Legislative Blog
J.B. Williams, J.D.
10 bills that modify the Human Resources
A Blog about 88th Legislature Laws
A Bit of Background
The following backgrounds help summarize the author's views on both the general topic: Texas and more specifically 88th Legislature Laws as it relates to that topic.
Brief Summary of Texas
Texas is truly a Republic. There are a multitude of items that to modify the state constitution must be modified. So there are times when Constitutional amendments are on the voting ballots. While I sometimes abhor the wording, the concept that all of those legally able to vote in Texas must vote on the change is a good one. And bills in Texas are generally short, making it easier for everyone to understand.
Summary of 88th Legislature Laws
The blogs here will discuss the laws passed by Congress and signed into law, as well as those, passed by Congress and approved by the voters to become law. There are a multitude of laws and each time I post blogs I will notate here the current effective date if it is different from prior blogs. I am currently posting bills that took effect immediately - those bills total 336. I am currently posting regarding larger bills, so each blog covers a single bill.
Blog Summary
Covers 46 pages of bills.
HB 54 - 3 pages
HB 1287 - 3 pages
HB 4164 - 3 pages
HB 4170 - 4 pages
HB 4888 - 3 pages
HB 5309 - 2 pages
HB 5370 - 2 pages
SB 182 - 8 pages
SB 576 - 3 pages
SB 1098 - 4 pages
SB 1242 - 2 pages
SB 1327 - 3 pages
SB - 2 pages
SB 2261 - 4 pages
10 bills that modify the Human Resources
Published: 2025-11-26
Multiple short modifications
HB 54 - Under Medicaid, long-term care recipients now have $75, previously $60, for personal needs.
HB 1287 - When applying or re-applying for food stamps (SNAP), the value of a first vehicle is excluded up to $22,500 in value and for a second vehicle is excluded up to $8,700 in value. This is good because you don't want recipients to have to sell a vehicle and cause greater difficulty getting to/from a job. But it does limit the value of the vehicle they can own before a portion may be included when determining eligibility.
HB 1464 - This increases the penalty for someone intentionally or knowingly representing an animal as a service animal when they know they are not one. The fine goes from $300 previously to $1,000 currently. The 30 hours of community service remains unchanged.
HB 4170 - A child-care or child-placement agency administrator license that is revoked or refused renewal is not eligible to re-apply for 5 years. Previously this was true for revocations but not refusal to renew.
HB 4888 - Adds non-opioid treatments to the list of those permitted reimbursement under Medicaid.
HB 5309 - Excludes the Galveston County Juvenile Board from meeting requirements for other Galveston County Boards.
HB 5370 - The juvenile board of Navarro County now includes the judges of the county courts at law. Previously it included only the county judge, the district judges, and the criminal district attorney. Five public members could be included and still can.
SB 182 - An employee has the duty to report conduct that constitutes a criminal offense by an employee or contractor against an individual receiving services. Failure to report is a Class A misdemeanor. An employee may not be punished or fired for reporting criminal behavior of another. Sovereign immunity is waived under these circumstances, thereby permitting a lawsuit by a fired employee.
SB 576 -For elder abuse, any report received by CPS of alleged abuse or exploitation, they must immediately notify the appropriate law enforcement agency.
It also establishes a rebuttable presumption that use or transfer of an elderly individuals money is an offense if the individual has been diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimer's disease or related disorder.
SB 1098 - This grants a parent or guardian of a child at a child-care facility to enter the facility without prior notice, report a facility, review public records of a facility, review reports on the facility, require a facility to follow a court order limiting access by another parent or guardian, inspect any video recordings alleging abuse or neglect involving their child, receive copies of the facilities policies, review staff training records and curriculum with prior notice, and not be retaliated against for doing any of these.
This is more of the parents rights being listed in attempts to provide enforcement. All of these should already have been understood terms but may have been not honored in a small minority of cases. This is one of the areas where I lean toward if these are an issue for the facility then you should not do business with them. It comes down to more of 'we'll put these in place' so you don't have to take the effort to ensure them. However, making them law doesn't mean they will be honored everywhere. But they might convince some parents to not ask and make the assumption.
SB 1242 - A director of a child-care facility may provide training.
SB 1327 - Permits day-care facilities to hire interim directors for up to 12 months, as long as they meet all requirements other than education. This allows for the interim directors to finalized education while holding the position.
This is nice because if you have an employee who is almost qualified or someone who is working toward the education, they can be employed while finishing up their education.
SB 1469 - When applying for a job at a daycare, having been charged with an inappropriate relationship with a minor must be disclosed. Failing to do so is grounds for termination. If the charge is determined to be false than the individual may still be hired.
SB 2261 - Those investigating or providing services to elderly or persons with disability must undergo training, or in the least be in process of the training.
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