79R3564 UM-D
By: Villarreal H.B. No. 936
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to liability insurance requirements for and limited
liability of certain child-care facilities and child-placing
agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 42.049, Human Resources Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (e) and (f), a [A]
license holder shall maintain liability insurance coverage in the
amount of $300,000 for each occurrence of negligence. An insurance
policy or contract required under this section must cover injury to
a child that occurs while the child is on the premises of the
license holder or in the care of the license holder.
(f) A license holder shall maintain liability insurance
coverage in the amount of $100,000 for each occurrence of
negligence if the license holder is a nonprofit child-care facility
or child-placing agency that:
(1) is accredited by a national accreditation agency,
such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations or the Council on Accreditation, in accordance with
rules adopted by the executive commissioner; and
(2) contracts with the department to provide services
to children in foster care and those children represent not less
than 25 percent of the total children served annually by the license
holder.
SECTION 2. (a) Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 42.0491 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.0491. LIMIT ON LIABILITY OF CERTAIN LICENSE
HOLDERS. (a) In an action on a liability claim in which a final
judgment is rendered against a license holder to which Section
42.049(f) applies, the limit of civil liability for noneconomic
damages inclusive of all persons and entities for which vicarious
liability theories may apply is a total amount, including
prejudgment interest, not to exceed $250,000 for each person and
$500,000 for each single occurrence of bodily injury or death.
(b) The limitation on civil liability does not apply to
reckless conduct or intentional, wilful, or wanton misconduct of a
license holder.
(b) Section 42.0491, Human Resources Code, as added by this
section, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after
the effective date of this Act. An action that accrued before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the
action immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) Section 42.0491, Human Resources Code, as added by this
section, is an exercise of authority under Section 66(c), Article
III, Texas Constitution, and takes effect only if this Act receives
a vote of three-fifths of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 66(e) of that article.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.