85R2723 MK-D
By: Campbell, Perry S.B. No. 1536
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the ability of a child-placing agency to decline to
provide services or accept a referral from the Department of Family
and Protective Services on the basis of sincerely held religious
beliefs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 42.066 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.066. REFUSAL OF CHILD-PLACING AGENCY TO PROVIDE
SERVICES OR ACCEPT REFERRALS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. (a) In
this section:
(1) "Adverse action" includes:
(A) denying an application for, refusing to
renew, or canceling funding;
(B) declining to enter into, refusing to renew,
or canceling a contract;
(C) declining to issue, refusing to renew, or
canceling a license;
(D) limiting a person's ability to participate in
a government program;
(E) pursuing an enforcement action against a
person; or
(F) taking any action that materially alters the
terms or conditions of funding, a contract, or a license.
(2) "Governmental entity" means:
(A) this state or a municipality or other
political subdivision of this state; or
(B) any agency of this state or of a municipality
or other political subdivision of this state, including a
department, bureau, board, commission, office, agency, council,
court, and public institution of higher education.
(3) "Services" means any service provided by a
child-placing agency, excluding case management or adoption
services provided under contract with the department.
(4) "Sincerely held religious belief" means a
religious belief adhered to by a child-placing agency that is
contained in a written policy, statement of faith, or other
document created by the child-placing agency.
(b) A child-placing agency is not required to provide a
service if the service, or the circumstances under which the
service will be provided, conflicts with the child-placing agency's
sincerely held religious beliefs.
(c) If a child-placing agency declines to provide a service
under Subsection (b), the child-placing agency shall:
(1) provide the applicant for the service with the
written contact information for the department and any other
adoption or foster care service providers; and
(2) promptly refer the applicant to:
(A) another child-placing agency that performs
the service and is currently able to perform the service; or
(B) the list of child-placing agencies on the
department's website.
(d) If a child-placing agency has a contract with the
department, and the department makes a referral to the
child-placing agency for foster care case management or adoption
services under that contract, the child-placing agency may decline
the referral if providing the services required by the referral
would conflict with the child-placing agency's sincerely held
religious beliefs. The department may not control or influence the
child-placing agency's decision to engage in activities or provide
services required by a referral.
(e) For purposes of Subsection (d), a child-placing agency
accepts a referral when the child-placing agency:
(1) submits a written agreement to perform the
services required by the referral for a particular child to the
department; or
(2) engages in any activity in relation to the
referral that would result in the department being obligated to pay
the child-placing agency for the provision of services.
(f) A governmental entity may not take an adverse action
against a child-placing agency on the basis of the child-placing
agency's declining to provide services under Subsection (b) or
declining to accept a referral from the department under Subsection
(d).
(g) It is an affirmative defense in an administrative or
judicial proceeding against a child-placing agency regarding the
provision of services or acceptance of a referral that the
child-placing agency declined to provide services or accept a
referral from the department on the basis of a sincerely held
religious belief.
(h) A child-placing agency's decision to decline a referral
from the department to provide case management or adoption services
for a child may not be considered as a factor in determining whether
a placement in connection with the referral is in the best interest
of the child.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.