Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB1201 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R8151 TJS-F
2	2	By: Solomons H.B. No. 1201
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to liability of an in-home service company or residential
8	8	delivery company for negligent hiring.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 145.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
11	11	Code, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 145.002. CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK. Before
13	13	associating with or hiring an officer, employee, or prospective
14	14	employee in a position whose duties include entry into another
15	15	person's residence, an [An] in-home service company or residential
16	16	delivery company shall:
17	17	(1) obtain from the Department of Public Safety or a
18	18	private vendor approved by the department and offering services
19	19	comparable to the services offered by the department all criminal
20	20	history record information relating to the [an] officer, employee,
21	21	or prospective employee; or
22	22	(2) ascertain that the person holds in good standing
23	23	an occupational license issued by a licensing authority in this
24	24	state that has, before issuing or renewing the license, performed a
25	25	criminal history background check [of the company whose job duties
26	26	require or will require entry into another person's residence].
27	27	SECTION 2. Sections 145.003(a) and (b), Civil Practice and
28	28	Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
29	29	(a) This section applies only to an action against an
30	30	in-home service company or residential delivery company that:
31	31	(1) arises out of a criminal act or omission by an
32	32	officer or employee of the company as to whom the company has
33	33	obtained [is required to obtain] criminal history record
34	34	information under Section 145.002(1) [145.002];
35	35	(2) is brought by or on behalf of a person whose home
36	36	the officer or employee entered while in the performance of the
37	37	employee's job duties, without regard to where the criminal act or
38	38	omission occurred; and
39	39	(3) seeks damages from the company for the negligent
40	40	hiring of the officer or employee.
41	41	(b) In an action to which this section applies, an in-home
42	42	service company or residential delivery company is rebuttably
43	43	presumed to have not acted negligently if:
44	44	(1) at the time a person was hired, the company
45	45	obtained criminal history record information regarding the officer
46	46	or employee under Section 145.002(1); and
47	47	(2) the criminal history record information shows
48	48	that, in the 20 years preceding the date the information was
49	49	obtained for a felony or in the 10 years preceding the date the
50	50	information was obtained for a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, the
51	51	officer or employee had not been convicted of, or placed on deferred
52	52	adjudication for:
53	53	(A) an offense in this state classified as:
54	54	(i) an offense against the person or the
55	55	family;
56	56	(ii) an offense against property; or
57	57	(iii) public indecency; or
58	58	(B) an offense in another jurisdiction that would
59	59	be classified in a category described by Paragraph (A) if the
60	60	offense had occurred in this state.
61	61	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
62	62	to an action that accrues on or after the effective date of this
63	63	Act. An action that accrues before the effective date of this Act
64	64	is governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective
65	65	date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
66	66	purpose.
67	67	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
68	68	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
69	69	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
70	70	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
71	71	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.