Bill Text: TX HB459 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to the placement and use of video recording equipment in certain child-care facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-11 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB459 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB459-Comm_Sub.html
| 86R20148 MCK-D | |||
| By: Hernandez | H.B. No. 459 | ||
| Substitute the following for H.B. No. 459: | |||
| By: Hinojosa | C.S.H.B. No. 459 | ||
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| relating to the placement and use of video recording equipment in | ||
| certain child-care facilities. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, | ||
| is amended by adding Section 42.0429 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 42.0429. VIDEO SURVEILLANCE OF DAY-CARE CENTER. (a) | ||
| This section applies only to a day-care center that provides care | ||
| for children who are two years of age or younger. | ||
| (b) Each day-care center shall: | ||
| (1) place video recording equipment in each area of | ||
| the center occupied by children who are two years of age or younger; | ||
| and | ||
| (2) record each area described by Subdivision (1) any | ||
| time children who are two years of age or younger are present in the | ||
| area. | ||
| (c) If a day-care center is inside of or connected to a | ||
| school, office building, or other facility, the day-care center is | ||
| only required to record areas used by the center as classrooms. | ||
| (d) A day-care center is not required to operate video | ||
| recording equipment required by this section when children are not | ||
| present in the day-care center. | ||
| (e) Except as provided by Subsections (f) and (g), video | ||
| recording equipment required by this section must visually monitor | ||
| and record video in all areas of the day-care center occupied by | ||
| children who are two years of age or younger. | ||
| (f) The inside of a bathroom or any area in the day-care | ||
| center other than the main instructional area of a classroom in | ||
| which a child's clothes or diapers are changed may not be visually | ||
| monitored, except for incidental coverage of a minor portion of a | ||
| bathroom or changing area because of the layout of the center. | ||
| (g) A day-care center may temporarily turn off video | ||
| recording equipment that is visually monitoring the main | ||
| instructional area of a classroom while that area is used by | ||
| children to change clothes or by staff to change a child's clothes | ||
| or diaper. The day-care center shall resume recording the main | ||
| instructional area once the area is no longer used for those | ||
| purposes. | ||
| (h) Except as provided by Subsection (i), a day-care center | ||
| shall retain video recorded from video recording equipment required | ||
| by this section for at least 30 days after the date the video is | ||
| recorded. | ||
| (i) If a person described by Subsection (j) requests to view | ||
| video recorded from video recording equipment required by this | ||
| section, a day-care center shall retain the video from the date the | ||
| request is received until the person views the video and a | ||
| determination is made as to whether the video documents an alleged | ||
| incident. If the video documents an alleged incident, the center | ||
| shall retain the video until the alleged incident is resolved, | ||
| including the exhaustion of all appeals. | ||
| (j) A video of a child recorded from video recording | ||
| equipment required by this section is confidential and may not be | ||
| released or viewed except as provided by this subsection or | ||
| Subsection (k). A day-care center shall release a video for viewing | ||
| by: | ||
| (1) an employee who is involved in an alleged incident | ||
| that is documented by the video and has been reported to the | ||
| commission; | ||
| (2) a parent of a child who is involved in an alleged | ||
| incident that is documented by the video and has been reported to | ||
| the commission, on request of the parent; or | ||
| (3) appropriate commission, department, or law | ||
| enforcement personnel as part of: | ||
| (A) an investigation of a report of alleged or | ||
| suspected abuse or neglect of a child or of a violation of a | ||
| licensing standard; or | ||
| (B) a monitoring inspection. | ||
| (k) A contractor or employee performing job duties relating | ||
| to the installation, operation, or maintenance of video recording | ||
| equipment or the retention of recorded videos who incidentally | ||
| views a video is not in violation of Subsection (j). | ||
| (l) The executive commissioner may adopt rules to implement | ||
| and administer this section. | ||
| SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 42.0429, Human | ||
| Resources Code, as added by this Act, a day-care center is not | ||
| required to be equipped with video recording equipment as required | ||
| by that section before January 1, 2020. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
