HB713

Regular Session

Relating to an exception to certain reporting requirements for health care providers reviewing selected cases for the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-06-20

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Department of State Health Services • Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee • Texas Board of Nursing • Texas Medical Board

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect).
Compliance Deadline: Immediate. Organizations must cease penalizing or mandating reporting for conduct discovered during TMMMRC reviews as of this date.
Agency Rulemaking: No specific rulemaking is mandated by the bill; however, the Texas Medical Board (TMB) and Texas Board of Nursing (BON) may issue guidance updates to their respective disciplinary matrices to reflect this exemption.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Identify Participants: Immediately survey medical staff and nursing leadership to identify any individuals currently serving on the TMMMRC.
2. Issue Legal Hold: Instruct these individuals that they are statutorily prohibited from reporting peer misconduct discovered during their committee work to the TMB or BON.
3. Update Bylaws: Amend Medical Staff Bylaws to reflect that TMMMRC participation constitutes a valid exception to the hospital's blanket reporting requirements.
4. Verify Insurance: Confirm with your malpractice carrier that administrative defense coverage applies to complaints regarding "failure to report" where this statutory defense is utilized.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Employment Agreements: Review termination clauses related to "failure to report" or "compliance with professional standards." Ensure that silence regarding TMMMRC case details is explicitly protected and cannot be construed as a breach of contract or cause for termination.
Staffing Agency Riders: If agency nurses serve on the committee, ensure vendor contracts acknowledge that the facility cannot compel these nurses to disclose information found during state reviews.

Hiring/Training

"Duty to Report" Training: Update annual compliance modules. Staff must understand the distinction:
Internal Peer Review: Duty to report remains active.
State TMMMRC Review: Duty to report is suspended.
Confidentiality Protocols: Reinforce that this exemption is narrow; it does not authorize discussing the case outside the committee, it merely protects the reviewer from administrative penalties for *not* reporting the provider involved.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Defensive Documentation: Providers serving on the TMMMRC must maintain logs of case numbers and review dates (compliant with HIPAA). If a licensing board investigates a provider for "failure to report" a peer's error, the reviewer must prove the information was obtained *exclusively* through the TMMMRC process to claim this statutory defense.
Incident Reporting: No new forms are required. This is a reduction in reporting volume.

Fees & Costs

None. There are no new fees or fiscal impacts associated with this legislation.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

The "Dual Knowledge" Doctrine: The statute exempts reporting of information learned "during the review." It does not exempt information learned through other channels. If a physician witnesses an error in the OR (Source A) and later reviews the mortality case (Source B), the exemption applies to Source B, but the duty to report likely remains for Source A. Risk: Do not rely on TMMMRC participation to shield prior, direct knowledge of misconduct.
Scope of "Conduct": The text refers to conduct related to the provider's profession. It likely does not shield the duty to report criminal behavior (e.g., assault, impairment due to illegal substances) to law enforcement. General Counsel should assume the exemption applies strictly to clinical standard-of-care issues until case law suggests otherwise.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsHealth Health--general Occupational Regulation Occupational Regulation--health Occupations Women Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee Health Care Providers Nurses & Nurse Aides

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 713

By: Howard

Public Health

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to the Department of State Health Services, the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee is unique in the way it collects and analyzes data compared to other states because it has to take an extra step of redacting all maternal mortality records before they are reviewed by the nurses collecting the data. The bill author has informed the committee that while the purpose of the redaction is to provide the nurses who review these cases an exemption from reporting conduct under the Nursing Practice Act, this additional step has caused significant delay in the preparation of the report and contributed to the delay in review years. H.B. 713 seeks to allow nurses to review unredacted materials related to maternal mortality and morbidity cases by establishing a limited exemption from professional reporting requirements.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 713 amends the Health and Safety Code to exempt a health care provider, including a nurse, from the requirement to report certain conduct related to the provider's profession if the provider learns of the conduct during the review of information relevant to a case selected for review under statutory provisions governing the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.

House Authors

Rep. Donna HowardDemocrat · Primary Author

Joint Authors

Ann Johnson (D)

Coauthors (2)

Senate Sponsors

Sen. Molly CookDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Cosponsors (6)

Bill Text(with markup)

H.B. No. 713

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to an exception to certain reporting requirements for
	health care providers reviewing selected cases for the Texas
	Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Chapter 34, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
	adding Section 34.0085 to read as follows:
	Sec. 34.0085. CASE INFORMATION EXCEPTED FROM PROFESSIONAL
	REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. Notwithstanding any other law and for
	purposes of this chapter, a health care provider, including a
	nurse, who during the review of information relevant to a case
	selected for review under this chapter learns of conduct related to
	the provider's profession that is subject to a reporting
	requirement is exempt from that reporting requirement for the
	reviewed information.
	SECTION 2. 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, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 15, 2025

TO:	Honorable Gary VanDeaver, Chair, House Committee on Public Health

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB713 by Howard (Relating to an exception to certain reporting requirements for health care providers reviewing selected cases for the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

537 State Health Services, Department of

LBB Staff:

JMc, NPe, ER, APA

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB713

What does Texas HB713 do?

HB713 creates an immediate statutory "safe harbor" for healthcare providers serving on the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee (TMMMRC). Effective immediately, physicians and nurses are exempt from mandatory professional reporting requirements regarding peer misconduct discovered solely during the review of a selected mortality case. This legislation removes the liability conflict between state-level mortality review participation and the duty to report to licensing boards.

Who authored HB713?

HB713 was authored by Texas Representative Donna Howard during the Regular Session.

When was HB713 signed into law?

HB713 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce HB713?

HB713 is enforced by Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee, Texas Board of Nursing and Texas Medical Board.

How urgent is compliance with HB713?

The compliance urgency for HB713 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB713?

The cost impact of HB713 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB713 address?

HB713 addresses topics including health, health--general, occupational regulation, occupational regulation--health occupations and women.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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