HB1403

Regular Session

Relating to the collection and confidentiality of information regarding firearms in agency foster homes; creating a civil penalty.

CriticalImmediate action required

Low Cost

Effective:2025-06-20

Enforcing Agencies

Office of the Attorney General • Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) • Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority vote).
Compliance Deadline: June 20, 2025. Agencies must cease collecting specific firearm data immediately.
Agency Rulemaking: HHSC and DFPS will update Minimum Standards to reflect this statute. However, the statutory prohibition is self-executing; do not wait for agency rule publication to update your forms.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Issue a Directive: Send an immediate memorandum to all intake and casework staff stopping the collection of firearm make/model data.
2. Sanitize Forms: Remove all fields requesting specific weapon details from digital and paper intake packets by June 20, 2025.
3. Redact Active Files: Implement a project to redact or mask legacy weapon inventories in current foster home files to prevent prohibited "use."
4. Notify Insurers: Inform your liability insurance carrier of the change in documentation standards regarding home safety assessments.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Foster Parent Agreements: Review and amend standard contracts. Clauses requiring foster parents to report "all weapon purchases" or provide updated inventories must be stricken or modified to require reporting only changes in the *presence* of firearms (e.g., going from zero firearms to one).
State Provider Contracts: Anticipate amendments from DFPS/HHSC removing requirements to document specific weapon types in home studies.

Hiring/Training

Caseworker Training: Immediate retraining is required for all staff conducting home screenings and post-placement visits. Staff must be instructed to verify *storage safety* (locks, separate ammo) without recording the make, model, or caliber of the weapons observed.
Liability Defense: Legal and risk management teams must adjust negligence defense strategies, as they can no longer rely on specific weapon inventories to prove risk assessment diligence.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Form Revision: Immediately audit and revise all Intake Applications, Home Study templates, and Recertification checklists. Remove columns or fields for "Weapon Type," "Serial Number," "Caliber," or "Model." Replace with a single checkbox: "Firearms Present: [Yes/No]."
Legacy Data: The law prohibits the *use* of specific firearm information. You must segregate or redact existing data fields containing specific weapon inventories in active files to ensure this data is not inadvertently used in placement decisions.
Confidentiality: Any firearm data currently held is now statutorily confidential and exempt from Public Information Act requests.

Fees & Costs

Civil Penalties: There are no new licensing fees, but the law introduces a $5,000 civil penalty per violation. A "violation" could be interpreted per form or per home, creating significant financial exposure for systemic non-compliance.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

Definition of "Type": The statute bans asking for "specific types." It is currently unclear if broad categories (e.g., distinguishing between a "handgun" and a "long gun" for storage size purposes) are permissible. *Recommendation: Adopt a conservative approach and collect no descriptive data until HHSC clarifies via rulemaking.*
"Use" of Legacy Data: The law prohibits "using" obtained information. It is ambiguous whether the mere existence of an unredacted file containing a weapon list constitutes "use" if a placement decision is later challenged. *Recommendation: Redact active files to eliminate this risk.*

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCivil Remedies & Liabilities Family Family--child Protection Weapons Foster Care Family & Protective Services, Department of Health & Human Services Commission

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1403

By: Harris

Human Services

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that it is important for the state to encourage families to foster children and that one way of doing so is to remove any unnecessary roadblocks that may prevent families from exercising their constitutional rights responsibly. C.S.H.B. 1403 seeks to ensure that agency foster homes will not be required to provide a list of firearms present in the home and that any information about such firearms will not be used against them by the state or by a child-placing agency.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

C.S.H.B. 1403 amends the Human Resources Code to do the following:

·prohibit the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), and a child-placing agency that contracts with DFPS from requiring an agency foster home to disclose the specific types of firearms that are present in the home or to notify the child-placing agency if there is any change in the types of firearms that are present in the home;

·prohibit HHSC, DFPS, and the child-placing agency from using any information it has or obtains relating to the types of firearms that are present in an agency foster home for any purpose other than determining whether there are firearms present in the home;

·make a child-placing agency that uses information in violation of that prohibition liable to the state for a civil penalty in an amount capped at $5,000 for each violation;

·authorize the attorney general to bring an action to recover such a civil penalty; and

·make confidential and exempt from disclosure under state public information law information relating to the types of firearms that are present in an agency foster home.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1403 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Whereas the introduced version's provisions applied to information relating to the types of weapons, including firearms, that are present in an agency foster home, the substitute version's provisions apply to information relating to the types of firearms that are present in an agency foster home.

House Authors

Rep. Cody HarrisRepublican · Primary Author

Joint Authors

Coauthors (6)

Senate Sponsors

Sen. Mayes MiddletonRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Cosponsors (2)

Bill Text(with markup)

H.B. No. 1403

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the collection and confidentiality of information
	regarding firearms in agency foster homes; creating a civil
	penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 42.042, Human Resources Code, is amended
	by adding Subsections (e-6), (e-7), (e-8), and (e-9) to read as
	follows:
	(e-6) The commission, the department, and a child-placing
	agency that contracts with the department may not require an agency
	foster home to:
	(1) disclose the specific types of firearms that are
	present in the home; or
	(2) notify the child-placing agency if there is any
	change in the types of firearms that are present in the home.
	(e-7) If the commission, the department, or a child-placing
	agency that contracts with the department has or obtains
	information relating to the types of firearms that are present in an
	agency foster home, the commission, department, or child-placing
	agency may not use that information for any purpose other than
	determining whether there are firearms present in the home.
	(e-8) A child-placing agency that violates Subsection (e-7)
	is liable to the state for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed
	$5,000 for each violation. The attorney general may bring an action
	to recover a civil penalty authorized under this subsection.
	(e-9) Information relating to the types of firearms that are
	present in an agency foster home is confidential and is not subject
	to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


April 25, 2025

TO:	Honorable Lacey Hull, Chair, House Committee on Human Services

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB1403 by Harris (Relating to the collection and confidentiality of information regarding weapons in agency foster homes; creating a civil penalty.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would prohibit the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and child-placing agencies from requiring foster homes to disclose the specific types of weapons, including firearms, present in the home. Additionally, the bill would restrict the use of any obtained information solely to determine the presence of weapons. Lastly, the bill would add a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for each violation by a child-placing agency and allow the attorney general to bring an action to cover the civil penalty.

Based on information from the Comptroller of Public Accounts, revenue from the civil penalty cannot be determined.

It is assumed any costs to DFPS, HHSC, the Office of Attorney General, and the Comptroller of Public Accounts could be absorbed within existing appropriations.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

302 Office of the Attorney General, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of

LBB Staff:

JMc, NPe, AN, ER

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB1403

What does Texas HB1403 do?

Texas law now strictly prohibits Child-Placing Agencies (CPAs) and state agencies from requiring foster parents to disclose specific types, makes, or models of firearms in their homes. Agencies must immediately transition to a binary "presence only" verification standard; failure to do so exposes the agency to civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation enforced by the Attorney General. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority vote).

Who authored HB1403?

HB1403 was authored by Texas Representative Cody Harris during the Regular Session.

When was HB1403 signed into law?

HB1403 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce HB1403?

HB1403 is enforced by Office of the Attorney General, Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).

How urgent is compliance with HB1403?

The compliance urgency for HB1403 is rated as "critical". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB1403?

The cost impact of HB1403 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB1403 address?

HB1403 addresses topics including civil remedies & liabilities, family, family--child protection, weapons and foster care.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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