Texas House bill by Rep. Cortez allows policies on epinephrine auto-injectors, passes both chambers

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Philip Cortez aims to allow Texas entities to adopt policies for maintaining and disposing of epinephrine auto-injectors, seeking to update related legal requirements after winning approval in both chambers, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 52 Democrats and 53 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 29 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 11 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, with no opposing votes.

Philip Cortez 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.

Cortez graduated from Palo Alto Community College in 2000 with an AA and again in 2002 from the University of Texas with a BA.

Cortez, a Democrat, was elected to the Texas State House in 2017 to represent the state’s 117th House district, replacing previous state representative Rick Galindo.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the possession and administration of epinephrine delivery systems by certain entities’.

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

In essence, the bill amends the Health and Safety Code to allow entities in Texas, including governmental bodies, to adopt policies for maintaining, administering, and disposing of epinephrine auto-injectors. It specifies that entities already required by other laws to implement similar policies are exempt from this provision. Additionally, the bill repeals Sections 773.0145(a) and (b) of the Health and Safety Code, likely to streamline or update the legal requirements concerning epinephrine auto-injector policies. The act is set to take effect on Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson (Republican – District 23) and Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons (Democrat – District 146).

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.