Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1491 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Perry S.B. No. 1491
2		-	(Parker)
3	2
4	3
5	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	5		AN ACT
7	6		relating to civil liability of a nursing facility resident's
8	7		responsible payor for misappropriation of the resident's funds.
9	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	9		SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 242, Health and Safety
11	10		Code, is amended by adding Section 242.020 to read as follows:
12	11		Sec. 242.020. CIVIL LIABILITY RELATED TO MISAPPROPRIATION
13	12		OF RESIDENT'S FUNDS. (a) In this section:
14	13		(1) "Misappropriate" means the taking, secretion,
15	14		misapplication, deprivation, transfer, or attempted transfer to
16	15		any person not entitled to receive any real or personal property or
17	16		anything of value belonging or under the legal control of a resident
18	17		without the effective consent of the resident or other appropriate
19	18		legal authority.
20	19		(2) "Responsible payor" means a person who:
21	20		(A) has legal access to the resident's income or
22	21		resources available to pay for nursing facility care; and
23	22		(B) has signed an admission agreement or other
24	23		contract with the facility in which the person agrees to provide
25	24		payment for the resident's facility care from the resident's income
26	25		or resources.
27	26		(b) A nursing facility may file an action against a
28	27		resident's responsible payor for an amount owed by the resident to
29	28		the facility if:
30	29		(1) before admission of the resident, the facility
31	30		obtains financial information from the resident or responsible
32	31		payor demonstrating the amount of financial resources that the
33	32		resident has available to pay for nursing facility care; and
34	33		(2) after the resident begins to reside at the
35	34		facility, the responsible payor misappropriates the resident's
36	35		resources to a degree that the resident is unable to afford to pay
37	36		for the resident's care.
38	37		(c) Subject to Subsection (d), the prevailing party in an
39	38		action filed under this section may recover attorney's fees.
40	39		(d) In an action filed under this section, a nursing
41	40		facility may not recover a total amount, including damages and
42	41		attorney's fees, that exceeds the amount the responsible payor has
43	42		misappropriated from the resident.
44	43		SECTION 2. Section 242.020, Health and Safety Code, as
45	44		added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on
46	45		or after the effective date of this Act.
47	46		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.