By:  Zaffirini                                                            S.B. No. 118



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to establishing child fatality review teams.                         
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Sections 264.505(a) and (b), Family Code, are 
amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The commissioners court of each county shall appoint a 
[A] multidisciplinary and multiagency child fatality review team 
[may be established] for the [a] county to review child deaths in 
that county.  The commissioners court of [A review team for] a 
county with a population of less than 50,000 may join with an 
adjacent county or counties to establish a combined review team.
	(b)  Any person who is appointed to a child fatality [may be a 
member of a] review team [under Subsection (c)] may [initiate the 
establishment of a review team and] call the first organizational 
meeting of the team.
	SECTION 2.  (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                       
	(b)  Not later than December 1, 2003, the commissioners court 
for a county that does not have a child fatality review team shall 
appoint a child fatality review team for the county.
	(c)  The change in law made by this Act does not affect a 
child fatality review team that exists on the effective date of this 
Act.