84R11747 LEH-D
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1890
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the electronic monitoring of residents at state
supported living centers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 555.154, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 555.154. REQUIRED FORM ON ADMISSION. The executive
commissioner by rule shall prescribe a form that must be completed
and signed on a resident's admission to a center by or on behalf of
the resident. The form must state:
(1) that a person who places an electronic monitoring
device in a resident's room or who uses or discloses a tape or other
recording made by the device may be civilly liable for any unlawful
violation of the privacy rights of another;
(2) that a person who covertly places an electronic
monitoring device in a resident's room or who consents to or
acquiesces in the covert placement of the device in a resident's
room has waived any privacy right the person may have had in
connection with images or sounds that may be acquired by the device;
(3) that a resident or the resident's guardian or legal
representative is entitled to conduct authorized electronic
monitoring under this subchapter, subject to a resident's right to
object to electronic monitoring under Section 555.157(c-1), and
that if the center refuses to permit the electronic monitoring or
fails to make reasonable physical accommodations for the authorized
electronic monitoring the person should contact the department;
(4) the basic procedures that must be followed to
request authorized electronic monitoring;
(5) the manner in which this subchapter affects the
legal requirement to report abuse, neglect, or exploitation when
electronic monitoring is being conducted; and
(6) any other information regarding covert or
authorized electronic monitoring that the executive commissioner
considers advisable to include on the form.
SECTION 2. Section 555.157, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
read as follows:
(a) A center shall permit a resident or the resident's
guardian or legal representative to monitor the resident's room
through the use of electronic monitoring devices, subject to a
resident's right to object to electronic monitoring under
Subsection (c-1).
(c-1) Before a center allows the installation of electronic
monitoring equipment in a resident's room, a center must ask each
resident of the room, including a resident who lacks the capacity to
consent to the equipment under Section 555.156(c), if the resident
objects to the installation of the equipment. If a resident objects
to the installation of the equipment, the center may not permit the
installation of the equipment in the room.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a request for electronic monitoring made on or after the
effective date of this Act. A request for electronic monitoring
made before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect on the date the request was made, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.