Group Homes Must Register With Police Or Pay $2,500

The text as introduced · 492 words

89R5913 EAS-D

By: West
S.B. No. 1402

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to group home registration with municipal police

departments or county sheriff's departments and welfare checks on

group home residents; providing a civil penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 769, Health and Safety Code, as added by

Chapter 141 (S.B. 188), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular

Session, 2023, is amended by adding Sections 769.004 and 769.005 to

read as follows:

Sec. 769.004. GROUP HOME REGISTRATION REQUIRED; CIVIL

PENALTY. (a) Not later than the 60th day after the date a group

home begins operating, the owner or operator of the group home

shall:

(1) for a group home located in a municipality,

register with:

(A) the municipality's police department; or

(B) the sheriff's department of the county in

which the group home is located if the municipality does not have a

police department; or

(2) for a group home located in the unincorporated

area of a county, register with the sheriff's department of the

county.

(b) The registration required by Subsection (a) must:

(1) be in the form and manner prescribed by the

municipal police department or sheriff's department, as

applicable; and

(2) include:

(A) contact information for the owner or operator

of the group home; and

(B) emergency contact information for another

group home representative if the contact information used during an

emergency is different than the contact information for the owner

or operator.

(c) A group home that violates Subsection (a) is liable for

a civil penalty of $2,500 for the first violation. Each day a

violation continues is considered a separate violation, and the

group home is liable for a civil penalty of $100 for each subsequent

day the violation continues.

(d) The municipality or county served by the police or

sheriff's department with which the group home is required to

register may bring an action to recover the civil penalty

authorized by Subsection (c). The municipality or county may

recover court costs and attorney's fees incurred in bringing the

action if the municipality or county prevails in the action.

Sec. 769.005. WELFARE CHECKS. Notwithstanding any other

law, a municipal police department or a sheriff's department may

conduct periodic welfare checks on residents of group homes

required to register with the department under this chapter.

SECTION 2. It is the intent of the 89th Legislature, Regular

Session, 2025, that the amendments made by this Act be harmonized

with another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,

relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted

codes.

SECTION 3. Not later than November 1, 2025, each group home

in this state that began operating before the effective date of this

Act shall register with a municipal police department or sheriff's

department, as applicable, as required by Section 769.004, Health

and Safety Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.