BILL ANALYSIS


                                                        H.B. 1108
                                         By: Greenberg (Moncrief)
                                        Health and Human Services
                                                         05-22-95
                              Senate Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND

Under current law, a criminal background check is not required for
all adoptions in this state.

PURPOSE

As proposed, H.B. 1108 requires that a background check be
completed for all adoptions regardless of the entity which handles
them.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 162.004, Family Code, as added by H.B.
655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, as
follows:

     (a) Requires the court to set the date for the hearing on the
     adoption at a time not before the 40th day or later than the
     60th day after the later of the date the social study is
     ordered or the date criminal history record information is
     requested under Section 162.0085.
     
     (b) Authorizes the court to set the hearing at any time that
     provides adequate time for, among other actions, notifying the
     court of the criminal history record information for a person
     seeking to adopt the child.
     
     SECTION 2.     Amends Chapter 162A, Family Code, by adding Section
162.0085, as follows:

     Sec. 162.0085.  CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT REQUIRED.  (a)
     Requires the court, in a suit affecting the parent-child
     relationship in which an adoption is sought, to order each
     person seeking to adopt the child to obtain that person's own
     criminal history record information.
     
     (b) Requires a person required to obtain information under
       Subsection (a) to obtain the information in the manner
       provided by Section 411.128, Government Code.
       
       SECTION 3.   Amends Chapter 411F, Government Code, by adding Section
411.128, as follows:

     Sec. 411.128.  ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION:
     PERSON SEEKING TO ADOPT CHILD.  (a) Requires a person seeking
     to adopt a child under Chapter 162, Family Code, who is
     ordered by the court to obtain the person's own criminal
     history record information from the Department of Public
     Safety (department) under Section 162.0085, Family Code, to
     request the information as provided by this section.
     
     (b) Requires a person requesting information under this
       section to provide the department with the name and address
       of the court and the date set for the adoption hearing.
       
       (c) Requires the department to provide the court with
       criminal history record information not later than the 10th
       day before the date set for the adoption hearing.
       
       (d) Prohibits criminal history record information requested
       under this section from being released or disclosed to a
       person other than the court ordering the investigation,
       except on court order or with the consent of the person who
       is the subject of the criminal history record information.
       
       SECTION 4.   Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1995.

SECTION 6. Emergency clause.