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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill modifies provisions regarding disease testing after a significant exposure to
10 blood or contaminated body fluids.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 ▸ defines terms;
14 ▸ allows a health care provider to request a blood sample if significantly exposed to a
15 person's bodily fluids in the course of performing the provider's duties;
16 ▸ allows a health care provider to request a court order authorizing a blood sample
17 from an individual if, during the course of performing the provider's duties, the
18 provider is significantly exposed to the individual's bodily fluids;
19 ▸ clarifies rulemaking authority; and
20 ▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
21 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
22 None
23 Other Special Clauses:
24 None
25 Utah Code Sections Affected:
26 AMENDS:
27 78B-8-401, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 114
28 78B-8-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 92
29 78B-8-403, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3
30 78B-8-404, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 114
31 78B-8-405, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3
32
33 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
34 Section 1. Section 78B-8-401 is amended to read:
35
36 78B-8-401. Definitions.
37 For purposes of this [
38 (1) "Blood or contaminated body fluids" includes blood, saliva, amniotic fluid,
39 pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, pleural fluid, synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, semen, and
40 vaginal secretions, and any body fluid visibly contaminated with blood.
41 (2) "Disease" means Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection, acute or chronic
42 Hepatitis B infection, Hepatitis C infection, and any other infectious disease specifically
43 designated by the Labor Commission, in consultation with the Department of Health, for the
44 purposes of this [
45 (3) "Emergency services provider" means:
46 (a) an individual certified under Section 26-8a-302, a [
47 local fire department personnel, or personnel employed by the Department of Corrections or by
48 a county jail, who provide prehospital emergency care for an emergency services provider
49 either as an employee or as a volunteer; or
50 (b) an individual who provides for the care, control, support, or transport of a prisoner.
51 (4) "First aid volunteer" means a person who provides voluntary emergency assistance
52 or first aid medical care to an injured person prior to the arrival of an emergency medical
53 services provider or [
54 (5) "Health care provider" means the same as that term is defined in Section
55 78B-3-403.
56 (6) "Peace officer" means the same as that term is defined in [
57
58 [
59 [
60 [
61 (a) exposure of the body of one person to the blood or body fluids of another person
62 by:
63 (i) percutaneous injury, including a needle stick, cut with a sharp object or instrument,
64 or a wound resulting from a human bite, scratch, or similar force; or
65 (ii) contact with an open wound, mucous membrane, or nonintact skin because of a cut,
66 abrasion, dermatitis, or other damage; or
67 (b) exposure that occurs by any other method of transmission defined by the Labor
68 Commission, in consultation with the Department of Health, as a significant exposure.
69 Section 2. Section 78B-8-402 is amended to read:
70 78B-8-402. Petition -- Disease testing -- Notice -- Payment for testing.
71 (1) An emergency services provider or first aid volunteer who is significantly exposed
72 during the course of performing the emergency services provider's duties or during the course
73 of performing emergency assistance or first aid, or a health care provider acting in the course
74 and scope of the health care provider's duties as a health care provider may:
75 (a) request that the person to whom the emergency services provider [
76 volunteer, or health care provider was significantly exposed voluntarily submit to testing; or
77 (b) petition the district court or a magistrate for an order requiring that the person to
78 whom the emergency services provider [
79 significantly exposed submit to testing to determine the presence of a disease, as defined in
80 Section 78B-8-401, and that the results of that test be disclosed to the petitioner by the
81 Department of Health.
82 (2) (a) A law enforcement agency may submit on behalf of the petitioner by electronic
83 or other means an ex parte request for a warrant ordering a blood draw from the respondent.
84 (b) The court or magistrate shall issue a warrant ordering the respondent to provide a
85 specimen of the respondent's blood within 24 hours, and that reasonable force may be used, if
86 necessary, if the court or magistrate finds that:
87 (i) the petitioner was significantly exposed during the course of performing the
88 petitioner's duties as an emergency services [
89 health care provider;
90 (ii) the respondent has refused consent to the blood draw or is unable to give consent;
91 (iii) there may not be an opportunity to obtain a sample at a later date; and
92 (iv) a delay in administering available FDA-approved post-exposure treatment or
93 prophylaxis could result in a lack of effectiveness of the treatment or prophylaxis.
94 (c) The petitioner shall request a person authorized under Section 41-6a-523 perform
95 the blood draw.
96 (d) A sample drawn in accordance with a warrant following an ex parte request shall be
97 sent to the Department of Health for testing.
98 (3) If a petitioner does not seek or obtain a warrant pursuant to Subsection (2), the
99 petitioner may file a petition with the district court seeking an order to submit to testing and to
100 disclose the results in accordance with [
101 (4) (a) The petition described in Subsection (3) shall be accompanied by an affidavit in
102 which the petitioner certifies that the petitioner has been significantly exposed to the individual
103 who is the subject of the petition and describes that exposure.
104 (b) The petitioner shall submit to testing to determine the presence of a disease, when
105 the petition is filed or within three days after the petition is filed.
106 (5) The petitioner shall cause the petition required under this section to be served on
107 the person who the petitioner is requesting to be tested in a manner that will best preserve the
108 confidentiality of that person.
109 (6) (a) The court shall set a time for a hearing on the matter within 10 days after the
110 petition is filed and shall give the petitioner and the individual who is the subject of the petition
111 notice of the hearing at least 72 hours prior to the hearing.
112 (b) The individual who is the subject of the petition shall also be notified that the
113 individual may have an attorney present at the hearing and that the individual's attorney may
114 examine and cross-examine witnesses.
115 (c) The hearing shall be conducted in camera.
116 (7) The district court may enter an order requiring that an individual submit to testing,
117 including blood testing, for a disease if the court finds probable cause to believe:
118 (a) the petitioner was significantly exposed; and
119 (b) the exposure occurred during the course of the emergency services provider's
120 duties, [
121 health care provider acting in the course and scope of the provider's duties as a health care
122 provider.
123 (8) The court may order that the blood specimen be obtained by the use of reasonable
124 force if the individual who is the subject of the petition is a prisoner.
125 (9) The court may order that additional, follow-up testing be conducted and that the
126 individual submit to that testing, as it determines to be necessary and appropriate.
127 (10) The court is not required to order an individual to submit to a test under this
128 section if it finds that there is a substantial reason, relating to the life or health of the
129 individual, not to enter the order.
130 (11) (a) Upon order of the district court that a person submit to testing for a disease,
131 that person shall report to the designated local health department to have the person's blood
132 drawn within 10 days from the issuance of the order, and thereafter as designated by the court,
133 or be held in contempt of court.
134 (b) The court shall send the order to the Department of Health and to the local health
135 department ordered to draw the blood.
136 (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 26-6-27, the Department of Health and a
137 local health department may disclose the test results pursuant to a court order as provided in
138 this section.
139 (d) Under this section, anonymous testing as provided under Section 26-6-3.5 may not
140 satisfy the requirements of the court order.
141 (12) The local health department or the Department of Health shall inform the subject
142 of the petition and the petitioner of the results of the test and advise both parties that the test
143 results are confidential. That information shall be maintained as confidential by all parties to
144 the action.
145 (13) The court, its personnel, the process server, the Department of Health, local health
146 department, and petitioner shall maintain confidentiality of the name and any other identifying
147 information regarding the individual tested and the results of the test as they relate to that
148 individual, except as specifically authorized by this chapter.
149 (14) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (14)(b), the petitioner shall remit payment
150 for the drawing of the blood specimen and the analysis of the specimen for the mandatory
151 disease testing to the entity that draws the blood.
152 (b) If the petitioner is an emergency services provider, the agency that employs the
153 emergency services provider shall remit payment for the drawing of the blood specimen and
154 the analysis of the specimen for the mandatory disease testing to the entity that draws the
155 blood.
156 (15) The entity that draws the blood shall cause the blood and the payment for the
157 analysis of the specimen to be delivered to the Department of Health for analysis.
158 (16) If the individual is incarcerated, the incarcerating authority shall either draw the
159 blood specimen or shall pay the expenses of having the individual's blood drawn.
160 (17) The ex parte request or petition shall be sealed upon filing and made accessible
161 only to the petitioner, the subject of the petition, and their attorneys, upon court order.
162 Section 3. Section 78B-8-403 is amended to read:
163 78B-8-403. Confidentiality -- Disclosure -- Penalty.
164 [
165 [
166 [
167 information, or by otherwise breaching the confidentiality requirements of this [
168 guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
169 Section 4. Section 78B-8-404 is amended to read:
170 78B-8-404. Department authority -- Rules.
171 The Labor Commission, in consultation with the Department of Health, has authority to
172 establish rules necessary for the purposes of Subsections 78B-8-401(2) and [
173 Section 5. Section 78B-8-405 is amended to read:
174 78B-8-405. Construction.
175 Nothing in this part may be construed as prohibiting[
176 consenting to the request of a health care provider[
177 submit to testing following a significant exposure[
178 [
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