CS/HB 697 - Public Health Emergencies

• Amends section 381.0012 to require state and county attorneys, sheriffs, police officers, and other officials to assist the Department of Health in enforcing state health laws, rules, and orders upon request.

• Authorizes the Department of Health to declare, enforce, modify, and abolish isolation and quarantine of persons, animals, and premises for controlling communicable diseases or unsafe conditions posing public health threats.

• Requires the Department of Health to adopt rules specifying conditions and procedures for imposing and releasing isolation or quarantine orders, with provisions covering premises closure, movement restrictions, testing/vaccination requirements, animal testing/destruction, premises access, disinfection, and isolation methods.

• Establishes that Department of Health rules and actions during declared public health emergencies supersede all conflicting rules from other state agencies, boards, and political subdivisions; violation of such rules constitutes a second-degree misdemeanor.

• Prohibits falsely claiming to a health care provider or falsely reporting to law enforcement that one has contracted a communicable disease during a declared public health emergency, making such conduct a second-degree misdemeanor.

• Effective date: July 1, 2015.