BILL ANALYSIS


                                                    C.S.S.B. 1226
                                                         By: West
                                        Health and Human Services
                                                         04-27-95
                                   Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND

During the most recent interim, the Board of Protective and
Regulatory Services of the Texas Department of Protective and
Regulatory Services adopted new, more stringent standards for
licensed child-care facilities to be enforced beginning June 1,
1997.  Many families and child-care providers are opposed to the
new restrictions because the additional costs required to impose
the higher standards may force families to leave a licensed child-care facility in favor of a less expensive, unlicensed child-care
arrangement.

According to the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services,
testimony was taken over a two-year period after the standards were
proposed and reviewed by the State Advisory Committee on Child-Care
Administrators and Facilities, and included criticism that the
advisory committee did not include membership that could speak to
the issues of middle- to low-income families and the providers who
serve those families.  In addition, the families and child-care
facilities felt that the standards were adopted on a theoretical
basis with little real cost-benefit analysis performed.

PURPOSE

As proposed, C.S.S.B. 1226 reestablishes the composition and term
limits of members of the State Advisory Committee on Child-Care
Administrators and Facilities and requires the Texas Department of
Human Services to promulgate minimum standards that apply to
certain licensed child-care facilities.

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 42.022, Human Resources Code, by amending
Subsections (b) and (c), and adding Subsection (h), as follows:

     (b) Provides that members of the State Advisory Committee on
     Child-Care Administrators and Facilities (committee) serve for
     terms of two years expiring on February 1 of each odd-numbered
     year.
     
     (c) Provides that the committee is composed of 12 members
     appointed by the Texas Board of Protective and Regulatory
     Services (board).  Sets forth composition of the board.
     
     (h) Requires the board, in making appointments to the
     committee, to consider whether the committee reflects the
     race, ethnicity, and age of the residents of this state and
     whether the committee provides representation of the
     geographic regions of the state.
     
     SECTION 2.     Amends Section 42.042, Human Resources Code, by amending
Subsection (e), and adding Subsections (m)-(o), as follows:

     (e) Requires the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory
     Services (department) to promulgate minimum standards that
     apply to licensed child-care facilities covered by this
     chapter.
     
     (m) Requires the department to ensure that each child-care
     facility that provides care for less than 24 hours a day
     complies with the appropriate minimum standards relating to
     staff-child ratios, group sizes, and square footage as those
     minimum standards existed on September 1, 1985.  Prohibits the
     department from enforcing new standards that are more
     stringent than the 1985 standards for those facilities. 
     Declares that this subsection expires September 1, 1997.
     
     (n) Requires the department, in determining minimum standards
     for child-care facilities that provide care for less than 24
     hours a day, to conduct a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis
     and economic impact study, within available appropriations,
     that includes families and licensed child-care providers.
     
     (o) Requires the department, not later than the 60th day
     before the date the board adopts a revision to the minimum
     standards for child-care facilities, to present the revision
     to the appropriate legislative oversight committees that have
     jurisdiction over child-care facilities for review and
     comment.
     
     SECTION 3.     (a) Provides that the terms of the current members of
the committee expire on the date on which a majority of the new
members have been appointed.

     (b) Requires the Board of Protective and Regulatory Services,
     on September 1, 1995, or as soon as possible after that date,
     to appoint new committee members to accomplish the membership
     plan under Section 42.022(c), Human Resources Code, as amended
     by this Act, for terms expiring February 1, 1997.
     
     (c) Makes application of this Act prospective.
     
     SECTION 4.     Requires the Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services to contract with a public or private entity to conduct an
independent comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and economic impact
study relating to staff-child ratios, group sizes, and square
footage requirements that are contained in any minimum standards
for child-care facilities that the Board of Protective and
Regulatory Services adopted in 1994.  Requires the department to
submit the report to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of
the house of representatives, and members of the 75th Legislature
not later than December 1, 1996.

SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1995.

SECTION 6. Emergency clause.