1-1 By: West S.B. No. 131 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed December 7, 1994; January 16, 1995, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human 1-4 Services; February 22, 1995, reported favorably by the following 1-5 vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; February 22, 1995, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to the duties of the Department of Protective and 1-9 Regulatory Services regarding domestic violence. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Section 12, Article 4413(503), Revised Statutes, 1-12 is amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows: 1-13 (d) The department shall adopt and implement rules requiring 1-14 investigating employees to document indications of domestic 1-15 violence, including elder, spouse, and child abuse. The department 1-16 may develop forms to facilitate the documentation process. The 1-17 department shall include statistical compilations of the 1-18 information documented under this subsection in its annual report. 1-19 (e) The department shall adopt rules requiring that written 1-20 information concerning community services available to victims of 1-21 domestic violence, printed in English and Spanish, be distributed 1-22 to those victims. The department may coordinate its efforts under 1-23 this subsection with local law enforcement agencies already 1-24 providing such information. 1-25 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995. The 1-26 Department of Protective and Regulatory Services shall adopt and 1-27 implement the rules required under Subsections (d) and (e), Section 1-28 12, Article 4413(503), Revised Statutes, as added by this Act, not 1-29 later than January 1, 1996. 1-30 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 1-31 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-32 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-33 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-34 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 1-35 * * * * *