Privacy advocates say that State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst's (R-District 13) bill aiming to protect Texans' healthcare privacy is a vast improvement over federal law, The Texas Tribune reports. The bill would ban the sale of Texans' healthcare records and notify them when their electronic health records have been transferred, the report states. Penalties for noncompliance would carry fines of up to $3,000 per violation with up to $1.5 million in legal damages. Opponents say the bill will stifle business. Kolkhorst says the bill, which will see a final vote in the house this week, "is to protect your health records as we move into the electronic age." 
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