Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1603 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R1191 E
2	2	By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1603
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the procedures required before an individual's name is
8	8	added to the central child abuse or neglect registry.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 261.002, Family Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) and amending Subsection (b) to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(a-1) Except as provided by Subsection (a-2), the
14	14	department may not add to the central registry maintained under
15	15	this section the name of an individual found by the department to
16	16	have abused or neglected a child unless the department's finding is
17	17	sustained by an administrative law judge at an administrative
18	18	hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings under
19	19	Section 261.0021.
20	20	(a-2) The department may add the name of an individual to
21	21	the central registry maintained under this section without an
22	22	administrative hearing under Section 261.0021 if in a civil,
23	23	criminal, administrative, or juvenile proceeding in which the
24	24	allegations of abuse or neglect are at issue, a court finds the
25	25	individual abused or neglected a child.
26	26	(b) The [executive] commissioner shall adopt rules
27	27	necessary to carry out this section. The rules shall:
28	28	(1) prohibit the department from making a finding of
29	29	abuse or neglect against a person in a case in which the department
30	30	is named managing conservator of a child who has a severe emotional
31	31	disturbance only because the child's family is unable to obtain
32	32	mental health services for the child;
33	33	(2) establish guidelines for reviewing the records in
34	34	the registry and removing those records in which the department was
35	35	named managing conservator of a child who has a severe emotional
36	36	disturbance only because the child's family was unable to obtain
37	37	mental health services for the child;
38	38	(3) require the department to remove a person's name
39	39	from the central registry maintained under this section not later
40	40	than the 10th business day after the date the department receives
41	41	notice that a finding of abuse and neglect against the person is
42	42	overturned in:
43	43	(A) an administrative review or an appeal of the
44	44	review conducted under Section 261.309(c);
45	45	(B) a review or an appeal of the review conducted
46	46	by the office of consumer affairs of the department; or
47	47	(C) a hearing or an appeal conducted by the State
48	48	Office of Administrative Hearings; and
49	49	(4) require the department to update any relevant
50	50	department files to reflect an overturned finding of abuse or
51	51	neglect against a person not later than the 10th business day after
52	52	the date the finding is overturned in a review, hearing, or appeal
53	53	described by Subdivision (3).
54	54	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
55	55	amended by adding Sections 261.0021 and 261.0022 to read as
56	56	follows:
57	57	Sec. 261.0021. PROCEDURES FOR ADDING ALLEGED OFFENDERS TO
58	58	CENTRAL REGISTRY; ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING. (a) Not later than the
59	59	14th day after the date the department makes a finding that an
60	60	individual abused or neglected a child, the department shall:
61	61	(1) submit a request for a hearing to the State Office
62	62	of Administrative Hearings; and
63	63	(2) provide written notice to the individual that the
64	64	department intends to add the individual's name and information
65	65	regarding the reported case of abuse or neglect to the central
66	66	registry maintained under Section 261.002.
67	67	(b) The notice required by Subsection (a)(2) must include:
68	68	(1) a clear statement of the specific allegations that
69	69	will be added to the central registry, including:
70	70	(A) the name of the alleged victim;
71	71	(B) the injury or harm alleged to have resulted
72	72	from the abuse or neglect; and
73	73	(C) the date the report of abuse or neglect was
74	74	made to the department;
75	75	(2) the consequences of being listed in the central
76	76	registry, including any possible negative impact on the
77	77	individual's ability to obtain employment or certain licenses and
78	78	to have future contact with children, including any limitation on
79	79	volunteering or involvement in school activities;
80	80	(3) the length of the time the individual's name may be
81	81	included in the registry;
82	82	(4) a copy of the information that will be added to the
83	83	registry;
84	84	(5) confirmation that the department has requested a
85	85	hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings to
86	86	review the department's findings; and
87	87	(6) the contact information for the State Office of
88	88	Administrative Hearings.
89	89	(c) On receipt of a request for a hearing from the
90	90	department regarding its intention to list an alleged offender in
91	91	the central registry, the State Office of Administrative Hearings
92	92	shall contact the parties to schedule a date for the hearing. The
93	93	hearing shall be held not later than the 60th day after the date the
94	94	department issues its findings.
95	95	(d) The alleged offender has the right to be represented by
96	96	an attorney at the hearing. If the alleged offender is indigent the
97	97	State Office of Administrative Hearings shall appoint an attorney
98	98	to represent the alleged offender at the hearing.
99	99	(e) Before the hearing, the department shall provide the
100	100	alleged offender with the department's complete investigative file
101	101	and any exculpatory evidence the department possesses or controls.
102	102	(f) At the hearing, the alleged offender may:
103	103	(1) present sworn evidence, law, or rules related to
104	104	the allegations; and
105	105	(2) subpoena witnesses, cross-examine the
106	106	department's witnesses, introduce evidence, object to evidence
107	107	introduced by the department, and make an opening and a closing
108	108	argument.
109	109	(g) Not later than the 30th day after the date the hearing
110	110	concludes, the presiding administrative law judge shall enter an
111	111	order containing the judge's written findings of fact and
112	112	conclusions of law. The burden of proof is on the department to
113	113	establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged
114	114	offender abused or neglected the child.
115	115	(h) If the presiding administrative law judge enters an
116	116	order under Subsection (g) that sustains the department's findings,
117	117	the department shall enter the alleged offender's information into
118	118	the central registry. The department shall maintain the information
119	119	in the registry for a period proportionate to the severity of the
120	120	offense. The department may not retain the information in the
121	121	registry after the 10th anniversary of the date the abuse or neglect
122	122	occurred.
123	123	(i) If the presiding administrative law judge enters an
124	124	order under Subsection (g) that does not sustain the department's
125	125	findings, the judge shall order the department to amend the
126	126	department's findings accordingly and the department may not enter
127	127	the allegations into the central registry.
128	128	(j) A hearing under this section is a contested case under
129	129	Chapter 2001, Government Code, and the administrative law judge's
130	130	decision is subject to judicial review as provided by that chapter.
131	131	The district court with jurisdiction over child protection cases in
132	132	the county in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred has
133	133	jurisdiction to review the administrative law judge's decision. A
134	134	party may file a motion to transfer the judicial review case to a
135	135	district court with jurisdiction over child protection cases in
136	136	another county. The district court, for good cause shown, may grant
137	137	the motion to transfer.
138	138	(k) The department may not add an alleged offender to the
139	139	central registry or release information to any third party until
140	140	all appeals are either exhausted or waived.
141	141	(l) The Texas Rules of Civil Procedure apply to a proceeding
142	142	under this section.
143	143	Sec. 261.0022. PROCEDURES FOR REMOVING ALLEGED OFFENDER
144	144	FROM CENTRAL REGISTRY. (a) An individual listed in the central
145	145	registry maintained under Section 261.002 may request to have the
146	146	individual's name and information removed from the registry by
147	147	submitting a written request to the State Office of Administrative
148	148	Hearings accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by a person with
149	149	personal knowledge stating facts sufficient to show there is good
150	150	cause for a hearing on the issue of whether the individual abused or
151	151	neglected a child. Good cause for a hearing includes:
152	152	(1) newly discovered evidence that a substantiated
153	153	report of child abuse or neglect is inaccurate; or
154	154	(2) evidence that:
155	155	(A) the individual no longer poses a risk; and
156	156	(B) no significant public purpose is served by
157	157	continuing to list the individual in the registry.
158	158	(b) Except for the affidavit required by Subsection (a), a
159	159	written request to remove information from the central registry
160	160	submitted under this section may be in any form.
161	161	(c) Before a hearing is held under this section, the
162	162	department may remove from the central registry the name and
163	163	information of an individual listed in the registry.
164	164	(d) A hearing requested under this section shall be
165	165	conducted in the same manner as a hearing conducted under Section
166	166	261.0021.
167	167	(e) An individual who is listed in the central registry may
168	168	not request to have the information removed from the registry
169	169	before the second anniversary of the date the information is added
170	170	to the registry.
171	171	(e-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (e), an individual listed
172	172	in the central registry on September 1, 2021, may request to have
173	173	the individual's name and information removed from the registry as
174	174	provided by this section. This subsection expires September 1,
175	175	2023.
176	176	(f) An individual whose request to remove information from
177	177	the central registry under this section is denied may not make a
178	178	subsequent request to have the information removed from the
179	179	registry before the second anniversary of the date the request for
180	180	removal is denied.
181	181	(g) The Texas Rules of Civil Procedure apply to a proceeding
182	182	under this section.
183	183	SECTION 3. Section 261.103, Family Code, is amended by
184	184	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
185	185	(d) The department or other entity receiving a report of
186	186	abuse or neglect that is not substantiated in the manner described
187	187	by Section 261.002(a-2) or as provided by Section 261.0021 shall
188	188	maintain information relating to the report until the second
189	189	anniversary of the date the department or other entity receives the
190	190	report.
191	191	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act by amending
192	192	Section 261.002, Family Code, and adding Section 261.0021, Family
193	193	Code, apply only to a finding that an individual abused or neglected
194	194	a child made by the Department of Family and Protective Services on
195	195	or after the effective date of this Act. A finding made by the
196	196	department before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
197	197	date the finding was made, and the former law is continued in effect
198	198	for that purpose.
199	199	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.