| 1 | 1 | | 2019S0223-1 02/15/19 |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Menéndez S.B. No. 1544 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to administrative review of investigations of reports of |
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| 8 | 8 | | child abuse or neglect. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 261.309, Family Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (c-1) Not later than the 15th day after the date the |
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| 13 | 13 | | department completes the investigation, the investigator, an |
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| 14 | 14 | | employee of the department providing family-based safety services, |
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| 15 | 15 | | or, if neither the investigator nor an employee providing |
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| 16 | 16 | | family-based safety services is available, any employee of the |
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| 17 | 17 | | department shall attempt to provide oral, in-person notice to the |
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| 18 | 18 | | person who is alleged to have abused or neglected a child that the |
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| 19 | 19 | | person has a right to request an administrative review under |
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| 20 | 20 | | Subsection (c). The department shall document the notice or |
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| 21 | 21 | | attempted notice in the investigation report described by Section |
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| 22 | 22 | | 261.308. |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 2. The Department of Family and Protective Services |
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| 24 | 24 | | shall adopt rules necessary to implement Section 261.309(c-1), |
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| 25 | 25 | | Family Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the |
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| 26 | 26 | | effective date of this Act. |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 3. Section 261.309(c-1), Family Code, as added by |
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| 28 | 28 | | this Act, applies only to an investigation completed on or after the |
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| 29 | 29 | | effective date of this Act. An investigation completed before the |
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| 30 | 30 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 31 | 31 | | date the investigation was completed, and the former law is |
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| 32 | 32 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 34 | 34 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 35 | 35 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 36 | 36 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 37 | 37 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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