88R15125 AMF-D
By: Menéndez S.B. No. 2343
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to emergency possession of certain abandoned children by
designated emergency infant care providers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 262.301, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (3), (4), and (5)
to read as follows:
(1) "Designated emergency infant care provider"
means:
(A) an emergency medical services provider;
(B) a hospital;
(C) a freestanding emergency medical care
facility licensed under Chapter 254, Health and Safety Code; [or]
(D) a child-placing agency licensed [by the
Department of Family and Protective Services] under Chapter 42,
Human Resources Code, that:
(i) agrees to act as a designated emergency
infant care provider under this subchapter; and
(ii) has on staff a person who is licensed
as a registered nurse under Chapter 301, Occupations Code, or who
provides emergency medical services under Chapter 773, Health and
Safety Code, and who will examine and provide emergency medical
services to a child taken into possession by the agency under this
subchapter;
(E) a fire department; or
(F) a law enforcement agency.
(3) "Fire department" means a department of a local
government that is organized to prevent or suppress fires and is
staffed 24 hours a day by employees of the local government.
(4) "Law enforcement agency" means an office,
department, or other division of a county or municipality in this
state that is staffed 24 hours a day by peace officers licensed
under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code.
(5) "Newborn safety device" means a device installed
by a designated emergency infant care provider in compliance with
Section 262.3025.
SECTION 2. Sections 262.302(a) and (b), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A designated emergency infant care provider shall,
without a court order, take possession of a child who appears to be
90 [60] days old or younger if:
(1) the child is voluntarily delivered to the provider
by the child's parent by:
(A) leaving the child with an employee of the
provider; or
(B) placing the child in a newborn safety device
located inside the provider's facilities; and
(2) the parent did not express an intent to return for
the child.
(b) A designated emergency infant care provider who takes
possession of a child under this section has no legal duty to detain
or pursue the parent and may not do so unless the child appears to
have been abused or neglected. The designated emergency infant
care provider has no legal duty to ascertain the parent's identity
and the parent may remain anonymous. However, the parent may be
given a form for voluntary disclosure of the child's medical facts
and history. If a designated emergency infant care provider has a
form for voluntary disclosure of a child's medical facts and
history, the provider shall make the form available on the
provider's Internet website.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 262, Family Code, is
amended by adding Sections 262.3025 and 262.3055 to read as
follows:
Sec. 262.3025. NEWBORN SAFETY DEVICE. (a) A designated
emergency infant care provider may place a newborn safety device
inside the provider's facilities to take possession of a child
under Section 262.302.
(b) A newborn safety device installed by a designated
emergency infant care provider must:
(1) be physically located:
(A) inside a facility that is staffed 24 hours a
day by employees of the provider including at least one employee
qualified to provide emergency medical services;
(B) in an area conspicuous and visible to the
employees of the provider; and
(C) in an area that allows for direct exterior
access to the device;
(2) contain an alarm system that:
(A) audibly notifies the employees of the
provider that a child has been placed in the device and sounds until
the child is removed from the device; and
(B) alerts a local emergency medical services
provider, as that term is defined in Section 773.003, Health and
Safety Code, if the child is not removed by an employee in a
reasonable amount of time; and
(3) automatically lock the external access point once
a child has been placed in the device.
(c) A designated emergency infant care provider that places
a newborn safety device in the provider's facilities shall:
(1) develop procedures to verify monthly that the
device's alarm system is in working order;
(2) provide annual training for all employees on the
device's function and operation; and
(3) conspicuously label the device with:
(A) identifying information for the device;
(B) instructions for using the device; and
(C) a crisis hotline phone number approved by a
local governing authority.
Sec. 262.3055. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The department shall
publish an annual report that includes:
(1) the number of children voluntarily delivered to a
designated emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302;
(2) the general locations of the designated emergency
infant care providers who took possession of the children; and
(3) the methods by which the designated emergency
infant care providers took possession of the children.
(b) A report published under this section must comply with
the confidentiality requirements under Section 262.308.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.