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TX Governor Greg Abbott: Today, I signed into law Senate Bill 7, which bans private employer COVID vaccine mandates in our state.
TX Governor Greg Abbott via X (aka Twitter) ^
| Nov 10, 2023
| Governor Greg Abbott
Posted on 11/10/2023 3:27:32 PM PST by Texas Fossil
Texas will always protect personal liberties.
Today, I signed into law Senate Bill 7, which bans private employer COVID vaccine mandates in our state.
Thank you to Sen. @mayes_middleton and Rep. @leachfortexas
for their leadership to get this done during Special Session #3.
Bill Title: Relating to prohibiting a private employer from adopting or enforcing certain COVID-19 vaccine mandates; authorizing an administrative penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 69-1)
Status: (Passed) 2023-11-10 - Effective on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 6, 2024 [SB7 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB7-Enrolled.html relating to prohibiting a private employer from adopting or |
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enforcing certain COVID-19 vaccine mandates; authorizing an |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended by adding Chapter 81D to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 81D. PROHIBITED CORONAVIRUS VACCINE MANDATES BY PRIVATE |
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Sec. 81D.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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(1) "Adverse action" means an action taken by an |
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employer that a reasonable person would consider was for the |
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purpose of punishing, alienating, or otherwise adversely affecting |
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an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for |
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(2) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce |
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(3) "Contractor" means a person who undertakes |
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specific work for an employer in exchange for a benefit without |
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submitting to the control of the employer over the manner, methods, |
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(4) "COVID-19" means the 2019 novel coronavirus |
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disease and any variants of the disease. |
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(5) "Employer" means a person, other than a |
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governmental entity, who employs one or more employees. |
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Sec. 81D.002. EMPLOYER CORONAVIRUS VACCINE MANDATES |
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PROHIBITED. An employer may not adopt or enforce a mandate |
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requiring an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or |
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applicant for a contract position to be vaccinated against COVID-19 |
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as a condition of employment or a contract position. |
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Sec. 81D.003. PROHIBITED ADVERSE ACTION BY EMPLOYER. An |
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employer may not take an adverse action against an employee, |
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contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract |
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position for a refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19. |
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Sec. 81D.0035. ADVERSE ACTION EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN HEALTH |
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CARE FACILITIES, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND PHYSICIANS. (a) In |
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(1) "Health care facility" means a facility that is a |
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provider of services, as defined by Section 1861, Social Security |
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Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1395x). |
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(2) "Health care provider" and "physician" have the |
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meanings assigned by Section 74.001, Civil Practice and Remedies |
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(b) A health care facility, health care provider, or |
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physician may establish and enforce a reasonable policy that |
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includes requiring the use of protective medical equipment by an |
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individual who is an employee or contractor of the facility, |
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provider, or physician and who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 |
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based on the level of risk the individual presents to patients from |
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the individual's routine and direct exposure to patients. |
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(c) Establishing or enforcing a policy described by |
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Subsection (b) is not considered an adverse action under this |
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Sec. 81D.004. COMPLAINT; INVESTIGATION. (a) An employee, |
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contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract |
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position against whom an employer took an adverse action in |
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violation of this chapter may file a complaint with the commission |
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in the form and manner prescribed by commission rules. |
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(b) A complaint filed with the commission must include the |
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(1) the name of the complainant; |
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(2) the name of the employer; and |
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(3) the nature and description of any alleged adverse |
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action the employer took against the complainant. |
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(c) On receipt of a complaint under Subsection (a), the |
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commission shall conduct an investigation to determine whether the |
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employer took an adverse action against the complainant because of |
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the complainant's refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19. For a |
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complaint against a health care facility, health care provider, or |
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physician, the commission shall consult with the department in |
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determining if a policy adopted under Section 81D.0035 was |
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Sec. 81D.005. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. (a) On receipt of a |
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complaint filed under Section 81D.004, the commission may request |
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that the attorney general bring an action for injunctive relief |
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against the employer to prevent further violations of this chapter |
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by the employer. The action must be filed in a district court in: |
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(2) the county in which the alleged adverse action |
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(b) In an injunction issued under Subsection (a), a court |
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may include reasonable requirements to prevent further violations |
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Sec. 81D.006. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) The commission |
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shall impose on an employer who violates this chapter an |
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administrative penalty in an amount equal to $50,000 for each |
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violation, unless the employer, as applicable: |
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(1) hires the applicant for employment or offers a |
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contract to the applicant for a contract position; or |
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(2) reinstates the employee or contractor and provides |
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the employee or contractor with back pay from the date the employer |
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took the adverse action and makes every reasonable effort to |
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reverse the effects of the adverse action, including reestablishing |
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employee benefits for which the employee or contractor otherwise |
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would have been eligible if the adverse action had not been taken. |
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(b) If, following an investigation under Section 81D.004, |
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the commission determines that the employer violated this chapter, |
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the commission may recover from the employer reasonable |
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investigative costs incurred by the commission in conducting the |
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investigation, regardless of whether the employer has taken an |
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action described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2). |
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Sec. 81D.007. RULES. The commission shall adopt rules as |
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necessary to implement and enforce this chapter. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to conduct or an adverse action that occurs on or after the |
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effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 3. If any provision of this Act or its application |
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to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does |
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not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be |
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given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to |
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this end the provisions of this Act are declared severable. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the |
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| ______________________________ | ______________________________ |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House |
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I hereby certify that S.B. No. 7 passed the Senate on October |
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12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 19, Nays 12; and that the |
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Senate concurred in House amendments on October 31, 2023, by the |
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following vote: Yeas 17, Nays 11. |
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|
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| ______________________________ |
| Secretary of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that S.B. No. 7 passed the House, with |
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amendments, on October 26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 91, |
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Nays 54, one present not voting. |
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|
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| ______________________________ |
| Chief Clerk of the House |
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______________________________ |
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______________________________ |
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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abbott; ban; covid; exdemmom; gregabbott; mandate; mandates; texas; vaccine; vaccinemandates
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-40, 41-43 next last
To: exDemMom
To: Jane Long
What is the hold up, per Gov Abbott? IIRC, Abbott can't pardon directly, he has to get a recommendation from the Bureau of Pardons or something like that, and while I'm not sure if it had any bearing on the process in the intervening months, there has been a bit of a civil war within the Texas GOP.
Perry, who never should have been charged in the first place gets to suffer, and the travis county DA Garza can probably slow walk and obstruct the process as further extrajudicial punishment.
22
posted on
11/10/2023 4:19:19 PM PST
by
jz638
To: HamiltonJay
“Should have been passed 3 years ago”
I’m a doc and have been paying attention to all the data I could find.
By April 2020 I started to see we were being scammed.
By then we had proof the HCQ and Ivermectin worked and that kids had very few ACE-2 receptors that the virus needed to enter a cell but the jab companies couldn’t get lawsuit protection unless our government and media lied.
Lord help us.
23
posted on
11/10/2023 4:28:23 PM PST
by
lizma2
To: lizma2
Yes it was clear by mid April 2020 they were lying, catastrophic projections were not remotely reality by that point. Everything they did after that were lies.
To: HamiltonJay
Should have been passed 3 years agoNot only that, but if the law specifically and only speaks to Covid-19, it's pretty much worthless. They'll just call the next one something else.
25
posted on
11/10/2023 4:37:28 PM PST
by
Obadiah
To: Obadiah
To: Obadiah
What other “mandated vaccines” do you object to?
If another dangerous untested shot gets mandated won’t be hard to get stop
27
posted on
11/10/2023 4:50:35 PM PST
by
RWGinger
(FJB)
To: Texas Fossil
Next up, emancipation of Black slaves.
28
posted on
11/10/2023 5:53:37 PM PST
by
ChessExpert
(Required for informed consent: "We have a new, experimental vaccine.")
To: Texas Fossil
He’s fighting the last war.
29
posted on
11/10/2023 8:19:27 PM PST
by
HIDEK6
(God bless Donald Trump. )
To: TexasFreeper2009
I suppose you are not aware of the debacle in NY where Covid patients were sent to nursing homes, leading to the deaths of many elderly people? NY had one of the highest death tolls early on in the pandemic because elderly people were needlessly exposed.
How is an elderly person in a nursing home supposed to avoid being exposed if the workers there refuse to get vaccinated? If the workers there are infected and spreading disease to every person they encounter?
You are putting blame on the victims.
Yes, vaccines decrease transmission, hospitalization, and death. There is a reason vaccines are considered one of the most successful public health measures ever invented. Stop helping those who want people to die by repeating their lies.
30
posted on
11/10/2023 8:38:03 PM PST
by
exDemMom
(Dr. exDemMom, infectious disease and vaccines research specialist.)
To: exDemMom
Oh, gee. While Texas public health officials have been out there educating people and trying to get this pandemic under control
31
posted on
11/10/2023 9:33:03 PM PST
by
grey_whiskers
( The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
To: exDemMom
Any business that serves vulnerable people or that deals with the public absolutely SHOULD be able to mandate that its staff be vaccinated. I guess those old people in nursing homes just don’t matter, though, do they? I'm glad to hear you support the execution of those five Dem governors for avoiding the dedicated US Navy hospital ships and putting the COVID patients into nursing homes, thereby committing mass murder.
Isn't that right, exDemMom?
Dingbat.
32
posted on
11/10/2023 9:38:05 PM PST
by
grey_whiskers
( The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
To: Jane Long
Thanks Jane for the ping!
Very late to repond!
WOOHOO For TEXAS!
Thanks for the Good Texas News!
Love TEXAS!
33
posted on
11/10/2023 9:39:08 PM PST
by
djstex
(All I Have to Say... President Trump was right about everything!)
To: exDemMom
Oh, gee. While Texas public health officials have been out there educating people and trying to get this pandemic under control, here comes an absolutely idiotic measure from the governor. Goodness, you sure seem to have your mask in a bunch because of freedom. Don’t like that concept?
34
posted on
11/10/2023 9:51:30 PM PST
by
Allegra
(Stop the Zeepers from Censoring FReepers)
To: HamiltonJay
So what took so long? ultimately there are many roving vax nazis in high places through out the system still
To: exDemMom
“There are reasons for mandatory vaccinations. “
Politicians are bribed by drug companies.
36
posted on
11/11/2023 4:48:50 AM PST
by
CodeToad
(Rule#1: The elites want you dead.)
To: exDemMom
“Any business that serves vulnerable people or that deals with the public absolutely SHOULD be able to mandate that its staff be vaccinated.”
Why? The covid vaccines have proven not to be effective and actually kill people.
Who are you to tell me what to put in my body???
37
posted on
11/11/2023 4:50:05 AM PST
by
CodeToad
(Rule#1: The elites want you dead.)
To: Texas Fossil
38
posted on
11/11/2023 5:06:22 AM PST
by
CodeToad
(Rule#1: The elites want you dead.)
To: exDemMom
Ever notice how everyone is ignoring your talking points?
T Better stand on a chair again about how you know better than reality, because you had biology, physics, genetics, several kinds of chemistry, and calculus.
Also how you became an influenza expert by sitting next to a nurse.
I Got It From Agnes
Dingbat.
39
posted on
11/11/2023 5:36:21 AM PST
by
grey_whiskers
( The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
To: HIDEK6
Well the last time I check in the book, we win. But the USA is not mentioned.
40
posted on
11/11/2023 8:36:54 AM PST
by
Texas Fossil
(Texas is not about where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind and Attitude.)
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