Amend SB 66 (house committee printing) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill as appropriate:

SECTION ____.  (a) The Protect Our Kids Commission is composed of six members appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be designated as presiding officer, three members appointed by the lieutenant governor, three members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one member with experience in behavioral health and substance abuse appointed by the commissioner of the Department of State Health Services, one member who represents the Department of Family and Protective Services appointed by the commissioner of the department, and one member who represents the Office of Title V and Family Health of the Department of State Health Services appointed by the office director.

(b)  Each member appointed to the commission must have experience relating to the study of the relationship between child protective services and child welfare services and child abuse and neglect fatalities.

(c)  In making appointments to the commission, each appointing authority shall make every effort to select individuals whose expertise is not already represented by other members of the commission and who reflect the geographical, cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity of the state.

(d)  Members of the commission serve without compensation and are not entitled to reimbursement for expenses.

(e)  The commission shall study the relationship between child protective services and child welfare services and the rate of child abuse and neglect fatalities.

(f)  The commission shall:

(1)  identify promising practices and evidence-based strategies to address and reduce fatalities from child abuse and neglect;

(2)  develop recommendations and identify resources necessary to reduce fatalities from child abuse and neglect for implementation by state and local agencies and private sector and nonprofit organizations, including recommendations to implement a comprehensive statewide strategy for reducing those fatalities; and

(3)  develop guidelines for the types of information that should be tracked to improve interventions to prevent fatalities from child abuse and neglect.

(g)  The commission may accept gifts and grants of money, property, and services from any source to be used to conduct a function of the commission.

(h)  Not later than December 1, 2015, the commission shall submit to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives a report containing:

(1)  the commission's findings and a complete explanation of each of the commission's recommendations;

(2)  proposed legislation necessary to implement the recommendations made in the report; and

(3)  any administrative recommendations proposed by the commission.

(i)  The commission is not subject to Chapter 2110, Government Code.

(j)  The Protect Our Kids Commission is abolished and this section expires December 31, 2015.