According to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), HB 713 is not expected to result in any significant fiscal impact to the state. The bill creates a narrow exception to mandatory reporting requirements for health care providers participating in the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee. The anticipated administrative adjustments necessary for implementing the bill’s provisions are considered minor enough to be absorbed using existing agency resources, particularly within the Department of State Health Services​.

The bill likewise carries no significant fiscal implications for local governments. There are no new mandates, programs, or enforcement mechanisms that would require counties, municipalities, or other local entities to allocate new funding or staffing. As such, HB 713 is a policy-oriented change rather than a budget-expanding measure.

In short, the bill's design ensures minimal administrative burden by working within the existing infrastructure of the TMMMRC and related state health services. This positions HB 713 as fiscally neutral while addressing procedural reforms in maternal health case reviews.

HB 713 proposes to exempt nurses and other health care providers from mandatory professional reporting requirements when they discover misconduct during case reviews conducted by the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee (TMMMRC). The stated purpose of the bill is to reduce administrative delays caused by redacting identifying information from case files—a step currently used to shield reviewers from triggering reporting obligations under statutes such as the Nursing Practice Act​.

While the intent of the bill—to improve the efficiency and timeliness of maternal mortality data reviews—is reasonable, the method it employs raises significant concerns regarding professional accountability and transparency. By creating a statutory exemption from misconduct reporting, HB 713 erodes an essential check on the healthcare profession’s ethical standards. Even though the exemption is limited to a specific setting, it establishes a precedent that professional obligations can be set aside for administrative convenience, potentially allowing serious violations to go unreported and unaddressed.

From a liberty-oriented perspective, this represents a meaningful retreat from the principle of personal responsibility. Health care providers are granted licenses with the understanding that they are stewards of public trust and must self-police misconduct. Removing that obligation—even temporarily or contextually—reduces that professional duty. Additionally, while the bill does not increase the size or cost of government, it does weaken existing accountability mechanisms, which are a legitimate, limited function of government in protecting public health and safety.

Even if there are no direct fiscal or regulatory burdens created, HB 713 risks undermining public confidence in both the healthcare system and the state’s oversight role. Alternative solutions, such as improved case management or streamlined redaction tools, could achieve the same operational goals without eroding professional standards.

The state should not create carve-outs that excuse professionals from reporting serious misconduct, especially in sensitive health care settings. Texas Policy Research recommends that lawmakers vote NO on HB 713.

• The bill indirectly supports individual liberty by promoting improved maternal health outcomes through more efficient case reviews. By allowing reviewers to examine unredacted data without fear of triggering mandatory reporting rules, it may enhance the completeness and candor of maternal mortality investigations, ultimately benefitting patients. However, it also compromises individual liberty by reducing safeguards that protect patients from misconduct within the health care system. When professional misconduct goes unreported—even in limited settings—patients' rights to safe, accountable care may be undermined.
• This principle is most directly and adversely affected. HB 713 suspends a key mechanism of professional accountability—mandatory reporting—within a defined scope. Health care providers, especially those licensed by the state, are expected to uphold ethical standards and report misconduct. Carving out exemptions to that responsibility weakens the culture of self-regulation and accountability that underpins professional practice. It sends a message that certain duties can be waived for administrative convenience, thereby undermining a foundational liberty value.
• The bill does not regulate market activity or business operations and has no discernible impact on the competitive dynamics of the healthcare sector. While public trust is essential to the functioning of health markets, this bill neither promotes nor restricts enterprise activity directly.
• There are no provisions in the bill that affect land use, ownership, or property rights. This liberty principle remains untouched.
• Though HB 713 does not grow government in terms of size or cost, it does reduce the regulatory guardrails that uphold professional accountability within the healthcare sector. Properly limited government means focusing on core functions, one of which is ensuring that licensed professionals operate within ethical and legal bounds. By removing a reporting obligation in a sensitive setting, the bill weakens a legitimate role of government oversight—potentially endangering trust in public health institutions.