Sec. 161.0074.  REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.  (a)  The department shall report to the Legislative Budget Board, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and appropriate committees of the legislature not later than September 30 of each even-numbered year.
(b)  The department shall use the report required under Subsection (a) to develop ways to increase immunization rates using state and federal resources.
(c)  The report must:
(1)  include the current immunization rates by geographic region of the state, where available;
(2)  focus on the geographic regions of the state with immunization rates below the state average for preschool children;
(3)  describe the approaches identified to increase immunization rates in underserved areas and the estimated cost for each;
(4)  identify changes to department procedures needed to increase immunization rates;
(5)  identify the services provided under and provisions of contracts entered into by the department to increase immunization rates in underserved areas;
(6)  identify performance measures used in contracts described by Subdivision (5);
(7)  include the number and type of exemptions used in the past year;
(8)  include the number of complaints received by the department related to the department's failure to comply with requests for exclusion of individuals from the registry;
(9)  identify all reported incidents of discrimination for requesting exclusion from the registry or for using an exemption for a required immunization; and
(10)   include ways to increase provider participation in the registry.
(11)  Expired.
(d)  If a public health disaster was declared under Chapter 81 during the preceding two years, in addition to the information required under Subsection (c), for immunizations that immunize an individual against the communicable disease subject to the declaration the report must:
(1)  include information by county on the accessibility to the immunizations of county residents by age, race, and geographic location, provided the information does not personally identify any individual;
(2)  identify and assess disparities in access to the immunizations by age, race, and geographic location, including an assessment of immunization accessibility in each county;
(3)  include the estimated economic benefit to this state of reducing disparities in immunization accessibility;
(4)  include recommendations for reducing disparities in immunization accessibility; and
(5)  include recommendations for legislative action to increase immunization rates.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1081, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by: 
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 611 (S.B. 1353), Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 865 (S.B. 970), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2021.