By: Paxton, et al.  S.B. No. 802          (In the Senate - Filed February 25, 2021; March 11, 2021,   read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;   March 22, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee   Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 1; March 22, 2021,   sent to printer.)Click here to see the committee vote     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 802 By:  Birdwell     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 pre-abortion resource access assistance   offer, as required by this section, by:                (1)  verifying the unique identifying number provided   to the woman as required by Subsection (d) is recorded in a secure   database maintained by the commission; and                (2)  documenting the pregnant woman's unique   identifying number in the woman's medical record.          (b)  A care agent providing a resource access assistance   offer under this section:                (1)  must be:                      (A)  licensed as a counselor, doctor,   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 last two years, 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,   recommend abortion, or take any other action that directly or   indirectly advises or assists a woman in obtaining an abortion.          (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 a 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 counselling,   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)  After providing the resource access assistance offer,   the care agent or the contracting agency that employs the care agent   shall:                (1)  certify to the commission using a unique   identifying number, devoid of personally identifying information   of the pregnant woman, that the woman received the resource access   assistance offer; and                (2)  provide to the pregnant woman the identifying   number described by Subdivision (1).          (e)  A care agent shall report to the commission   de-identified demographic information obtained through a resource   access assistance offer provided under this section to assist the   commission in determining the supply and demand of social services   in the pregnant woman's geographic region.          (f)  The commission shall develop and maintain on the   commission's Internet website a secure database to store the unique   identifying numbers provided under Subsection (d) and that allows   the care agent to submit the de-identified information required   under Subsection (e).          (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 September 1, 2021.     * * * * *