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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.