Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2536 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.B. No. 2536
	1	+	By: Krause, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Buckingham) H.B. No. 2536
	2	+	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 13, 2021;
	3	+	April 13, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on State
	4	+	Affairs; April 21, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote:
	5	+	Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 21, 2021, sent to printer.)
	6	+	Click here to see the committee vote
2	7
3	8
	9	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	10		AN ACT
5	11		relating to neglect of a child and the grounds for termination of
6	12		the parent-child relationship and possession of a child by the
7	13		Department of Family and Protective Services.
8	14		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	15		SECTION 1. Section 161.001(c), Family Code, is amended to
10	16		read as follows:
11	17		(c) A court may not make a finding under Subsection (b) and
12	18		order termination of the parent-child relationship based on
13	19		evidence that the parent:
14	20		(1) homeschooled the child;
15	21		(2) is economically disadvantaged;
16	22		(3) has been charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor
17	23		offense other than:
18	24		(A) an offense under Title 5, Penal Code;
19	25		(B) an offense under Title 6, Penal Code; or
20	26		(C) an offense that involves family violence, as
21	27		defined by Section 71.004 of this code;
22	28		(4) provided or administered low-THC cannabis to a
23	29		child for whom the low-THC cannabis was prescribed under Chapter
24	30		169, Occupations Code; [or]
25	31		(5) declined immunization for the child for reasons of
26	32		conscience, including a religious belief; or
27	33		(6) sought an opinion from more than one medical
28	34		provider relating to the child's medical care, transferred the
29	35		child's medical care to a new medical provider, or transferred the
30	36		child to another health care facility.
31	37		SECTION 2. Section 261.001(4), Family Code, is amended to
32	38		read as follows:
33	39		(4) "Neglect":
34	40		(A) includes:
35	41		(i) the leaving of a child in a situation
36	42		where the child would be exposed to a substantial risk of physical
37	43		or mental harm, without arranging for necessary care for the child,
38	44		and the demonstration of an intent not to return by a parent,
39	45		guardian, or managing or possessory conservator of the child;
40	46		(ii) the following acts or omissions by a
41	47		person:
42	48		(a) placing a child in or failing to
43	49		remove a child from a situation that a reasonable person would
44	50		realize requires judgment or actions beyond the child's level of
45	51		maturity, physical condition, or mental abilities and that results
46	52		in bodily injury or a substantial risk of immediate harm to the
47	53		child;
48	54		(b) failing to seek, obtain, or follow
49	55		through with medical care for a child, with the failure resulting in
50	56		or presenting a substantial risk of death, disfigurement, or bodily
51	57		injury or with the failure resulting in an observable and material
52	58		impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child;
53	59		(c) the failure to provide a child
54	60		with food, clothing, or shelter necessary to sustain the life or
55	61		health of the child, excluding failure caused primarily by
56	62		financial inability unless relief services had been offered and
57	63		refused;
58	64		(d) placing a child in or failing to
59	65		remove the child from a situation in which the child would be
60	66		exposed to a substantial risk of sexual conduct harmful to the
61	67		child; or
62	68		(e) placing a child in or failing to
63	69		remove the child from a situation in which the child would be
64	70		exposed to acts or omissions that constitute abuse under
65	71		Subdivision (1)(E), (F), (G), (H), or (K) committed against another
66	72		child;
67	73		(iii) the failure by the person responsible
68	74		for a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to
69	75		return to the child's home without arranging for the necessary care
70	76		for the child after the child has been absent from the home for any
71	77		reason, including having been in residential placement or having
72	78		run away; or
73	79		(iv) a negligent act or omission by an
74	80		employee, volunteer, or other individual working under the auspices
75	81		of a facility or program, including failure to comply with an
76	82		individual treatment plan, plan of care, or individualized service
77	83		plan, that causes or may cause substantial emotional harm or
78	84		physical injury to, or the death of, a child served by the facility
79	85		or program as further described by rule or policy; and
80	86		(B) does not include:
81	87		(i) the refusal by a person responsible for
82	88		a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to remain in
83	89		or return to the child's home resulting in the placement of the
84	90		child in the conservatorship of the department if:
85	91		(a) [(i)] the child has a severe
86	92		emotional disturbance;
87	93		(b) [(ii)] the person's refusal is
88	94		based solely on the person's inability to obtain mental health
89	95		services necessary to protect the safety and well-being of the
90	96		child; and
91	97		(c) [(iii)] the person has exhausted
92	98		all reasonable means available to the person to obtain the mental
93	99		health services described by Sub-subparagraph (b); or
94	100		(ii) a decision by a person responsible for
95	101		a child's care, custody, or welfare to:
96	102		(a) obtain an opinion from more than
97	103		one medical provider relating to the child's medical care;
98	104		(b) transfer the child's medical care
99	105		to a new medical provider; or
100	106		(c) transfer the child to another
101	107		health care facility [Subparagraph (ii)].
102	108		SECTION 3. Section 262.116(a), Family Code, is amended to
103	109		read as follows:
104	110		(a) The Department of Family and Protective Services may not
105	111		take possession of a child under this subchapter based on evidence
106	112		that the parent:
107	113		(1) homeschooled the child;
108	114		(2) is economically disadvantaged;
109	115		(3) has been charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor
110	116		offense other than:
111	117		(A) an offense under Title 5, Penal Code;
112	118		(B) an offense under Title 6, Penal Code; or
113	119		(C) an offense that involves family violence, as
114	120		defined by Section 71.004 of this code;
115	121		(4) provided or administered low-THC cannabis to a
116	122		child for whom the low-THC cannabis was prescribed under Chapter
117	123		169, Occupations Code; [or]
118	124		(5) declined immunization for the child for reasons of
119	125		conscience, including a religious belief; or
120	126		(6) sought an opinion from more than one medical
121	127		provider relating to the child's medical care, transferred the
122	128		child's medical care to a new medical provider, or transferred the
123	129		child to another health care facility.
124	130		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
125	131		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
126	132		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
127	133		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
128	134		Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
129		-	______________________________ ______________________________
130		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
131		-	I certify that H.B. No. 2536 was passed by the House on April
132		-	13, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, 1 present, not
133		-	voting.
134		-	______________________________
135		-	Chief Clerk of the House
136		-	I certify that H.B. No. 2536 was passed by the Senate on April
137		-	29, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
138		-	______________________________
139		-	Secretary of the Senate
140		-	APPROVED: _____________________
141		-	Date
142		-	_____________________
143		-	Governor
	135	+	* * * * *