Relating to the installation of bollards or another safety barrier adjacent to certain hospital emergency rooms.

This bill requires most Texas hospitals with emergency rooms near traffic areas to install and maintain crash-rated barriers (like bollards) to prevent vehicle collisions. It applies to hospitals licensed under Chapter 241, excluding those in counties with under 68,750 residents or specific Medicare-designated rural hospitals (critical access, rural referral center, or sole community hospital) that are outside metro areas or have 100 or fewer beds in metro areas. Hospitals must comply by January 1, 2026, though existing barriers installed before the bill’s effective date (September 1, 2025) do not need replacement. The Health and Human Services Commission must adopt implementing rules by December 1, 2025.