Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1805 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R8800 MCK-F
2	2	By: Sanford H.B. No. 1805
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to protection of the rights of conscience for child
8	8	welfare services providers.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Human Resources Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Chapter 45 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 45. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE FOR
13	13	CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROVIDERS
14	14	Sec. 45.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Adverse action" means any action that directly or
16	16	indirectly adversely affects the person against whom the adverse
17	17	action is taken, places the person in a worse position than the
18	18	person was in before the adverse action was taken, or is likely to
19	19	deter a reasonable person from acting or refusing to act. An adverse
20	20	action includes:
21	21	(A) denying an application for, refusing to
22	22	renew, or canceling funding;
23	23	(B) declining to enter into, refusing to renew,
24	24	or canceling a contract;
25	25	(C) declining to issue, refusing to renew, or
26	26	canceling a license;
27	27	(D) terminating, suspending, demoting, or
28	28	reassigning a person; and
29	29	(E) limiting the ability of a person to engage in
30	30	child welfare services.
31	31	(2) "Child welfare services" means social services
32	32	provided to or on behalf of children, including:
33	33	(A) assisting abused or neglected children;
34	34	(B) counseling children or parents;
35	35	(C) promoting foster parenting;
36	36	(D) providing foster homes, residential care,
37	37	group homes, or temporary group shelters for children;
38	38	(E) recruiting foster parents;
39	39	(F) placing children in foster homes;
40	40	(G) licensing foster homes;
41	41	(H) promoting adoption or recruiting adoptive
42	42	parents;
43	43	(I) assisting adoptions or supporting adoptive
44	44	families;
45	45	(J) performing or assisting home studies;
46	46	(K) assisting kinship guardianships or kinship
47	47	caregivers;
48	48	(L) providing family preservation services;
49	49	(M) providing family support services; and
50	50	(N) providing temporary family reunification
51	51	services.
52	52	(3) "Child welfare services provider" means a person,
53	53	other than a governmental entity, that provides, seeks to provide,
54	54	or applies for or receives a contract, subcontract, grant,
55	55	subgrant, or cooperative agreement to provide child welfare
56	56	services. The person is not required to be engaged exclusively in
57	57	child welfare services to be a child welfare services provider.
58	58	(4) "Governmental entity" means:
59	59	(A) this state or a municipality or other
60	60	political subdivision of this state;
61	61	(B) any agency of this state or of a municipality
62	62	or other political subdivision of this state, including a
63	63	department, bureau, board, commission, office, agency, council,
64	64	court, and public institution of higher education; or
65	65	(C) a single source continuum contractor in this
66	66	state.
67	67	Sec. 45.002. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies to
68	68	any ordinance, rule, order, decision, practice, or other exercise
69	69	of governmental authority.
70	70	(b) This chapter applies to an act of a governmental entity,
71	71	in the exercise of governmental authority, granting or refusing to
72	72	grant a government benefit to a child welfare services provider.
73	73	Sec. 45.003. CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROVIDERS PROTECTED. A
74	74	governmental entity or any person that contracts with this state or
75	75	operates under governmental authority to refer or place children
76	76	for child welfare services may not discriminate or take any adverse
77	77	action against a child welfare services provider on the basis,
78	78	wholly or partly, that the provider:
79	79	(1) has declined or will decline to provide,
80	80	facilitate, or refer a person for child welfare services that
81	81	conflict with, or under circumstances that conflict with, the
82	82	provider's sincerely held religious beliefs;
83	83	(2) provides or intends to provide children under the
84	84	control, care, guardianship, or direction of the provider with a
85	85	religious education, including through placing the children in a
86	86	private or parochial school or otherwise providing a religious
87	87	education in accordance with the laws of this state;
88	88	(3) has declined or will decline to provide,
89	89	facilitate, or refer a person for abortions, contraceptives, or
90	90	drugs, devices, or services that are potentially
91	91	abortion-inducing; or
92	92	(4) refuses to enter into a contract that is
93	93	inconsistent with or would in any way interfere with or force a
94	94	provider to surrender the rights created by this chapter.
95	95	Sec. 45.004. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. A child welfare
96	96	services provider may assert an actual or threatened violation of
97	97	this chapter as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative
98	98	proceeding and obtain the relief specified in Section 45.005.
99	99	Sec. 45.005. REMEDIES. (a) A child welfare services
100	100	provider who successfully asserts a claim or defense under this
101	101	chapter is entitled to recover:
102	102	(1) declaratory relief under Chapter 37, Civil
103	103	Practice and Remedies Code;
104	104	(2) injunctive relief to prevent the threatened or
105	105	continued adverse action;
106	106	(3) compensatory damages for pecuniary and
107	107	nonpecuniary losses; and
108	108	(4) reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other
109	109	reasonable expenses.
110	110	(b) Compensatory damages awarded under Subsection (a)(3)
111	111	may not exceed $250,000 for each distinct controversy, without
112	112	regard to the number of members or other persons associated with a
113	113	child welfare services provider who claim injury under this
114	114	chapter.
115	115	(c) A person may not bring an action for damages or
116	116	declaratory or injunctive relief against an individual, other than
117	117	an action brought against an individual acting in the individual's
118	118	official capacity.
119	119	Sec. 45.006. TWO-YEAR LIMITATIONS PERIOD. A child welfare
120	120	services provider must bring an action to assert a claim for damages
121	121	under this chapter not later than the second anniversary of the date
122	122	the provider actually knew of the violation of this chapter.
123	123	Sec. 45.007. IMMUNITY WAIVED. (a) Sovereign and
124	124	governmental immunity to suit and from liability are waived and
125	125	abolished to the extent of liability created by Section 45.005, and
126	126	a claimant may sue a governmental entity or official for damages
127	127	allowed by that section.
128	128	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), this chapter does not
129	129	waive or abolish sovereign immunity to suit and from liability
130	130	under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.
131	131	Sec. 45.008. EFFECT ON RIGHTS; CONSTRUCTION OF LAW. (a)
132	132	This chapter may not be construed to authorize a governmental
133	133	entity to burden a person's free exercise of religion.
134	134	(b) The protections of religious freedom afforded by this
135	135	chapter are in addition to the protections provided under federal
136	136	or state law and the constitutions of this state and the United
137	137	States.
138	138	(c) This chapter may not be construed to supersede any law
139	139	of this state that is equally as protective of religious beliefs as,
140	140	or more protective of religious beliefs than, this chapter.
141	141	(d) This chapter may not be considered to narrow the meaning
142	142	or application of any other law protecting religious beliefs.
143	143	(e) This chapter may not be construed to prevent law
144	144	enforcement officers from exercising duties imposed on the officers
145	145	under the Family Code and the Penal Code.
146	146	(f) This chapter may not be construed to allow a child
147	147	welfare services provider to decline to provide, facilitate, or
148	148	refer a person for child welfare services on the basis of that
149	149	person's race, ethnicity, or national origin.
150	150	(g) This chapter may not be construed to allow a child
151	151	welfare services provider to deprive a minor of the rights,
152	152	including the right to medical care, provided by Chapters 32, 263,
153	153	and 266, Family Code.
154	154	(h) This chapter may not be construed to prohibit the
155	155	department from obtaining necessary child welfare services from an
156	156	alternate child welfare services provider.
157	157	Sec. 45.009. INTERPRETATION. This chapter shall be
158	158	liberally construed to effectuate its remedial and deterrent
159	159	purposes.
160	160	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
161	161	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
162	162	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
163	163	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
164	164	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.