88R9302 BDP-F
 
  By: Hull H.B. No. 2716
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to neglect of a child and the grounds for termination of
  the parent-child relationship and possession of a child by the
  Department of Family and Protective Services.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
  SECTION 1.  Section 161.001(c), Family Code, as amended by
  Chapters 8 (H.B. 567) and 29 (H.B. 2536), Acts of the 87th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  Evidence of one or more of the following does not
  constitute clear and convincing evidence sufficient for a court to
  make a finding under Subsection (b) and order termination of the
  parent-child relationship:
               (1)  the parent homeschooled the child;
               (2)  the parent is economically disadvantaged;
               (3)  the parent has been charged with a nonviolent
  misdemeanor offense other than:
                     (A)  an offense under Title 5, Penal Code;
                     (B)  an offense under Title 6, Penal Code; or
                     (C)  an offense that involves family violence, as
  defined by Section 71.004 of this code;
               (4)  the parent provided or administered low-THC
  cannabis to a child for whom the low-THC cannabis was prescribed
  under Chapter 169, Occupations Code;
               (5)  the parent declined immunization for the child for
  reasons of conscience, including a religious belief; [or]
               (6)  the parent sought an opinion from more than one
  medical provider relating to the child's medical care, transferred
  the child's medical care to a new medical provider, or transferred
  the child to another health care facility;
               (7) [(6)]  the parent allowed the child to engage in
  independent activities that are appropriate and typical for the
  child's level of maturity, physical condition, developmental
  abilities, or culture; or
               (8)  the parent refused to administer or consent to the
  administration of a psychotropic medication to the child, or to
  consent to any other psychiatric or psychological treatment of the
  child, unless the refusal:
                     (A)  presents a substantial risk of death,
  disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
                     (B)  results in an observable and material
  impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child.
  SECTION 2.  Section 261.001(4), Family Code, as amended by
  Chapters 8 (H.B. 567) and 29 (H.B. 2536), Acts of the 87th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to
  read as follows:
               (4)  "Neglect" means an act or failure to act by a
  person responsible for a child's care, custody, or welfare
  evidencing the person's blatant disregard for the consequences of
  the act or failure to act that results in harm to the child or that
  creates an immediate danger to the child's physical health or
  safety and:
                     (A)  includes:
                           (i)  the leaving of a child in a situation
  where the child would be exposed to an immediate danger of physical
  or mental harm, without arranging for necessary care for the child,
  and the demonstration of an intent not to return by a parent,
  guardian, or managing or possessory conservator of the child;
                           (ii)  the following acts or omissions by a
  person:
                                 (a)  placing a child in or failing to
  remove a child from a situation that a reasonable person would
  realize requires judgment or actions beyond the child's level of
  maturity, physical condition, or mental abilities and that results
  in bodily injury or an immediate danger of harm to the child;
                                 (b)  failing to seek, obtain, or follow
  through with medical care for a child, with the failure resulting in
  or presenting an immediate danger of death, disfigurement, or
  bodily injury or with the failure resulting in an observable and
  material impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of
  the child;
                                 (c)  the failure to provide a child
  with food, clothing, or shelter necessary to sustain the life or
  health of the child, excluding failure caused primarily by
  financial inability unless relief services had been offered and
  refused;
                                 (d)  placing a child in or failing to
  remove the child from a situation in which the child would be
  exposed to an immediate danger of sexual conduct harmful to the
  child; or
                                 (e)  placing a child in or failing to
  remove the child from a situation in which the child would be
  exposed to acts or omissions that constitute abuse under
  Subdivision (1)(E), (F), (G), (H), or (K) committed against another
  child;
                           (iii)  the failure by the person responsible
  for a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to
  return to the child's home without arranging for the necessary care
  for the child after the child has been absent from the home for any
  reason, including having been in residential placement or having
  run away; or
                           (iv)  a negligent act or omission by an
  employee, volunteer, or other individual working under the auspices
  of a facility or program, including failure to comply with an
  individual treatment plan, plan of care, or individualized service
  plan, that causes or may cause substantial emotional harm or
  physical injury to, or the death of, a child served by the facility
  or program as further described by rule or policy; and
                     (B)  does not include:
                           (i)  the refusal by a person responsible for
  a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to remain in
  or return to the child's home resulting in the placement of the
  child in the conservatorship of the department if:
                                 (a)  the child has a severe emotional
  disturbance;
                                 (b)  the person's refusal is based
  solely on the person's inability to obtain mental health services
  necessary to protect the safety and well-being of the child; and
                                 (c)  the person has exhausted all
  reasonable means available to the person to obtain the mental
  health services described by Sub-subparagraph (b); [or]
                           (ii)  allowing the child to engage in
  independent activities that are appropriate and typical for the
  child's level of maturity, physical condition, developmental
  abilities, or culture;
                           (iii) [(ii)]  a decision by a person
  responsible for a child's care, custody, or welfare to:
                                 (a)  obtain an opinion from more than
  one medical provider relating to the child's medical care;
                                 (b)  transfer the child's medical care
  to a new medical provider; or
                                 (c)  transfer the child to another
  health care facility; or
                           (iv)  the refusal by a person responsible
  for a child's care, custody, or welfare to administer or consent to
  the administration of a psychotropic medication to the child, or to
  consent to any other psychiatric or psychological treatment of the
  child, unless the refusal:
                                 (a)  presents a substantial risk of
  death, disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
                                 (b)  results in an observable and
  material impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of
  the child.
         SECTION 3.  Section 262.116(a), Family Code, as amended by
  Chapters 8 (H.B. 567) and 29 (H.B. 2536), Acts of the 87th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The Department of Family and Protective Services may not
  take possession of a child under this subchapter based on evidence
  that the parent:
               (1)  homeschooled the child;
               (2)  is economically disadvantaged;
               (3)  has been charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor
  offense other than:
                     (A)  an offense under Title 5, Penal Code;
                     (B)  an offense under Title 6, Penal Code; or
                     (C)  an offense that involves family violence, as
  defined by Section 71.004 of this code;
               (4)  provided or administered low-THC cannabis to a
  child for whom the low-THC cannabis was prescribed under Chapter
  169, Occupations Code;
               (5)  declined immunization for the child for reasons of
  conscience, including a religious belief; [or]
               (6)  sought an opinion from more than one medical
  provider relating to the child's medical care, transferred the
  child's medical care to a new medical provider, or transferred the
  child to another health care facility;
               (7) [(6)]  allowed the child to engage in independent
  activities that are appropriate and typical for the child's level
  of maturity, physical condition, developmental abilities, or
  culture; [or]
               (8) [(7)]  tested positive for marihuana, unless the
  department has evidence that the parent's use of marihuana has
  caused significant impairment to the child's physical or mental
  health or emotional development; or
               (9)  refused to administer or consent to the
  administration of a psychotropic medication to the child, or to
  consent to any other psychiatric or psychological treatment of the
  child, unless the refusal:
                     (A)  presents a substantial risk of death,
  disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
                     (B)  results in an observable and material
  impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child.
         SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  a suit filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services on
  or after the effective date of this Act. A suit filed by the
  department before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the suit was filed, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
  over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
  relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
  codes.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.