The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 81.081, 81.082; definitions in § 81.003(2) ('health authority') and § 81.003(7) ('public health disaster')
- Issued
- 1989-09-01 Sept. 1, 1989
- Effective
- standing (read as 1989-09-01)
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing since Sept. 1, 1989 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Business closureWorkplace rulesQuarantine and isolationStanding duty
- Addressees
- the department and health authorities as duty-bearers; persons generally and owners or persons in control of places and objects as the subjects of control measures
- Character
- statutory duty
- Collection
- Standing duties: Texas DUT-TX
Operative words
The department shall impose control measures to prevent the spread of disease in the exercise of its power to protect the public health.... A health authority has supervisory authority and control over the administration of communicable disease control measures in the health authority's jurisdiction... The control measures may be imposed on an individual, animal, place, or object
Penalty
Tex. Health & Safety Code § 81.087 (Class B misdemeanor; Ex. DUT-TX-006); § 81.085(h) (third-degree felony during area quarantine; Ex. DUT-TX-005); Penal Code §§ 12.22, 12.34 (Ex. DUT-TX-019)
What it required
The Department of State Health Services was under a mandatory duty ('shall impose control measures') and every local health authority held supervisory authority to impose the listed control measures (immunization, detention, restriction, disinfection, decontamination, isolation, quarantine, disinfestation, chemoprophylaxis, preventive therapy, prevention and education) on any individual, place or object in its jurisdiction, with a public health disaster (a gubernatorial disaster declaration plus the Commissioner's determination of an immediate threat from a communicable disease) enlarging those powers for 30 days, renewable once by the Commissioner.
Retrieval noteSection 81.082(f) lists the twelve control measures. Section 81.003(7) defines 'public health disaster' as the Governor's disaster declaration together with the Commissioner's determination of an immediate threat; both existed from March 13 and March 19, 2020 (Exs. TX-001, DUT-TX-008). The Harris, Dallas, Bexar and Travis County health authorities' orders in the metro layer rest on this section.