Sec. 81.086. APPLICATION OF CONTROL MEASURES TO PRIVATE AND COMMON CARRIERS AND PRIVATE CONVEYANCES. (a) This section applies to any private or common carrier or private conveyance, including a vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft, while the vehicle or craft is in this state.

(b) If the department or health authority has reasonable cause to believe that a carrier or conveyance has departed from or traveled through an area infected or contaminated with a communicable disease, the department or health authority may order the owner, operator, or authorized agent in control of the carrier or conveyance to:

(1) stop the carrier or conveyance at a port of entry or place of first landing or first arrival in this state; and

(2) provide information on passengers and cargo manifests that includes the details of:

(A) any illness suspected of being communicable that occurred during the journey;

(B) any condition on board the carrier or conveyance during the journey that may lead to the spread of disease; and

(C) any control measures imposed on the carrier or conveyance, its passengers or crew, or its cargo or any other object on board during the journey.

(c) The department or health authority may impose necessary technically feasible control measures under Section 81.083 or 81.084 to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable disease in this state if the department or health authority, after inspection, has reasonable cause to believe that a carrier or conveyance that has departed from or traveled through an infected or contaminated area:

(1) is or may be infected or contaminated with a communicable disease;

(2) has cargo or an object on board that is or may be infected or contaminated with a communicable disease; or

(3) has an individual on board who has been exposed to, or is the carrier of, a communicable disease.

(d) The owner or operator of a carrier or conveyance placed in quarantine by order of the department or health authority, or of a county or district court under Section 81.083 or 81.084, shall bear the expense of the control measures employed to disinfect or decontaminate the carrier or conveyance. The department or health authority, as appropriate, shall charge and be reimbursed for the cost of control measures performed by the department's or health authority's employees. The department shall deposit the reimbursements to the credit of the general revenue fund to be used to administer this chapter. A health authority shall distribute the reimbursements to each county, municipality, or other governmental entity in an amount proportional to that entity's contribution to the quarantine and control expense.

(e) The owner or claimant of cargo or an object on board the carrier or conveyance shall pay the expense of the control measures employed in the manner provided by Section 81.084. The cost of services rendered or provided by the department or health authority is subject to reimbursement as provided by Subsection (d).

(f) A crew member, passenger, or individual on board the carrier or conveyance shall pay the expense of control measures employed under Section 81.083. The state may pay the expenses of an individual who is:

(1) without the financial means to pay for part or all of the required medical care or treatment; and

(2) not eligible for benefits under an insurance contract, group policy, or prepaid health plan, or benefits provided by a federal, state, or local medical assistance program, as provided by Section 81.083.

(g) A carrier, a conveyance, cargo, an object, an animal, or an individual placed in quarantine under this section may not be removed from or leave the area of quarantine without the department's or health authority's permission.

(h) If the department or health authority has reasonable cause to believe that a carrier or conveyance is transporting cargo or an object that is or may be infected or contaminated with a communicable disease, the department or health authority may:

(1) require that the cargo or object be transported in secure confinement or sealed in a car, trailer, hold, or compartment, as appropriate, that is secured on the order and instruction of the department or health authority, if the cargo or object is being transported through this state;

(2) require that the cargo or object be unloaded at an alternate location equipped with adequate investigative and disease control facilities if the cargo or object is being transported to an intermediate or ultimate destination in this state that cannot provide the necessary facilities; and

(3) investigate and, if necessary, quarantine the cargo or object and impose any required control measure as authorized by Section 81.084.

(i) The department or health authority may require an individual transported by carrier or conveyance who the department or health authority has reasonable cause to believe has been exposed to or is the carrier of a communicable disease to be isolated from other travelers and to disembark with the individual's personal effects and baggage at the first location equipped with adequate investigative and disease control facilities, whether the person is in transit through this state or to an intermediate or ultimate destination in this state. The department or health authority may investigate and, if necessary, isolate or involuntarily hospitalize the individual until the department or health authority approves the discharge as authorized by Section 81.083.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 198, Sec. 2.183, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0235, eff. April 2, 2015.