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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to a required court finding of abuse or neglect before an |
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individual's name is added to the central child abuse or neglect |
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registry. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 261.002, Family Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: |
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(a-1) The department may not add to the central registry |
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maintained under this section the name of an individual found by the |
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department to have abused or neglected a child unless a court of |
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competent jurisdiction enters a final order in a civil, criminal, |
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or juvenile proceeding in which the court finds the individual |
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abused or neglected the child. |
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SECTION 2. Section 261.002(a-1), Family Code, as added by |
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this Act, applies only to a finding that an individual abused or |
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neglected a child made by the Department of Family and Protective |
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Services on or after the effective date of this Act. A finding made |
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by the department before that date is governed by the law in effect |
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on the date the finding was made, and the former law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |