BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 1418 By: Sylvester Turner 04-24-95 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND In response to accidents involving children at small child-care centers where no liability insurance coverage was carried by the facility, lawmakers in 1993 enacted H.B. 1114, establishing a requirement that licensed child-care facilities maintain liability insurance coverage of $300,000 for each occurrence of negligence, including coverage of injuries to children that occur on the license holder's premises or in his/her care. Group and registered family homes were excepted in the legislation. The legislation provided an exemption for facilities unable to meet the liability insurance requirement for financial reasons or lack of available insurance, permitting license holders to notify the parent or guardian of each child in care written notice that such coverage is not provided. In either case, the license holder must also inform the Department of Protective & Regulatory Services whether liability coverage has been secured. In implementing the statute, the Department applied the new requirement to a wide range of child-care facilities, including those providing 24-hour care. These types of facilities already meet other insurance requirements, causing duplication and unnecessary expense to these operators. PURPOSE H.B. 1418 would provide further exemptions from the liability insurance requirement for certain categories of child-care facilities which the statute was not intended to cover. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that H.B. 1418 does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sec. 42.0491(e), Human Resources Code, by adding new subsections (2)-(7), providing an exemption from the liability insurance requirement for the following types of child-care facilities: (2) child-care institution; (3) foster group home; (4) foster family home; (5) agency group home; (6) agency home; or (7) child-placing agency. SECTION 2. Emergency clause, effective in 90 days. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION The Human Services Committee convened in a public hearing on March 20, 1995, and the Chairman laid out H.B. 1418 and asked Rep. Sylvester Turner to explain the bill. The following witness testified for the bill: Rita Powell, TX Ass'n of Licensed Children's Services. No one testified against or on H.B. 1418 and the bill was left pending. In a public hearing on April 24, 1995, the committee took up H.B. 1418 which had been pending. Rep. Maxey moved to report H.B. 1418 favorably without amendment and Rep. Davila seconded. The motion prevailed by a record vote of 8 Ayes, 0 Nays, 0 PNV and 1 Absent.