H.B. No. 216
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of certain boarding home facilities and
assisted living facilities; providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 254 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 254. BOARDING HOME FACILITIES
Sec. 254.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Assistance with self-administering medication"
means assisting a resident by reminding the resident to take
medication, opening and removing medications from a container, or
reminding the resident when a prescription medication needs to be
refilled.
(2) "Boarding home facility" means an establishment
that:
(A) furnishes, in one or more buildings, lodging
to three or more persons with disabilities or elderly persons who
are unrelated to the owner of the establishment by blood or
marriage; and
(B) provides community meals, light housework,
meal preparation, transportation, grocery shopping, money
management, laundry services, or assistance with
self-administration of medication but does not provide personal
care services as defined by Section 247.002 to those persons.
(3) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(4) "Elderly person" has the meaning assigned by
Section 48.002, Human Resources Code.
(5) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
(6) "Person with a disability" means a disabled person
as defined by Section 48.002, Human Resources Code.
(7) "Resident" means a person who is residing in a
boarding home facility.
Sec. 254.002. EXEMPTIONS. This chapter does not apply to:
(1) a person that is required to be licensed under
Chapter 142, 242, 246, 247, or 252;
(2) a person that is exempt from licensing under
Section 142.003(a)(19), 242.003(3), or 247.004(4);
(3) a hotel as defined by Section 156.001, Tax Code;
(4) a retirement community;
(5) a monastery or convent;
(6) a child-care facility as defined by Section
42.002, Human Resources Code;
(7) a family violence shelter center as defined by
Section 51.002, Human Resources Code; or
(8) a sorority or fraternity house or other dormitory
associated with an institution of higher education.
Sec. 254.003. MODEL STANDARDS. The executive commissioner
shall develop and publish in the Texas Register model standards for
the operation of a boarding home facility relating to:
(1) the construction or remodeling of a boarding home
facility, including plumbing, heating, lighting, ventilation, and
other housing conditions, to ensure the residents' health, safety,
comfort, and protection from fire hazard;
(2) sanitary and related conditions in a boarding home
facility and its surroundings, including insect and rodent control,
water supply, sewage disposal, food handling, and general hygiene
to ensure the residents' health, safety, and comfort;
(3) the reporting and investigation of injuries,
incidents, and unusual accidents and the establishment of other
policies and procedures necessary to ensure resident health and
safety;
(4) assistance with self-administering medication;
(5) requirements for in-service education of the
facility's staff;
(6) criminal history record checks; and
(7) assessment and periodic monitoring to ensure that
a resident:
(A) does not require the boarding home facility
to provide personal care, nursing, or other services not listed in
Section 254.001(2); and
(B) is capable of self-administering medication
or is aware of what the resident's medications look like and knows
when the medications should be taken but requires assistance with
self-administering medication.
Sec. 254.004. LOCAL REGULATION. A county or municipality
may require a person to obtain a permit from the county or
municipality to operate a boarding home facility within the
county's or municipality's jurisdiction. A county or municipality
may adopt the standards developed by the executive commissioner
under Section 254.003 and require a boarding home facility that
holds a permit issued by the county or municipality to comply with
the adopted standards.
Sec. 254.005. PERMIT PROCEDURES; FEES; FINES. (a) A county
or municipality that requires a person to obtain a boarding home
facility permit as authorized by Section 254.004 may establish
procedures for the submission of a boarding home facility permit
application and for the issuance, denial, renewal, suspension, and
revocation of the permit.
(b) A county or municipality that requires a person to
obtain a boarding home facility permit as authorized under Section
254.004 may set reasonable fees for issuance of the permit, renewal
of the permit, and inspections and may impose fines for
noncompliance with the county or municipal boarding home facility
regulations. The fees collected and fines imposed by the county or
municipality must be used to administer the county or municipal
permitting program or for other purposes directly related to
providing boarding home facility or other assisted living services
to elderly persons and persons with disabilities.
(c) A person required to obtain a boarding home facility
permit from a county or municipality as authorized under Section
254.004 shall pay any fees required or fines imposed by the county
or municipality.
Sec. 254.006. POSTING. A boarding home facility that holds
a permit issued by a county or municipality shall prominently and
conspicuously post for display in a public area of the boarding home
facility that is readily available to residents, the operator,
employees, and visitors:
(1) the permit issued by a county or municipality;
(2) a sign prescribed by the county or municipality
that issued the permit that specifies how complaints may be
registered with the county or municipality;
(3) a notice in a form prescribed by the county or
municipality that issued the permit stating that inspection and
related reports are available at the boarding home facility for
public inspection and providing a telephone number that may be used
to obtain information concerning the boarding home facility;
(4) a concise summary of the most recent inspection
report relating to the boarding home facility; and
(5) a notice in a form prescribed by the county or
municipality that issued the permit that lists the name, location,
and contact information for:
(A) the closest local public health services
agency in the proximity of the boarding home facility; and
(B) a local organization or entity that
represents, advocates, or serves elderly persons or persons with
disabilities, including any related toll-free contact information
for reporting emergencies to the organization or entity.
Sec. 254.007. INSPECTIONS. (a) A county or municipality
may conduct any inspection, survey, or investigation that it
considers necessary and may enter the premises of a boarding home
facility at reasonable times to make an inspection, survey, or
investigation.
(b) A county or municipality is entitled to access to books,
records, and other documents maintained by or on behalf of a
boarding home facility to the extent necessary to enforce the
standards adopted by the county or municipality.
Sec. 254.008. INTERLOCAL COOPERATION. Two or more counties
or municipalities may cooperate and contract with each other for
the purpose of inspecting and permitting boarding home facilities.
Sec. 254.009. REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION OF ABUSE,
NEGLECT, OR EXPLOITATION. (a) A person, including an owner,
operator, or employee of a boarding home facility that holds a
permit issued by a county or municipality, who has cause to believe
that a resident who is an elderly person or a person with a
disability is being or has been abused, neglected, or exploited
shall report the abuse, neglect, or exploitation to the Department
of Family and Protective Services for investigation by that agency.
The Department of Family and Protective Services shall investigate
the allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation as authorized and
in the manner provided by Chapter 48, Human Resources Code.
(b) Each boarding home facility that holds a permit issued
by a county or municipality shall require each employee of the
boarding home facility, as a condition of employment with the
boarding home facility, to sign a statement that the employee
acknowledges that the employee may be criminally liable under
Section 48.052, Human Resources Code, for failure to report abuse,
neglect, or exploitation.
(c) An owner, operator, or employee of a boarding home
facility that holds a permit issued by a county or municipality may
not retaliate against an employee of the facility who in good faith
makes a complaint to the office of the inspector general of the
Health and Human Services Commission, cooperates with the office of
the inspector general in an investigation, or reports abuse,
neglect, or exploitation of a resident to the Department of Family
and Protective Services.
Sec. 254.010. ANNUAL REPORT TO COMMISSION; LEGISLATIVE
REPORT. (a) Not later than September 30 of each year following the
establishment of a county or municipal permitting requirement under
this chapter, each county or municipality that requires a person to
obtain a boarding home facility permit under Section 254.004 shall
submit to the commission a report. The report must include:
(1) the total number of:
(A) boarding home facilities permitted during
the preceding state fiscal year;
(B) boarding home facility applications denied
permitting, including a summary of cause for denial; and
(C) boarding home facility permits active on
August 31 of the preceding state fiscal year;
(2) the total number of residents reported housed in
each boarding home facility reported;
(3) the total number of inspections conducted at each
boarding home facility by the county or municipality that requires
the permit; and
(4) the total number of permits revoked or suspended
as a result of an inspection described by Subdivision (3) and a
summary of the outcome for the residents displaced by revocation or
suspension of a permit.
(b) The commission shall establish and maintain a
standardized compilation of information reported under this
section and provide to the legislature a report of this information
not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year.
Sec. 254.011. EXCLUSION PROHIBITED. If an entity meets the
requirements established by a county or municipality under this
chapter, the entity may not be excluded from a residential area by
zoning ordinances or similar regulations.
SECTION 2. Sections 247.002(1), (2), (4), (5), and (7),
Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(1) "Assisted living facility" means an establishment
that:
(A) furnishes, in one or more facilities, food
and shelter to four or more persons who are unrelated to the
proprietor of the establishment; [and]
(B) provides:
(i) personal care services; or
(ii) administration of medication by a
person licensed or otherwise authorized in this state to administer
the medication; and
(C) may provide assistance with or supervision of
the administration of medication.
(2) "Board" means the executive commissioner of the
Health and [Texas Board of] Human Services Commission.
(4) "Department" means the [Texas] Department of Aging
and Disability [Human] Services.
(5) "Personal care services" means:
(A) assistance with feeding [meals], dressing,
moving [movement], bathing, or other personal needs or maintenance;
or
(B) [the administration of medication by a person
licensed to administer medication or the assistance with or
supervision of medication; or
[(C)] general supervision or oversight of the
physical and mental well-being of a person who needs assistance to
maintain a private and independent residence in an assisted living
facility or who needs assistance to manage the person's personal
life, regardless of whether a guardian has been appointed for the
person.
(7) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the
department [human services].
SECTION 3. Section 247.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 247.004. EXEMPTIONS. This chapter does not apply to:
(1) a boarding home facility as defined by Section
254.001 [that has rooms for rent and that may offer community meals,
light housework, meal preparation, transportation, grocery
shopping, money management, or laundry services but that does not
provide personal care services];
(2) an establishment conducted by or for the adherents
of the Church of Christ, Scientist, for the purpose of providing
facilities for the care or treatment of the sick who depend
exclusively on prayer or spiritual means for healing without the
use of any drug or material remedy if the establishment complies
with local safety, sanitary, and quarantine ordinances and
regulations;
(3) a facility conducted by or for the adherents of a
qualified religious society classified as a tax-exempt
organization under an Internal Revenue Service group exemption
ruling for the purpose of providing personal care services without
charge solely for the society's professed members or ministers in
retirement, if the facility complies with local safety, sanitation,
and quarantine ordinances and regulations; or
(4) a facility that provides personal care services
only to persons enrolled in a program that is funded in whole or in
part by the department [Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation] and that is monitored by the department [Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation] or its
designated local mental retardation authority in accordance with
standards set by the department [Texas Department of Mental Health
and Mental Retardation].
SECTION 4. Section 247.030, Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 5. It is the intent of the legislature that the
passage by the 81st Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, of another
bill that amends Subtitle B, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, and
Chapter 247, Health and Safety Code, and the amendments made by this
Act shall be harmonized, if possible, as provided by Section
311.025(b), Government Code, so that effect may be given to each.
If the amendments made by this Act to Subtitle B, Title 4, Health
and Safety Code, and Chapter 247, Health and Safety Code, and the
amendments made to Subtitle B, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, and
Chapter 247, Health and Safety Code, by any other bill are
irreconcilable, it is the intent of the legislature that this Act
prevail, regardless of the relative dates of enactment of this Act
and the other bill or bills, but only to the extent that differences
are irreconcilable.
SECTION 6. Not later than September 1, 2010, the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
adopt the model standards required by Section 254.003, Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 7. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
(b) Sections 254.004 through 254.008, Health and Safety
Code, as added by this Act, and Section 4 of this Act take effect
September 1, 2010.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 216 was passed by the House on May 1,
2009, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 2, 1 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 216 on May 23, 2009, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 216 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 143,
Nays 0, 1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 216 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 20, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
216 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor