AUSTIN - A bill giving health care providers in emergency rooms the same protections first responders and medical personnel at hospitals and clinics receive is close to becoming law.

The Texas Senate this week unanimously approved House Bill 705, a measure that would make it a third-degree felony to assault or injure a health care provider in the emergency room. Under current law, such an offense is a Class A misdemeanor.

On May 9, the measure also unanimously passed in the House of Representatives.

"I am glad the bill passed," said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, the bill's author. "This is in line with the protection that already exists for other emergency responders."

Under current law, when paramedics, police officers and emergency personnel treat someone at the scene of an accident, they are protected from any kind of assault or injury, said Howard, who is a nurse.

"But once they get to the ER, that protection doesn't exist," Howard explained. "So, you have the ER nurses and the doctors who are then taking care of this person in an emergency setting and do not have the same kind of protections if they are assaulted.

"So, what this bill does is add to the statute that already exists for enhanced penalties if you assault and injure a person who is providing emergency care," Howard said. "There are horrendous situations in which nurses have been assaulted and we need to have the protection of the law that says 'it is not OK, and if you do you'll be in serious trouble.' "

The hospital industry also welcomed the passage of HB 705.

"This legislation improves the working environment in emergency departments and positively addresses nursing shortages at Texas hospitals by reducing nurse exposure to patients who might otherwise pose dangerous behavior," Dan Stultz, president and CEO of the Texas Hospital Association, said in a statement.

"Emergency care providers should all be treated with the same protection of the law, whether in a patrol vehicle, ambulance or within the walls of an emergency department," Stultz said.

Despite increased security measures in Texas hospitals, violence against health care providers continues to climb, according to the association. Emergency room personnel are often exposed to dangerous or violent patients.

HB 705 now goes to Gov. Rick Perry's desk for his signature. If Perry signs it, the measure will become law Sept. 1.