Bill Text: TX SB611 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of certain senior living facilities.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-17 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB611 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB611-Introduced.html
| 88R754 JG-F | ||
| By: Johnson, Parker | S.B. No. 611 | |
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| relating to the regulation of certain senior living facilities. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Title 8, Property Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Chapter 95 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 95. SENIOR LIVING FACILITIES | ||
| Sec. 95.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Common amenity" means an amenity or service | ||
| offered or provided to residents of a multiunit residential | ||
| property, including: | ||
| (A) concierge services; | ||
| (B) a library; | ||
| (C) common dining services; | ||
| (D) housekeeping services; and | ||
| (E) full-time security. | ||
| (2) "Resident" means an individual who resides in a | ||
| senior living facility as a unit owner or tenant. | ||
| (3) "Senior living contract" means a contract with a | ||
| resident of a senior living facility for providing a common amenity | ||
| to the resident. | ||
| (4) "Senior living facility" means a residential | ||
| facility or a portion of a residential facility that: | ||
| (A) is managed by a single entity; | ||
| (B) requires a resident to be 55 years of age or | ||
| older; | ||
| (C) contains not fewer than 20 residential units | ||
| in one or more multiunit buildings that are available to rent or | ||
| lease; | ||
| (D) is located on a single lot or tract of land or | ||
| on multiple contiguous lots or tracts of land; and | ||
| (E) provides common amenities. | ||
| (5) "Unit" means a physical portion of a residential | ||
| property designated for separate ownership or occupancy. | ||
| Sec. 95.002. EXEMPTIONS. This chapter does not apply to: | ||
| (1) a health care institution as defined by Section | ||
| 74.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code; | ||
| (2) a boarding home facility as defined by Section | ||
| 260.001, Health and Safety Code, that holds a permit issued under | ||
| Chapter 260, Health and Safety Code; | ||
| (3) a supportive housing facility for elderly | ||
| individuals operated under Section 202, the National Housing Act | ||
| (12 U.S.C. Section 1701q); | ||
| (4) a center for independent living as defined by | ||
| Section 702 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. | ||
| Section 796a); or | ||
| (5) any other facility that is regulated by the Health | ||
| and Human Services Commission or in accordance with rules adopted | ||
| by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. | ||
| Sec. 95.003. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RESIDENT SAFETY FROM | ||
| CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. (a) A senior living facility shall: | ||
| (1) conduct for each facility employee a criminal | ||
| history record check using, at a minimum, the computerized criminal | ||
| history system maintained by the Department of Public Safety of the | ||
| State of Texas; | ||
| (2) require each business that provides services to | ||
| the facility to conduct for each employee of the business who will | ||
| have access to the facility's premises or residents a criminal | ||
| history record check using, at a minimum, the computerized criminal | ||
| history system maintained by the Department of Public Safety of the | ||
| State of Texas; and | ||
| (3) report all instances of criminal activity that | ||
| occur at the facility to a law enforcement officer, including, if | ||
| applicable, information regarding the involvement of a facility | ||
| employee or contractor in the criminal activity. | ||
| (b) A senior living facility may not: | ||
| (1) prevent or inhibit a resident from or penalize a | ||
| resident for communicating with a law enforcement officer, social | ||
| worker, family member, or other interested person regarding the | ||
| safety and security of the facility; or | ||
| (2) prevent a law enforcement officer or court officer | ||
| from entering a common area of the facility to conduct a voluntary | ||
| interview with a resident as part of an investigation into criminal | ||
| activity at the facility. | ||
| Sec. 95.004. PROHIBITED AGREEMENT OR CONTRACT PROVISIONS. | ||
| A lease, rental, or purchase agreement for a residential unit in a | ||
| senior living facility or a senior living contract with a resident | ||
| may not include a provision that: | ||
| (1) waives liability in an action brought under | ||
| Section 95.005; | ||
| (2) requires arbitration of a dispute related to | ||
| liability under Section 95.005; or | ||
| (3) controls the content or execution of the | ||
| resident's advance directive or testamentary documents. | ||
| Sec. 95.005. CIVIL LIABILITY. (a) A senior living facility | ||
| is liable to a resident for actual damages incurred from: | ||
| (1) a violation of this chapter; or | ||
| (2) the facility's failure to implement a safety | ||
| policy or procedure. | ||
| (b) Chapter 74, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, does not | ||
| apply to an action brought under Subsection (a). | ||
| Sec. 95.006. CUMULATIVE REMEDIES. The remedies provided by | ||
| this chapter are not exclusive and are in addition to any other | ||
| remedy provided by law, including a remedy provided for a tenant | ||
| against a landlord under this title, as applicable. | ||
| SECTION 2. (a) Section 95.004, Property Code, as added by | ||
| this Act, applies only to an agreement or contract entered into or | ||
| renewed on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| (b) Section 95.005, Property Code, as added by this Act, | ||
| applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the | ||
| effective date of this Act. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. | ||
