89R9483 EAS-F
By: Richardson H.B. No. 3585
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the employment policies of and criminal history record
information obtained by mental hospitals and mental health
facilities and the prohibited employment of certain applicants
based on criminal history record information.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 250.001(3), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(3) "Facility" means:
(A) a nursing facility, custodial care home, or
other institution licensed [by the Department of Aging and
Disability Services] under Chapter 242;
(B) an assisted living facility licensed [by the
Department of Aging and Disability Services] under Chapter 247;
(C) a home and community support services agency
licensed under Chapter 142;
(D) a day activity and health services facility
licensed [by the Department of Aging and Disability Services] under
Chapter 103, Human Resources Code;
(E) an ICF-IID licensed under Chapter 252;
(F) an adult foster care provider that contracts
with the Health and Human Services Commission [Department of Aging
and Disability Services];
(G) a facility that provides mental health
services and that is operated by or contracts with the Department of
State Health Services;
(H) a local mental health authority designated
under Section 533.035 or a local intellectual and developmental
disability authority designated under Section 533.035;
(I) a person exempt from licensing under Section
142.003(a)(19) or (20);
(J) a special care facility licensed [by the
Department of State Health Services] under Chapter 248;
(K) a mental health service unit of a hospital
licensed under Chapter 241; [or]
(L) a prescribed pediatric extended care center
licensed [by the Department of Aging and Disability Services] under
Chapter 248A; or
(M) a mental hospital or mental health facility
licensed under Chapter 577.
SECTION 2. Section 250.006(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A person may not be employed in a position the duties of
which involve direct contact with a consumer in a facility or may
not be employed by an individual employer before the 10th [fifth]
anniversary of the date the person is convicted of:
(1) an offense under Section 22.01, Penal Code
(assault), that is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or as a
felony;
(2) an offense under Section 30.02, Penal Code
(burglary);
(3) an offense under Chapter 31, Penal Code (theft),
that is punishable as a felony;
(4) an offense under Section 32.45, Penal Code
(misapplication of fiduciary property or property of financial
institution), that is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or a
felony;
(5) an offense under Section 32.46, Penal Code
(fraudulent securing of document execution), that is punishable as
a Class A misdemeanor or a felony;
(6) an offense under Section 37.12, Penal Code (false
identification as peace officer; misrepresentation of property);
or
(7) an offense under Section 42.01(a)(7), (8), or (9),
Penal Code (disorderly conduct).
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 577, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 577.0102 to read as follows:
Sec. 577.0102. EMPLOYMENT POLICIES. (a) A mental hospital
or mental health facility licensed under this chapter shall prepare
a written statement describing the hospital's or facility's policy
for:
(1) drug testing employees and applicants for
employment who will have direct contact with the hospital's or
facility's patients; and
(2) criminal history record information checks on
employees and applicants for employment in accordance with
Chapter 250.
(b) The mental hospital or mental health facility shall
provide the written statement required by Subsection (a) to:
(1) each person applying for services from the
hospital or facility or, for a person who is a minor or is
incapacitated, the person's parent, guardian, or legally
authorized representative; and
(2) any person requesting the information.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
250, Health and Safety Code, apply only to an application for
employment submitted to a mental hospital or mental health facility
licensed under Chapter 577, Health and Safety Code, on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, each mental hospital and mental health facility
licensed under Chapter 577, Health and Safety Code, shall prepare
the written statement of employment policies required by Section
577.0102, Health Safety Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.