Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1402 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R5913 EAS-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 1402
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to group home registration with municipal police
10	10	departments or county sheriff's departments and welfare checks on
11	11	group home residents; providing a civil penalty.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 769, Health and Safety Code, as added by
14	14	Chapter 141 (S.B. 188), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
15	15	Session, 2023, is amended by adding Sections 769.004 and 769.005 to
16	16	read as follows:
17	17	Sec. 769.004. GROUP HOME REGISTRATION REQUIRED; CIVIL
18	18	PENALTY. (a) Not later than the 60th day after the date a group
19	19	home begins operating, the owner or operator of the group home
20	20	shall:
21	21	(1) for a group home located in a municipality,
22	22	register with:
23	23	(A) the municipality's police department; or
24	24	(B) the sheriff's department of the county in
25	25	which the group home is located if the municipality does not have a
26	26	police department; or
27	27	(2) for a group home located in the unincorporated
28	28	area of a county, register with the sheriff's department of the
29	29	county.
30	30	(b) The registration required by Subsection (a) must:
31	31	(1) be in the form and manner prescribed by the
32	32	municipal police department or sheriff's department, as
33	33	applicable; and
34	34	(2) include:
35	35	(A) contact information for the owner or operator
36	36	of the group home; and
37	37	(B) emergency contact information for another
38	38	group home representative if the contact information used during an
39	39	emergency is different than the contact information for the owner
40	40	or operator.
41	41	(c) A group home that violates Subsection (a) is liable for
42	42	a civil penalty of $2,500 for the first violation. Each day a
43	43	violation continues is considered a separate violation, and the
44	44	group home is liable for a civil penalty of $100 for each subsequent
45	45	day the violation continues.
46	46	(d) The municipality or county served by the police or
47	47	sheriff's department with which the group home is required to
48	48	register may bring an action to recover the civil penalty
49	49	authorized by Subsection (c). The municipality or county may
50	50	recover court costs and attorney's fees incurred in bringing the
51	51	action if the municipality or county prevails in the action.
52	52	Sec. 769.005. WELFARE CHECKS. Notwithstanding any other
53	53	law, a municipal police department or a sheriff's department may
54	54	conduct periodic welfare checks on residents of group homes
55	55	required to register with the department under this chapter.
56	56	SECTION 2. It is the intent of the 89th Legislature, Regular
57	57	Session, 2025, that the amendments made by this Act be harmonized
58	58	with another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,
59	59	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
60	60	codes.
61	61	SECTION 3. Not later than November 1, 2025, each group home
62	62	in this state that began operating before the effective date of this
63	63	Act shall register with a municipal police department or sheriff's
64	64	department, as applicable, as required by Section 769.004, Health
65	65	and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
66	66	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.