Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1952 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R6920 BEE-F
2	2	By: Zerwas H.B. No. 1952
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to community homes for persons with disabilities; creating
8	8	a criminal offense.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 123.002, Human Resources Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 123.002. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this chapter:
13	13	(1) "Community home" means a community-based
14	14	residential home or assisted living facility that qualifies as a
15	15	community home under Section 123.004.
16	16	(2) "Person [, "person] with a disability" means a
17	17	person whose ability to care for himself or herself, perform manual
18	18	tasks, learn, work, walk, see, hear, speak, or breathe is
19	19	substantially limited because the person has:
20	20	(A) [(1)] an orthopedic, visual, speech, or
21	21	hearing impairment;
22	22	(B) [(2)] Alzheimer's disease;
23	23	(C) [(3)] pre-senile dementia;
24	24	(D) [(4)] cerebral palsy;
25	25	(E) [(5)] epilepsy;
26	26	(F) [(6)] muscular dystrophy;
27	27	(G) [(7)] multiple sclerosis;
28	28	(H) [(8)] cancer;
29	29	(I) [(9)] heart disease;
30	30	(J) [(10)] diabetes;
31	31	(K) [(11)] an intellectual disability;
32	32	(L) [(12)] autism; or
33	33	(M) [(13)] mental illness.
34	34	(3) "Property owners' association" and "restrictive
35	35	covenant" have the meanings assigned by Section 202.001, Property
36	36	Code.
37	37	SECTION 2. Section 123.003(b), Human Resources Code, is
38	38	amended to read as follows:
39	39	(b) A restriction, reservation, exception, or other
40	40	provision in an instrument created or amended on or after September
41	41	1, 1985, that relates to the transfer, sale, lease, or use of
42	42	property may not prohibit or effectively prohibit the use of the
43	43	property as a community home.
44	44	SECTION 3. Section 123.004, Human Resources Code, is
45	45	amended to read as follows:
46	46	Sec. 123.004. QUALIFICATION AS COMMUNITY HOME. To qualify
47	47	as a community home, an entity must comply with Sections 123.005
48	48	through 123.008 and be:
49	49	(1) a community-based residential home operated by:
50	50	(A) the Health and Human Services Commission
51	51	[Department of Aging and Disability Services];
52	52	(B) a community center organized under
53	53	Subchapter A, Chapter 534, Health and Safety Code, that provides
54	54	services to persons with disabilities;
55	55	(C) an entity subject to the Texas Nonprofit
56	56	Corporation Law as described by Section 1.008(d), Business
57	57	Organizations Code; or
58	58	(D) an entity certified by the Health and Human
59	59	Services Commission [Department of Aging and Disability Services]
60	60	as a provider under the ICF-IID medical assistance program; or
61	61	(2) an assisted living facility licensed under Chapter
62	62	247, Health and Safety Code, provided that the exterior structure
63	63	retains compatibility with the surrounding residential dwellings.
64	64	SECTION 4. Section 123.009, Human Resources Code, is
65	65	amended to read as follows:
66	66	Sec. 123.009. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF MOTOR VEHICLES;
67	67	OFFENSE. (a) Except as otherwise provided by municipal ordinance
68	68	or by a restrictive covenant enforced by a property owners'
69	69	association, the residents of a community home may not keep for the
70	70	use of the residents of the home, either on the premises of the home
71	71	or on a public right-of-way adjacent to the home, motor vehicles in
72	72	numbers that exceed the number of bedrooms in the home as recorded
73	73	in the appraisal records of the county in which the home is located.
74	74	(b) A person commits an offense if the person keeps a motor
75	75	vehicle in violation of Subsection (a).
76	76	(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
77	77	(d) A motor vehicle kept in violation of Subsection (a) may
78	78	be towed at the expense of the owner of the vehicle.
79	79	SECTION 5. Section 123.010, Human Resources Code, is
80	80	amended to read as follows:
81	81	Sec. 123.010. ENSURING SAFETY OF RESIDENTS OF COMMUNITY
82	82	HOME AND AFFECTED NEIGHBORHOOD. (a) The Health and Human Services
83	83	Commission [Department of Aging and Disability Services] shall make
84	84	every reasonable effort to ensure the safety of residents of a
85	85	community home operated by or under the regulatory jurisdiction of
86	86	the commission [department] and the residents of a neighborhood
87	87	that is affected by the location of the community home.
88	88	(b) A property owners' association or an affected property
89	89	owner in a neighborhood in which a community home is located may
90	90	report to an entity with regulatory jurisdiction over or that
91	91	operates the home that the home:
92	92	(1) has violated a provision of this chapter; or
93	93	(2) poses a hazard to the safety or well-being of the
94	94	neighborhood or community.
95	95	(c) An entity that receives a report under Subsection (b)
96	96	shall investigate the report in a timely manner and take
97	97	appropriate action, including, as applicable, revocation of the
98	98	entity's authorization to operate the community home.
99	99	SECTION 6. Section 202.002(b), Property Code, is amended to
100	100	read as follows:
101	101	(b) This chapter does not affect the requirements of Chapter
102	102	123, Human Resources Code [the Community Homes for Disabled Persons
103	103	Location Act (Article 1011n, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)].
104	104	SECTION 7. Section 202.003(b), Property Code, is amended to
105	105	read as follows:
106	106	(b) In this subsection, "community [family] home" has the
107	107	meaning assigned by Section 123.002, Human Resources Code [is a
108	108	residential home that meets the definition of and requirements
109	109	applicable to a family home under the Community Homes for Disabled
110	110	Persons Location Act (Article 1011n, Vernon's Texas Civil
111	111	Statutes)]. A dedicatory instrument or restrictive covenant may
112	112	not be construed to prevent the use of property as a community
113	113	[family] home. However, any restrictive covenant that applies to
114	114	property used as a community [family] home shall be liberally
115	115	construed to give effect to its purposes and intent except to the
116	116	extent that the construction would restrict the use as a community
117	117	[family] home.
118	118	SECTION 8. Chapter 202, Property Code, is amended by adding
119	119	Section 202.0045 to read as follows:
120	120	Sec. 202.0045. ENFORCEMENT OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANT ON
121	121	PROPERTY USED AS COMMUNITY HOME. (a) A property owners'
122	122	association may enforce a restrictive covenant that applies to
123	123	property used as a community home, as defined by Section 123.002,
124	124	Human Resources Code, to the same extent and in the same manner as
125	125	the restrictive covenant is or would be enforced with respect to any
126	126	other property that is subject to the restrictive covenant.
127	127	(b) This section does not authorize a property owners'
128	128	association to enforce a restriction that prohibits or effectively
129	129	prohibits the use of property as a community home.
130	130	SECTION 9. As soon as is practicable after the effective
131	131	date of this Act, an entity with regulatory jurisdiction over a
132	132	community home under Section 123.004, Human Resources Code, as
133	133	amended by this Act, shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
134	134	Section 123.010, Human Resources Code, as amended by this Act.
135	135	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.