By Greenberg, Swinford, Naishtat, Coleman             H.B. No. 1555

         75R9732 MCK-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to inspection of certain child-care facilities.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,

 1-5     is amended by adding Sections 42.0441-42.0443 to read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 42.0441.  INSPECTION RESULTS.  Immediately after

 1-7     completing a monitoring inspection of a licensed day-care center,

 1-8     licensed group day-care home, or registered family home under

 1-9     Section 42.044, the authorized representative of the department

1-10     shall review the results of the monitoring inspection with a

1-11     representative of the facility and give the facility an opportunity

1-12     to respond to the inspection results.

1-13           Sec. 42.0442.  COORDINATION OF INSPECTIONS; ELIMINATION OF

1-14     DUPLICATIVE INSPECTIONS.  (a)  The department shall coordinate

1-15     monitoring inspections of licensed day-care centers, licensed group

1-16     day-care homes, and registered family homes performed by another

1-17     state  agency to eliminate redundant inspections.

1-18           (b)  The department shall form an interagency task force with

1-19     the Texas Department of Health, the Texas Department of Human

1-20     Services, and the Texas Workforce Commission to develop an

1-21     inspection protocol that will coordinate inspections by those

1-22     agencies.  The protocol must assign the required items for

1-23     inspection by each agency and facilitate the sharing of inspection

1-24     data and compliance history.

 2-1           Sec. 42.0443.  INSPECTION INFORMATION DATABASE.  (a)  If

 2-2     feasible using available information systems, the department shall

 2-3     establish a computerized database containing relevant inspection

 2-4     information on licensed day-care centers, licensed group day-care

 2-5     homes, and registered family homes from other state agencies and

 2-6     political subdivisions of the state.

 2-7           (b)  The department shall make the data collected by the

 2-8     department available to another state agency or political

 2-9     subdivision of the state for the purpose of administering programs

2-10     or enforcing laws within the jurisdiction of that agency or

2-11     subdivision.  If feasible using available information systems, the

2-12     department shall make the data directly available to the Texas

2-13     Department of Health, the Texas Department of Human Services, and

2-14     the Texas Workforce Commission through electronic information

2-15     systems.  The department, the Texas Department of Health, the Texas

2-16     Department of Human Services, and the Texas Workforce Commission

2-17     shall jointly plan the development of child-care inspection

2-18     databases that, to the extent feasible, are similar in their design

2-19     and architecture to promote the sharing of data.

2-20           (c)  The department may provide inspection data on licensed

2-21     day-care centers, licensed group day-care homes, or registered

2-22     family homes to the public if the department determines that

2-23     providing inspection data enhances consumer choice with respect to

2-24     those facilities.

2-25           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-26           (b)  Not later than February 1, 1998, the Department of

2-27     Protective and Regulatory Services, the Texas Department of Human

 3-1     Services, the Texas Department of Health, and the Texas Workforce

 3-2     Commission shall report the recommendations for the protocol for

 3-3     coordinated inspections provided by Section 42.0442, Human

 3-4     Resources Code, as added by this Act, to their respective governing

 3-5     boards or commissions.  The implementation of the protocol shall

 3-6     begin not later than June 1, 1998.

 3-7           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-8     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 3-9     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-10     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-11     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.