Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3864 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R23197 YDB-D
2	2	By: Sanford, Krause, Miller of Fort Bend, H.B. No. 3864
3	3	Keough, Riddle, et al.
4	4	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3864:
5	5	By: Dutton C.S.H.B. No. 3864
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to protection of the rights of conscience for child
11	11	welfare services providers.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Human Resources Code, is
14	14	amended by adding Chapter 45 to read as follows:
15	15	CHAPTER 45. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE FOR
16	16	CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROVIDERS
17	17	Sec. 45.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
18	18	(1) "Adverse action" means any action that directly or
19	19	indirectly adversely affects the person against whom the adverse
20	20	action is taken, places the person in a worse position than the
21	21	person was in before the adverse action was taken, or is likely to
22	22	deter a reasonable person from acting or refusing to act. An adverse
23	23	action includes:
24	24	(A) denying an application for, refusing to
25	25	renew, or canceling funding;
26	26	(B) declining to enter into, refusing to renew,
27	27	or canceling a contract;
28	28	(C) declining to issue, refusing to renew, or
29	29	canceling a license;
30	30	(D) terminating, suspending, demoting, or
31	31	reassigning a person; and
32	32	(E) limiting the ability of a person to engage in
33	33	child welfare services.
34	34	(2) "Child welfare services" means social services
35	35	provided to or on behalf of children, including:
36	36	(A) assisting abused or neglected children;
37	37	(B) counseling children or parents;
38	38	(C) promoting foster parenting;
39	39	(D) providing foster homes, residential care,
40	40	group homes, or temporary group shelters for children;
41	41	(E) recruiting foster parents;
42	42	(F) placing children in foster homes;
43	43	(G) licensing foster homes;
44	44	(H) promoting adoption or recruiting adoptive
45	45	parents;
46	46	(I) assisting adoptions or supporting adoptive
47	47	families;
48	48	(J) performing or assisting home studies;
49	49	(K) assisting kinship guardianships or kinship
50	50	caregivers;
51	51	(L) providing family preservation services;
52	52	(M) providing family support services; and
53	53	(N) providing temporary family reunification
54	54	services.
55	55	(3) "Child welfare services provider" means a person
56	56	that provides, seeks to provide, or applies for or receives a
57	57	contract, subcontract, grant, subgrant, or cooperative agreement
58	58	to provide child welfare services. The person is not required to be
59	59	engaged exclusively in child welfare services to be a child welfare
60	60	services provider.
61	61	(4) "Governmental entity" means:
62	62	(A) this state or a municipality or other
63	63	political subdivision of this state; or
64	64	(B) any agency of this state or of a municipality
65	65	or other political subdivision of this state, including a
66	66	department, bureau, board, commission, office, agency, council,
67	67	court, and public institution of higher education.
68	68	Sec. 45.002. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies to
69	69	any ordinance, rule, order, decision, practice, or other exercise
70	70	of governmental authority.
71	71	(b) This chapter applies to an act of a governmental entity,
72	72	in the exercise of governmental authority, granting or refusing to
73	73	grant a government benefit to a child welfare services provider.
74	74	Sec. 45.003. CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROVIDERS PROTECTED. A
75	75	governmental entity or any person that contracts with this state or
76	76	operates under governmental authority to refer or place children
77	77	for child welfare services may not discriminate or take any adverse
78	78	action against a child welfare services provider on the basis,
79	79	wholly or partly, that the provider:
80	80	(1) has declined or will decline to provide,
81	81	facilitate, or refer a person for child welfare services that
82	82	conflict with, or under circumstances that conflict with, the
83	83	provider's sincerely held religious beliefs;
84	84	(2) provides or intends to provide children under the
85	85	control, care, guardianship, or direction of the child welfare
86	86	services provider with a religious education, including through
87	87	placing the children in a private or parochial school or otherwise
88	88	providing a religious education in accordance with the laws of this
89	89	state; or
90	90	(3) has declined or will decline to provide,
91	91	facilitate, or refer a person for abortions, contraceptives, or
92	92	drugs, devices, or services that are potentially
93	93	abortion-inducing.
94	94	Sec. 45.004. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. A child welfare
95	95	services provider may assert an actual or threatened violation of
96	96	this chapter as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative
97	97	proceeding and obtain the relief specified in Section 45.005.
98	98	Sec. 45.005. REMEDIES. A child welfare services provider
99	99	who successfully asserts a claim or defense under this chapter is
100	100	entitled to recover:
101	101	(1) declaratory relief;
102	102	(2) injunctive relief to prevent the threatened or
103	103	continued adverse action or effects of the action on the child
104	104	welfare services provider;
105	105	(3) compensatory damages for pecuniary and
106	106	nonpecuniary losses;
107	107	(4) punitive damages; and
108	108	(5) reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other
109	109	reasonable expenses.
110	110	Sec. 45.006. TWO-YEAR LIMITATIONS PERIOD. A child welfare
111	111	services provider must bring an action to assert a claim for damages
112	112	under this chapter not later than the second anniversary of the date
113	113	the provider actually knew of the violation of this chapter.
114	114	Sec. 45.007. IMMUNITY WAIVED. (a) Sovereign,
115	115	governmental, and qualified immunity to suit and from liability are
116	116	waived and abolished to the extent of liability created by Section
117	117	45.005, and a claimant may sue a governmental entity or official for
118	118	damages allowed by that section.
119	119	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), this chapter does not
120	120	waive or abolish sovereign immunity to suit and from liability
121	121	under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.
122	122	Sec. 45.008. EFFECT ON RIGHTS; CONSTRUCTION OF LAW. (a)
123	123	This chapter may not be construed to authorize a governmental
124	124	entity to burden a person's free exercise of religion.
125	125	(b) The protections of religious freedom afforded by this
126	126	chapter are in addition to the protections provided under federal
127	127	or state law and the constitutions of this state and the United
128	128	States.
129	129	(c) This chapter may not be construed to supersede any law
130	130	of this state that is equally as protective of religious beliefs as,
131	131	or more protective of religious beliefs than, this chapter.
132	132	(d) This chapter may not be considered to narrow the meaning
133	133	or application of any other law protecting religious beliefs.
134	134	(e) This chapter may not be construed in a manner that
135	135	allows a person to decline intake of a child into a welfare services
136	136	program funded by this state.
137	137	(f) This chapter may not be construed to prevent law
138	138	enforcement officers from exercising duties imposed on the officers
139	139	under the Family Code and the Penal Code.
140	140	Sec. 45.009. INTERPRETATION. This chapter shall be
141	141	liberally construed to effectuate its remedial and deterrent
142	142	purposes.
143	143	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
144	144	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
145	145	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
146	146	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
147	147	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.