Bill Text: TX SB2525 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to creating the Family and Protective Services Board.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-23 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB2525 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB2525-Introduced.html

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88R4072 MLH-D
By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 2525

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to creating the Family and Protective Services Board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. CREATION OF FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES BOARD
SECTION 1.01. Section 40.001, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (1) to read as follows:
(1) "Board" means the Family and Protective Services
Board.
SECTION 1.02. Chapter 40, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subchapters D and E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES BOARD
Sec. 40.101. BOARD. (a) The Family and Protective Services
Board consists of five members appointed by the governor with the
advice and consent of the senate.
(b) The members shall be appointed to reflect the diverse
geographic regions and population groups of this state. One member
must reside in a rural area and be a registered voter of a county
with a population of less than 150,000.
(c) A member of the board may not accept a contribution to a
campaign for election to an elected office. If a board member
accepts a campaign contribution, the person is considered to have
resigned from the office and the office immediately becomes vacant.
The vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided by law.
(d) Each member of the board must represent the general
public.
(e) A person is not eligible to serve as a member of the
board if the person or the person's spouse:
(1) is employed by or participates in the management
of a business entity or other organization that is regulated by or
receives funds from the department;
(2) directly or indirectly owns or controls more than
10 percent interest in a business entity or other organization that
is regulated by or receives funds from the department;
(3) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
goods, services, or funds from the department, other than
compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for board
membership, attendance, or expenses; or
(4) is registered, certified, or licensed by a
regulatory agency in the field of child welfare services.
(f) A person may not be a member of the board or act as the
general counsel to the board or the department if the person is
required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government
Code, because of the person's activities for compensation on behalf
of a profession related to the operation of the department.
(g) Appointments to the board shall be made without regard
to race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin
of the appointees and shall reflect the diversity of the population
of the state as a whole.
Sec. 40.102. TERMS. Members of the board serve staggered
six-year terms, with the terms of either one or two members expiring
February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
Sec. 40.103. PRESIDING OFFICER. (a) The governor shall
designate one board member to serve as the presiding officer of the
board.
(b) The presiding officer shall:
(1) preside over board meetings, make rulings on
motions and points of order, and determine the order of business;
(2) represent the department in dealing with the
governor;
(3) report to the board the governor's suggestions for
department operations;
(4) create subcommittees, appoint board members to
subcommittees, and receive the reports of subcommittees to the
board as a whole; and
(5) appoint a board member to act in the presiding
officer's absence.
Sec. 40.104. BOARD MEETINGS. The board shall hold regular
meetings at least once a month and special meetings at the call of
the presiding officer. Board members shall attend the meetings of
the board. The presiding officer shall oversee the preparation of
an agenda for each meeting and ensure that a copy is provided to
each board member at least seven days before the meeting.
Sec. 40.105. COMPENSATION. A member of the board is
entitled to compensation as provided by the General Appropriations
Act. If compensation for members is not provided by that Act, each
member is entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary
expenses incurred in performing functions as a member of the board.
Sec. 40.106. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL. (a) It is a ground for
removal from the board if a board member:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office or
maintain during service on the board the qualifications required by
Section 40.101;
(2) violates a prohibition provided by Section 40.101;
(3) cannot discharge the board member's duties for a
substantial part of the term for which the board member is appointed
because of illness or disability; or
(4) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled board meetings that the board member is eligible to
attend during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by
majority vote of the board.
(b) The validity of an action of the board is not affected by
the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a board member
exists.
(c) If the commissioner knows that a potential ground for
removal exists, the commissioner shall notify the presiding officer
of the board of the ground, and the presiding officer shall notify
the governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for
removal exists. If the potential ground for removal relates to the
presiding officer, the commissioner shall notify another board
member, who shall notify the governor and the attorney general that
a potential ground for removal exists.
Sec. 40.107. INFORMATION ON QUALIFICATIONS AND CONDUCT.
The department shall provide to the members of the board, as often
as necessary, information concerning the members' qualifications
for office and their responsibilities under applicable laws
relating to standards of conduct for state officers.
Sec. 40.108. BOARD MEMBER TRAINING. (a) A person who is
appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of the board may
not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a
meeting of the board until the person completes a training program
that complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the law governing department operations;
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
department;
(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
authority of the board;
(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
department;
(5) the requirements of:
(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
interest; and
(B) other laws applicable to members of the board
in performing their duties; and
(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
department or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the board is entitled to
reimbursement, as provided by the General Appropriations Act, for
the travel expenses incurred in attending the training program,
regardless of whether the attendance at the program occurs before
or after the person qualifies for office.
(d) The commissioner shall create a training manual that
includes the information required by Subsection (b). The
commissioner shall distribute a copy of the training manual
annually to each member of the board. On receipt of the training
manual, each member of the board shall sign and submit to the
commissioner a statement acknowledging receipt of the training
manual.
SUBCHAPTER E. BOARD'S POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 40.151. RULES; RECORDS. The board shall:
(1) adopt rules for the operation of the department;
and
(2) maintain a record of all proceedings and official
orders.
Sec. 40.152. SEPARATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES. The board
shall develop and implement policies that clearly separate the
policy-making responsibilities of the board and the management
responsibilities of the commissioner and staff of the department.
Sec. 40.153. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING; ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE
RESOLUTION PROCEDURES. (a) The board shall develop and implement a
policy to encourage the use of:
(1) negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter
2008, Government Code, for the adoption of department rules; and
(2) appropriate alternative dispute resolution
procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the
resolution of internal and external disputes under the department's
jurisdiction.
(b) The department's procedures relating to alternative
dispute resolution must conform, to the extent possible, to any
model guidelines issued by the State Office of Administrative
Hearings for the use of alternative dispute resolution by state
agencies.
(c) The department shall:
(1) coordinate the implementation of the policy
adopted under Subsection (a);
(2) provide training as needed to implement the
procedures for negotiated rulemaking or alternative dispute
resolution; and
(3) collect data concerning the effectiveness of those
procedures.
ARTICLE 2. REPEAL OF FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES COUNCIL
SECTION 2.01. Section 531.0012(c), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) A reference to any of the following councils means the
executive commissioner or the executive commissioner's designee,
as appropriate, and a function of any of the following councils is a
function of that appropriate person:
(1) the Health and Human Services Council;
(2) the Aging and Disability Services Council;
(3) the Assistive and Rehabilitative Services
Council; or
(4) [the Family and Protective Services Council; or
[(5)] the State Health Services Council.
SECTION 2.02. Section 40.002(a), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The Department of Family and Protective Services is
composed of the board [council], the commissioner, an
administrative staff, and other employees necessary to efficiently
carry out the purposes of this chapter.
SECTION 2.03. Sections 40.045(e) and (i), Human Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(e) Not later than March 1 of the state fiscal year in which
an efficiency audit is required under this section, the board
[commissioner], in collaboration with the commissioner [council],
the department's chief financial officer, and the department's
internal audit director, shall select an external auditor to
conduct the efficiency audit.
(i) Not later than November 1 of the calendar year an
efficiency audit is conducted, the auditor shall prepare and submit
a report of the audit and recommendations for efficiency
improvements to the governor, the Legislative Budget Board, the
state auditor, the commissioner, the board [council], and the
chairs of the House Human Services Committee and the Senate Health
and Human Services Committee.
SECTION 2.04. Section 552.103(c), Health and Safety Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) The inspector general shall submit the annual status
report to the:
(1) executive commissioner;
(2) commissioner of state health services;
(3) commissioner of the Department of Family and
Protective Services;
(4) State Health Services Council;
(5) Family and Protective Services Board [Council];
(6) governor;
(7) lieutenant governor;
(8) speaker of the house of representatives;
(9) standing committees of the senate and house of
representatives with primary jurisdiction over state hospitals;
(10) state auditor; and
(11) comptroller.
SECTION 2.05. The following provisions of the Human
Resources Code are repealed:
(1) Section 40.001(2-a);
(2) Section 40.021;
(3) Section 40.022;
(4) Section 40.023;
(5) Section 40.024;
(6) Section 40.025; and
(7) Section 40.026.
ARTICLE 3. CONFORMING CHANGES
SECTION 3.01. Sections 162.304(b-2) and (g), Family Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b-2) The Family and Protective Services Board
[commissioner of the department] shall adopt rules necessary to
implement Subsection (b-1), including rules that:
(1) limit eligibility for the subsidy under that
subsection to a child whose adoptive family income is less than 300
percent of the federal poverty level;
(2) provide for the manner in which the department
shall pay the subsidy under that subsection; and
(3) specify any documentation required to be provided
by an adoptive parent as proof that the subsidy is used to obtain
and maintain health benefits coverage for the adopted child.
(g) The Family and Protective Services Board [commissioner
of the department] by rule shall provide that the maximum amount of
the subsidy under Subsection (b) that may be paid to an adoptive
parent of a child under an adoption assistance agreement is an
amount that is equal to the amount that would have been paid to the
foster parent of the child, based on the child's foster care service
level on the date the department and the adoptive parent enter into
the adoption assistance agreement. This subsection applies only to
a child who, based on factors specified in rules of the department,
the department determines would otherwise have been expected to
remain in foster care until the child's 18th birthday and for whom
this state would have made foster care payments for that care.
Factors the department may consider in determining whether a child
is eligible for the amount of the subsidy authorized by this
subsection include the following:
(1) the child's mental or physical disability, age,
and membership in a sibling group; and
(2) the number of prior placement disruptions the
child has experienced.
SECTION 3.02. Section 162.3041(a-1), Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if the department
first entered into an adoption assistance agreement with a child's
adoptive parents after the child's 16th birthday, the department
shall, in accordance with rules adopted by the Family and
Protective Services Board [commissioner of the department], offer
adoption assistance after the child's 18th birthday to the child's
adoptive parents under an existing adoption agreement until the
last day of the month of the child's 21st birthday, provided the
child is:
(1) regularly attending high school or enrolled in a
program leading toward a high school diploma or high school
equivalency certificate;
(2) regularly attending an institution of higher
education or a postsecondary vocational or technical program;
(3) participating in a program or activity that
promotes, or removes barriers to, employment;
(4) employed for at least 80 hours a month; or
(5) incapable of doing any of the activities described
by Subdivisions (1)-(4) due to a documented medical condition.
SECTION 3.03. Section 263.009(a), Family Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The department shall hold a permanency planning meeting
for each child for whom the department is appointed temporary
managing conservator in accordance with a schedule adopted by the
Family and Protective Services Board [commissioner of the
department] by rule that is designed to allow the child to exit the
managing conservatorship of the department safely and as soon as
possible and be placed with an appropriate adult caregiver who will
permanently assume legal responsibility for the child.
SECTION 3.04. Sections 266.001(1-a) and (1-b), Family Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(1-a) "Board" means the Family and Protective Services
Board.
(1-b) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
Commission.
[(1-b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the
Department of Family and Protective Services.]
SECTION 3.05. Section 266.003(c), Family Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The board [commissioner] shall adopt rules necessary to
implement this chapter.
SECTION 3.06. Section 266.006(b), Family Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The executive commissioner, in collaboration with the
board [commissioner], shall adopt rules specifying the information
required to be included in the passport. The required information
may include:
(1) the name and address of each of the child's
physicians and health care providers;
(2) a record of each visit to a physician or other
health care provider, including routine checkups conducted in
accordance with the Texas Health Steps program;
(3) an immunization record that may be exchanged with
ImmTrac;
(4) a list of the child's known health problems and
allergies;
(5) information on all medications prescribed to the
child in adequate detail to permit refill of prescriptions,
including the disease or condition that the medication treats; and
(6) any other available health history that physicians
and other health care providers who provide care for the child
determine is important.
SECTION 3.07. Section 411.114(a)(5), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(5) The Department of Family and Protective Services
or the Health and Human Services Commission may not use the
authority granted under this section to harass an employee or
volunteer. The [commissioner of the Department of] Family and
Protective Services Board or the executive commissioner of the
Health and Human Services Commission, as applicable, shall adopt
rules to prevent the harassment of an employee or volunteer through
the request and use of criminal records.
SECTION 3.08. Section 531.998(b), Government Code, as
amended by S.B. 213, Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session,
2017, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) The report must be submitted to the governor, the
lieutenant governor, each standing committee of the legislature
with jurisdiction over matters involving the department, each
member of the legislature, the executive commissioner, [and] the
commissioner of the department, and the Family and Protective
Services Board not later than December 1 of each year. On receipt
of the report, the department and the commission shall make the
report publicly available on the department's and the commission's
Internet websites.
SECTION 3.09. Section 40.004, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 40.004. PUBLIC INTEREST INFORMATION AND PUBLIC ACCESS.
(a) The board [commissioner] shall develop and implement policies
that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
before the board [commissioner] and to speak on any issue under the
jurisdiction of the department.
(b) The board [commissioner], with the advice of the
commissioner [council], shall prepare information of public
interest describing the functions of the department. The
commission shall make the information available to the public and
appropriate state agencies.
(c) [The commissioner shall grant an opportunity for a
public hearing before the council makes recommendations to the
commissioner regarding a substantive rule if a public hearing is
requested by:
[(1) at least 25 persons;
[(2) a governmental entity; or
[(3) an association with at least 25 members.
[(d)] The board [executive commissioner] shall consider
fully all written and oral submissions about a proposed rule.
SECTION 3.10. Section 40.0041(f), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(f) The department shall periodically prepare and deliver
reports to the executive commissioner, [and] the commissioner, and
the board regarding the number, type, and resolution of complaints
made in the state against the department.
SECTION 3.11. Section 40.027, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 40.027. COMMISSIONER. (a) The board [governor, with
the advice and consent of the senate,] shall appoint a
commissioner. The commissioner is to be selected according to
education, training, experience, and demonstrated ability.
(b) The commissioner serves at the will of the board [a term
of two years].
(c) The commissioner shall:
(1) act as the department's chief administrative
officer;
(2) oversee the development and implementation of
policies and guidelines needed for the administration of the
department's functions; and
(3) [oversee the development of rules relating to the
matters within the department's jurisdiction, including the
delivery of services to persons and the rights and duties of persons
who are served or regulated by the department; and
[(4)] serve as a liaison between the department and
commission.
(d) The commissioner shall, as directed by the board,
administer this chapter and other laws relating to the department.
[(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the commissioner shall
adopt rules and policies for the operation of and the provision of
services by the department.]
SECTION 3.12. Section 40.030, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 40.030. ADVISORY COMMITTEES. (a) The board
[commissioner] or the board's [commissioner's] designee may appoint
advisory committees in accordance with Chapter 2110, Government
Code.
(b) The board [commissioner] shall adopt rules, in
compliance with Chapter 2110, Government Code, regarding the
purpose, structure, and use of advisory committees by the
department. The rules may include provisions governing:
(1) an advisory committee's size and quorum
requirements;
(2) qualifications for membership of an advisory
committee, including:
(A) requirements relating to experience and
geographic representation; and
(B) requirements for the department to include as
members of advisory committees youth who have aged out of foster
care and parents who have successfully completed family service
plans and whose children were returned to the parents, as
applicable;
(3) appointment procedures for an advisory committee;
(4) terms for advisory committee members; and
(5) compliance with Chapter 551, Government Code.
SECTION 3.13. Section 40.042(g), Human Resources Code, as
added by Chapter 1136 (H.B. 249), Acts of the 85th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2017, is amended to read as follows:
(g) The executive commissioner or the board [commissioner
of the department], as appropriate, may adopt rules to implement
this section.
SECTION 3.14. Section 40.043, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 40.043. CHILD SAFETY AND RUNAWAY PREVENTION
PROCEDURES. The board [commissioner] by rule shall establish the
department's strategy to:
(1) develop trauma-informed protocols for reducing
the number of incidents in which a child in the conservatorship of
the department runs away from a residential treatment center; and
(2) balance measures aimed at protecting child safety
with federal and state requirements related to normalcy and
decision making under the reasonable and prudent parent standard
prescribed by 42 U.S.C. Section 675 and Sections 264.001 and
264.125, Family Code.
SECTION 3.15. Section 40.065(b), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The department shall develop and implement a
communication plan to ensure statewide public and government
awareness of child abuse or neglect investigated by the department.
The plan shall include information detailing the procedure followed
by the department during the investigation and the responsibilities
of the department in child abuse cases. In implementing the plan,
the department shall establish a process for expediting the
reporting of child abuse or neglect to the department. The board
[executive commissioner] shall adopt rules to implement this
subsection.
SECTION 3.16. Section 40.066(b), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The memorandum of understanding shall require the chief
administrative law judge, the department, and the board
[commissioner] to cooperate in connection with a contested case
hearing and may authorize the State Office of Administrative
Hearings to perform any administrative act, including the giving of
notice, that is required to be performed by the department or board
[commissioner].
SECTION 3.17. Section 48.0021, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 48.0021. REFERENCE TO COMMISSION OR EXECUTIVE
COMMISSIONER. In this chapter:
(1) a reference to the Health and Human Services
Commission means the Department of Family and Protective Services;
and
(2) a reference to the executive commissioner means
the [commissioner of the Department of] Family and Protective
Services Board.
SECTION 3.18. The following provisions of the Human
Resources Code are repealed:
(1) Section 40.042(d), as added by Chapter 1136 (H.B.
249), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017; and
(2) Section 40.042(g), as added by Chapter 319 (S.B.
11), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017.
ARTICLE 4. TRANSITION AND EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 4.01. (a) Not later than January 1, 2024, the
governor shall appoint members to the Family and Protective
Services Board as provided by Section 40.101, Human Resources Code,
as added by this Act.
(b) In appointing the initial members of the Family and
Protective Services Board under Section 40.101, Human Resources
Code, as added by this Act, the governor shall appoint:
(1) one member for a term expiring February 1, 2025;
(2) two members for terms expiring February 1, 2027;
and
(3) two members for terms expiring February 1, 2029.
SECTION 4.02. Notwithstanding Section 40.108, Human
Resources Code, as added by this Act, a person serving on the Family
and Protective Services Board may vote, deliberate, and be counted
as a member in attendance at a meeting of the board until April 1,
2024.
SECTION 4.03. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.