Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB627 Compare Versions

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1	1	S.B. No. 627
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the liability of in-home service companies and
6	6	residential delivery companies for negligent hiring.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 145.001, Civil Practice and Remedies
9	9	Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:
10	10	(1-a) "Residence" means a person's principal or
11	11	ordinary home or dwelling place and includes:
12	12	(A) any garage that is attached to the home or
13	13	dwelling place; and
14	14	(B) any construction area that is attached to and
15	15	accessible from the inhabited area or the attached garage of the
16	16	home or dwelling place.
17	17	SECTION 2. Chapter 145, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
18	18	is amended by adding Section 145.0015 to read as follows:
19	19	Sec. 145.0015. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as
20	20	the Sue Weaver Act.
21	21	SECTION 3. Section 145.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
22	22	Code, is amended to read as follows:
23	23	Sec. 145.002. CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK. Before
24	24	associating with or hiring an officer, employee, or prospective
25	25	employee in a position whose duties include entry into another
26	26	person's residence, an [An] in-home service company or residential
27	27	delivery company shall:
28	28	(1) obtain from the Department of Public Safety or a
29	29	private vendor [approved by the department and offering services
30	30	comparable to the services offered by the department] all criminal
31	31	history record information relating to an officer, employee, or
32	32	prospective employee; or
33	33	(2) ascertain that the person holds in good standing
34	34	an occupational license issued by a licensing authority in this
35	35	state that has, before issuing or renewing the license, performed a
36	36	criminal history background check [of the company whose job duties
37	37	require or will require entry into another person's residence].
38	38	SECTION 4. Subsections (a) and (b), Section 145.003, Civil
39	39	Practice and Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
40	40	(a) This section applies only to an action against an
41	41	in-home service company or residential delivery company that:
42	42	(1) arises out of a criminal act or omission by an
43	43	officer or employee of the company as to whom the company has
44	44	obtained [is required to obtain] criminal history record
45	45	information under Section 145.002(1) [145.002];
46	46	(2) is brought by or on behalf of a person whose home
47	47	the officer or employee entered while in the performance of the
48	48	employee's job duties, without regard to where the criminal act or
49	49	omission occurred; and
50	50	(3) seeks damages from the company for the negligent
51	51	hiring of the officer or employee.
52	52	(b) In an action to which this section applies, an in-home
53	53	service company or residential delivery company is rebuttably
54	54	presumed to have not acted negligently if:
55	55	(1) at the time a person was hired, the company
56	56	obtained criminal history record information regarding the officer
57	57	or employee under Section 145.002(1); and
58	58	(2) the criminal history record information shows
59	59	that, in the 20 years preceding the date the information was
60	60	obtained for a felony or in the 10 years preceding the date the
61	61	information was obtained for a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, the
62	62	officer or employee had not been convicted of, or placed on deferred
63	63	adjudication for:
64	64	(A) an offense in this state classified as:
65	65	(i) an offense against the person or the
66	66	family;
67	67	(ii) an offense against property; or
68	68	(iii) public indecency; or
69	69	(B) an offense in another jurisdiction that would
70	70	be classified in a category described by Paragraph (A) if the
71	71	offense had occurred in this state.
72	72	SECTION 5. Subsection (b), Section 411.1181, Government
73	73	Code, is amended to read as follows:
74	74	(b) An in-home service company or residential delivery
75	75	company is entitled to obtain from the Department of Public Safety
76	76	[or a private vendor approved by the department and offering
77	77	services comparable to the services offered by the department]
78	78	criminal history record information maintained by the department
79	79	that relates to:
80	80	(1) an officer of or person employed by the company
81	81	whose job duties require entry into another person's residence; or
82	82	(2) an applicant to whom an offer of employment is made
83	83	for a position of employment with the company, the job duties of
84	84	which require entry into another person's residence.
85	85	SECTION 6. (a) The changes in law made by Sections 1 and 4
86	86	of this Act to Sections 145.001 and 145.003, Civil Practice and
87	87	Remedies Code, apply only to a cause of action that accrues on or
88	88	after the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that
89	89	accrues before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
90	90	in effect immediately before that date, and that law is continued in
91	91	effect for that purpose.
92	92	(b) Sections 3 and 5 of this Act apply only to criminal
93	93	history background check information obtained by an in-home service
94	94	company or residential delivery company on or after the effective
95	95	date of this Act. Criminal history background check information
96	96	obtained before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
97	97	law in effect immediately before that date, and that law is
98	98	continued in effect for that purpose.
99	99	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
100	100	______________________________ ______________________________
101	101	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
102	102	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 627 passed the Senate on
103	103	March 19, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
104	104	the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 29, 2009, by the
105	105	following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
106	106	______________________________
107	107	Secretary of the Senate
108	108	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 627 passed the House, with
109	109	amendments, on May 20, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 136,
110	110	Nays 0, one present not voting.
111	111	______________________________
112	112	Chief Clerk of the House
113	113	Approved:
114	114	______________________________
115	115	Date
116	116	______________________________
117	117	Governor