Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1890 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R11747 LEH-D
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1890
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the electronic monitoring of residents at state
8	8	supported living centers.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 555.154, Health and Safety Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 555.154. REQUIRED FORM ON ADMISSION. The executive
13	13	commissioner by rule shall prescribe a form that must be completed
14	14	and signed on a resident's admission to a center by or on behalf of
15	15	the resident. The form must state:
16	16	(1) that a person who places an electronic monitoring
17	17	device in a resident's room or who uses or discloses a tape or other
18	18	recording made by the device may be civilly liable for any unlawful
19	19	violation of the privacy rights of another;
20	20	(2) that a person who covertly places an electronic
21	21	monitoring device in a resident's room or who consents to or
22	22	acquiesces in the covert placement of the device in a resident's
23	23	room has waived any privacy right the person may have had in
24	24	connection with images or sounds that may be acquired by the device;
25	25	(3) that a resident or the resident's guardian or legal
26	26	representative is entitled to conduct authorized electronic
27	27	monitoring under this subchapter, subject to a resident's right to
28	28	object to electronic monitoring under Section 555.157(c-1), and
29	29	that if the center refuses to permit the electronic monitoring or
30	30	fails to make reasonable physical accommodations for the authorized
31	31	electronic monitoring the person should contact the department;
32	32	(4) the basic procedures that must be followed to
33	33	request authorized electronic monitoring;
34	34	(5) the manner in which this subchapter affects the
35	35	legal requirement to report abuse, neglect, or exploitation when
36	36	electronic monitoring is being conducted; and
37	37	(6) any other information regarding covert or
38	38	authorized electronic monitoring that the executive commissioner
39	39	considers advisable to include on the form.
40	40	SECTION 2. Section 555.157, Health and Safety Code, is
41	41	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
42	42	read as follows:
43	43	(a) A center shall permit a resident or the resident's
44	44	guardian or legal representative to monitor the resident's room
45	45	through the use of electronic monitoring devices, subject to a
46	46	resident's right to object to electronic monitoring under
47	47	Subsection (c-1).
48	48	(c-1) Before a center allows the installation of electronic
49	49	monitoring equipment in a resident's room, a center must ask each
50	50	resident of the room, including a resident who lacks the capacity to
51	51	consent to the equipment under Section 555.156(c), if the resident
52	52	objects to the installation of the equipment. If a resident objects
53	53	to the installation of the equipment, the center may not permit the
54	54	installation of the equipment in the room.
55	55	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
56	56	to a request for electronic monitoring made on or after the
57	57	effective date of this Act. A request for electronic monitoring
58	58	made before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
59	59	effect on the date the request was made, and the former law is
60	60	continued in effect for that purpose.
61	61	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.