Texas House bill by Rep. Howard exempts health care providers from certain reporting during maternal mortality reviews

Newly passed bill authored by State Rep. Donna Howard seeks to modify reporting obligations for health care providers during maternal mortality case reviews, aiming to facilitate thorough committee evaluations without mandatory professional reporting in these cases, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 57 Democrats and 48 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while one Democrat and 33 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 11 Democrats and 17 Republicans voted in favor, while three Republicans voted against it.

Donna Howard introduced the bill in the Texas House on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, ahead of the official start of the 89th regular legislative session on Jan. 14, 2025.

Howard graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA.

Howard, a Democrat, was elected to the Texas State House in 2006 to represent the state’s 48th House district, replacing previous state representative Todd Baxter.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to an exception to certain reporting requirements for health care providers reviewing selected cases for the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Texas Health and Safety Code by introducing Section 34.0085, which exempts health care providers from certain professional reporting requirements during case reviews conducted by the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee. Specifically, if a health care provider encounters conduct related to their profession that usually necessitates reporting while reviewing a selected case, they are not required to report this information for the reviewed case. The bill takes effect immediately upon receiving a two-thirds majority vote in both legislative houses; otherwise, it will become effective on Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Ann Johnson (Democrat – District 134), Rep. Penny Morales Shaw (Democrat – District 148), and Rep. Maria Luisa Flores (Democrat – District 51).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Wednesday, May 28, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.