Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB589 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R3789 JG-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 589
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of an interim registry for certain
8	8	persons who have been accused of employee misconduct and are
9	9	employed by a facility that provides care to individuals with an
10	10	intellectual disability.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 253.003, Health and Safety Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
14	14	(d) If the employee notified of the violation makes a timely
15	15	request for a hearing on the determination, the commission shall
16	16	record the reportable conduct in the interim registry under Section
17	17	253.0035 in a manner that is consistent with that section.
18	18	SECTION 2. Chapter 253, Health and Safety Code, is amended
19	19	by adding Section 253.0035 to read as follows:
20	20	Sec. 253.0035. INTERIM REGISTRY. (a) In this section and
21	21	Section 253.003, "commission" means the Health and Human Services
22	22	Commission.
23	23	(b) The commission shall establish an interim registry of
24	24	employees against whom a determination or finding of reportable
25	25	conduct is made and who have made a timely request for a hearing on
26	26	the determination or finding under Section 253.003 of this code or
27	27	Section 48.404, Human Resources Code. The information included in
28	28	the interim registry must include:
29	29	(1) the employee's name;
30	30	(2) the employee's address;
31	31	(3) the employee's social security number;
32	32	(4) the name of the facility or individual employer of
33	33	the employee;
34	34	(5) the address of the facility or individual employer
35	35	of the employee;
36	36	(6) the date on which the reportable conduct occurred;
37	37	and
38	38	(7) a description of the reportable conduct.
39	39	(c) The executive commissioner shall allow providers
40	40	participating in the home and community-based services (HCS) waiver
41	41	program or the Texas home living (TxHmL) waiver program direct
42	42	access to the interim registry. The executive commissioner by rule
43	43	shall require a provider to take necessary actions regarding an
44	44	employee who is included in the interim registry. The actions taken
45	45	by a provider under this subsection:
46	46	(1) must be based on the seriousness of the reportable
47	47	conduct for which the employee is included in the interim registry;
48	48	and
49	49	(2) may include:
50	50	(A) additional monitoring;
51	51	(B) reassignment; or
52	52	(C) suspension.
53	53	(d) The commission immediately shall remove an employee
54	54	from the interim registry after a final decision on the reportable
55	55	conduct is made and all rights to appeal the decision have been
56	56	exhausted.
57	57	(e) Information contained in the interim registry is
58	58	confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552,
59	59	Government Code. Confidential information contained in the interim
60	60	registry may be disclosed to appropriate persons only in accordance
61	61	with commission rules.
62	62	(f) A provider is not civilly liable for failing to hire an
63	63	employee who was, at the time the provider made the hiring decision,
64	64	included in the interim registry.
65	65	SECTION 3. Section 48.404, Human Resources Code, is amended
66	66	by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
67	67	(d) If the employee notified of the violation makes a timely
68	68	request for a hearing on the finding, the commission shall record
69	69	the reportable conduct in the interim registry under Section
70	70	253.0035, Health and Safety Code, in a manner that is consistent
71	71	with that section.
72	72	SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
73	73	of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
74	74	Services Commission shall adopt rules as necessary to implement the
75	75	changes in law made by this Act.
76	76	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.