   disease; and                (3)  address the prevention and spread of vectors   carrying communicable disease by funding efforts to inform people   about the prevention and spread through community campaigns and   regional information efforts.          Sec. 344.056.  SPECIAL PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE.   (a) In this section, "committee" means the special public health   advisory committee established under this section.          (b)  Notwithstanding Section 344.004, the commissioners   court of a county that establishes an urgent public health mosquito   control district under this subchapter shall establish a special   public health advisory committee.          (c)  The committee is composed of seven members. The   commissioners court shall appoint six members to the committee and   the commissioner of state health services shall appoint one member   to the committee. The members appointed by the commissioners court   are as follows:                (1)  one member who is the county public health   administrator;                (2)  two members who are public health administrators   at the executive director level in the most populated   municipalities in the county;                (3)  one member who is a property taxpaying voter of the   county; and                (4)  two members who are county residents and pay   property tax in the county.          (d)  The county judge shall appoint one committee member as   the presiding officer of the committee. The committee meets at the   call of the presiding officer.          (e)  A committee member serves without compensation.          (f)  A committee member must take an oath of office   prescribed by the commissioners court.          (g)  The committee shall:                (1)  make written recommendations to the commissioners   court that the committee considers necessary to:                      (A)  address the urgent public health purpose of   the mosquito control district established under this subchapter;   and                      (B)  implement the district's duties; and                (2)  perform any other duty assigned to the committee   by the commissioners court.          Sec. 344.057.  MOSQUITO CONTROL PERSONNEL. The   commissioners court of a county that establishes an urgent public   health mosquito control district under this subchapter may appoint:                 (1)  a mosquito control engineer as provided by Section   344.005; or                (2)  any other public health professional the   commissioners court determines is necessary to carry out the duties   of the district and to address the recommendations of the special   public health advisory committee established under Section   344.056.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect September 1, 2017.