BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 353

By: West

Human Services

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Texas law allows certain emergency shelters to offer care to unaccompanied minors and their children, if any, for up to 14 days in an emergency situation. Currently, such an emergency shelter is exempt from a requirement to obtain a license to operate a child-care facility or child-placing agency, but only if the facility is providing shelter to minor mothers who are the sole support of their natural children. Interested parties note that these laws are conflicting, allowing a facility to provide emergency care to minors without children only if the emergency shelter is licensed. S.B. 353 amends current law relating to the ability of an emergency shelter facility to provide shelter or care without a license to an unaccompanied minor.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 353 amends the Human Resources Code to specify that the exemption for an emergency shelter facility providing shelter to certain minors from the requirement to obtain a license issued by the Department of Family and Protective Services to operate a child-care facility or child-placing agency applies to a facility, other than a facility that would otherwise require a license as a child-care facility, that provides shelter or care to a minor and the minor's child or children, if any, rather than a facility providing shelter to minor mothers who are the sole support of their natural children, and establishes that such an exemption only applies if the facility is currently under a contract with a state or federal agency or meets the contract eligibility requirements for family violence centers relating to the provision of certain services to victims of family violence.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.