Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB892 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R10035 MCK-F
2	2	By: Perry S.B. No. 892
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, general residential
37	37	operations, residential care, adoptive homes, group homes, or
38	38	temporary group shelters for children;
39	39	(E) recruiting foster parents;
40	40	(F) placing children in foster homes;
41	41	(G) licensing foster homes;
42	42	(H) promoting adoption or recruiting adoptive
43	43	parents;
44	44	(I) assisting adoptions or supporting adoptive
45	45	families;
46	46	(J) performing or assisting home studies;
47	47	(K) assisting kinship guardianships or kinship
48	48	caregivers;
49	49	(L) providing family preservation services;
50	50	(M) providing family support services;
51	51	(N) providing temporary family reunification
52	52	services;
53	53	(O) placing children in adoptive homes; and
54	54	(P) serving as a foster parent.
55	55	(3) "Child welfare services provider" means a person,
56	56	other than a governmental entity, that provides, seeks to provide,
57	57	or applies for or receives a contract, subcontract, grant,
58	58	subgrant, or cooperative agreement to provide child welfare
59	59	services. The person is not required to be engaged exclusively in
60	60	child welfare services to be a child welfare 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;
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; or
68	68	(C) a single source continuum contractor in this
69	69	state.
70	70	Sec. 45.002. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies to
71	71	any ordinance, rule, order, decision, practice, or other exercise
72	72	of governmental authority.
73	73	(b) This chapter applies to an act of a governmental entity,
74	74	in the exercise of governmental authority, granting or refusing to
75	75	grant a government benefit to a child welfare services provider.
76	76	Sec. 45.003. CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROVIDERS PROTECTED. A
77	77	governmental entity or any person that contracts with this state or
78	78	operates under governmental authority to refer or place children
79	79	for child welfare services may not discriminate or take any adverse
80	80	action against a child welfare services provider on the basis,
81	81	wholly or partly, that the provider:
82	82	(1) has declined or will decline to provide,
83	83	facilitate, or refer a person for child welfare services that
84	84	conflict with, or under circumstances that conflict with, the
85	85	provider's sincerely held religious beliefs;
86	86	(2) provides or intends to provide children under the
87	87	control, care, guardianship, or direction of the provider with a
88	88	religious education, including through placing the children in a
89	89	private or parochial school or otherwise providing a religious
90	90	education in accordance with the laws of this state;
91	91	(3) has declined or will decline to provide,
92	92	facilitate, or refer a person for abortions, contraceptives, or
93	93	drugs, devices, or services that are potentially
94	94	abortion-inducing; or
95	95	(4) refuses to enter into a contract that is
96	96	inconsistent with or would in any way interfere with or force a
97	97	provider to surrender the rights created by this chapter.
98	98	Sec. 45.004. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. A child welfare
99	99	services provider may assert an actual or threatened violation of
100	100	this chapter as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative
101	101	proceeding and obtain the relief specified in Section 45.005.
102	102	Sec. 45.005. REMEDIES. (a) A child welfare services
103	103	provider who successfully asserts a claim or defense under this
104	104	chapter is entitled to recover:
105	105	(1) declaratory relief under Chapter 37, Civil
106	106	Practice and Remedies Code;
107	107	(2) injunctive relief to prevent the threatened or
108	108	continued adverse action;
109	109	(3) compensatory damages for pecuniary and
110	110	nonpecuniary losses; and
111	111	(4) reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other
112	112	reasonable expenses.
113	113	(b) Compensatory damages awarded under Subsection (a)(3)
114	114	may not exceed $250,000 for each distinct controversy, without
115	115	regard to the number of members or other persons associated with a
116	116	child welfare services provider who claim injury under this
117	117	chapter.
118	118	(c) A person may not bring an action for damages or
119	119	declaratory or injunctive relief against an individual, other than
120	120	an action brought against an individual acting in the individual's
121	121	official capacity.
122	122	Sec. 45.006. TWO-YEAR LIMITATIONS PERIOD. A child welfare
123	123	services provider must bring an action to assert a claim for damages
124	124	under this chapter not later than the second anniversary of the date
125	125	the provider actually knew of the violation of this chapter.
126	126	Sec. 45.007. IMMUNITY WAIVED. (a) Sovereign and
127	127	governmental immunity to suit and from liability are waived and
128	128	abolished to the extent of liability created by Section 45.005, and
129	129	a claimant may sue a governmental entity or official for damages
130	130	allowed by that section.
131	131	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), this chapter does not
132	132	waive or abolish sovereign immunity to suit and from liability
133	133	under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.
134	134	Sec. 45.008. EFFECT ON RIGHTS; CONSTRUCTION OF LAW. (a)
135	135	This chapter may not be construed to authorize a governmental
136	136	entity to burden a person's free exercise of religion.
137	137	(b) The protections of religious freedom afforded by this
138	138	chapter are in addition to the protections provided under federal
139	139	or state law and the constitutions of this state and the United
140	140	States.
141	141	(c) This chapter may not be construed to supersede any law
142	142	of this state that is equally as protective of religious beliefs as,
143	143	or more protective of religious beliefs than, this chapter.
144	144	(d) This chapter may not be considered to narrow the meaning
145	145	or application of any other law protecting religious beliefs.
146	146	(e) This chapter may not be construed to prevent law
147	147	enforcement officers from exercising duties imposed on the officers
148	148	under the Family Code and the Penal Code.
149	149	(f) This chapter may not be construed to allow a child
150	150	welfare services provider to decline to provide, facilitate, or
151	151	refer a person for child welfare services on the basis of that
152	152	person's race, ethnicity, or national origin.
153	153	(g) This chapter may not be construed to allow a child
154	154	welfare services provider to deprive a minor of the rights,
155	155	including the right to medical care, provided by Chapters 32, 263,
156	156	and 266, Family Code.
157	157	(h) This chapter may not be construed to prohibit the
158	158	department from obtaining necessary child welfare services from an
159	159	alternate child welfare services provider.
160	160	Sec. 45.009. INTERPRETATION. This chapter shall be
161	161	liberally construed to effectuate its remedial and deterrent
162	162	purposes.
163	163	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
164	164	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
165	165	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
166	166	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
167	167	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.