Allow Peace Officers to Administer Epinephrine

TMA Written Testimony

Senate Committee on State Affairs
Senate Bill 1827 by Sen. Jose Menéndez 

April 4, 2019

The Texas Medical Association, representing nearly 53,000 physician and medical students, thanks Senator Menéndez and the committee for the opportunity to offer comments on Senate Bill 1827

By seeking to include peace officers as authorized administrators of an epinephrine auto-injector, the bill recognizes the significant risk of anaphylaxis and the importance of access to lifesaving epinephrine. We request that the author and committee consider providing an important policy provision in SB 1827 to align with the existing law for school districts, which the Texas Legislature carefully developed in 2015 and 2017 through Chapter 38 of the Education Code.

Specifically, although SB 1827 provides the appropriate requirement for training in existing law (and rule-making specific to training), as currently drafted, the bill omits a key provision allowing adoption and implementation of policy regarding storage, disposal, and proper maintenance and administration. See Tex. Educ. Code § 38.208. Because anaphylaxis is a severe, whole-body allergic reaction, and can be fatal, the policy development process, in consultation with the Health and Human Services Commission, would assist peace officers to have a consistent, reliable understanding of:

  1. The proper administration of the epinephrine auto-injector;
  2. The number of epinephrine auto-injectors available;
  3. The process to check the inventory of epinephrine auto-injectors at regular intervals for expiration and replacement;
  4. Proper storage in a secure location and making the auto-injector easily accessible, and
  5. The amount of training required.

Thank you, Senator Menéndez and committee, for considering our comments.

Last Updated On

April 04, 2019

Originally Published On

April 04, 2019

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