Regular Session
Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS)
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BILL ANALYSIS |
| C.S.H.B. 4529 |
| By: Hefner |
| Human Services |
| Committee Report (Substituted) |
| BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, family child care providers in Texas that are certified by the military must also be licensed or registered by the state, even when only caring for eligible U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) affiliated children. The bill author has informed the committee that the state can improve access to family child care for military families by recognizing military family child care certification by the DOD, in lieu of state licensing. C.S.H.B. 4529 seeks to remove the necessity of state licensing for certain DOD-certified child care facilities and providers.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 4529 amends the Human Resources Code to exempt the following from the requirement for a person to be issued a license by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to operate a child-care facility or child-placing agency: ·a child-care facility located on a federal military base or other federal property that maintains a certificate to operate issued by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD); and ·a military family child-care provider that maintains a certificate to operate issued by the DOD.
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| EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
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| COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 4529 differs from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways by making a technical correction and conforming to certain bill drafting conventions. |
| H.B. No. 4529 | ||
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| relating to the regulation of child-care facilities that maintain a | ||
| certificate to operate issued by the United States Department of | ||
| Defense. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 42.041(b), Human Resources Code, is | ||
| amended to read as follows: | ||
| (b) This section does not apply to: | ||
| (1) a state-operated facility; | ||
| (2) an agency foster home; | ||
| (3) a facility that is operated in connection with a | ||
| shopping center, business, religious organization, or | ||
| establishment where children are cared for during short periods | ||
| while parents or persons responsible for the children are attending | ||
| religious services, shopping, or engaging in other activities, | ||
| including retreats or classes for religious instruction, on or near | ||
| the premises, that does not advertise as a child-care facility or | ||
| day-care center, and that informs parents that it is not licensed by | ||
| the state; | ||
| (4) a school or class for religious instruction that | ||
| does not last longer than two weeks and is conducted by a religious | ||
| organization during the summer months; | ||
| (5) a youth camp licensed by the Department of State | ||
| Health Services; | ||
| (6) a facility licensed, operated, certified, or | ||
| registered by another state agency; | ||
| (7) an educational facility that is accredited by the | ||
| Texas Education Agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and | ||
| Schools, or an accreditation body that is a member of the Texas | ||
| Private School Accreditation Commission and that operates | ||
| primarily for educational purposes for prekindergarten and above, a | ||
| before-school or after-school program operated directly by an | ||
| accredited educational facility, or a before-school or | ||
| after-school program operated by another entity under contract with | ||
| the educational facility, if the Texas Education Agency, the | ||
| Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or the other | ||
| accreditation body, as applicable, has approved the curriculum | ||
| content of the before-school or after-school program operated under | ||
| the contract; | ||
| (8) an educational facility that operates solely for | ||
| educational purposes for prekindergarten through at least grade | ||
| two, that does not provide custodial care for more than one hour | ||
| during the hours before or after the customary school day, and that | ||
| is a member of an organization that promulgates, publishes, and | ||
| requires compliance with health, safety, fire, and sanitation | ||
| standards equal to standards required by state, municipal, and | ||
| county codes; | ||
| (9) a kindergarten or preschool educational program | ||
| that is operated as part of a public school or a private school | ||
| accredited by the Texas Education Agency, that offers educational | ||
| programs through grade six, and that does not provide custodial | ||
| care during the hours before or after the customary school day; | ||
| (10) a family home, whether registered or listed; | ||
| (11) an educational facility that is integral to and | ||
| inseparable from its sponsoring religious organization or an | ||
| educational facility both of which do not provide custodial care | ||
| for more than two hours maximum per day, and that offers an | ||
| educational program in one or more of the following: | ||
| prekindergarten through at least grade three, elementary grades, or | ||
| secondary grades; | ||
| (12) an emergency shelter facility, other than a | ||
| facility that would otherwise require a license as a child-care | ||
| facility under this section, that provides shelter or care to a | ||
| minor and the minor's child or children, if any, under Section | ||
| 32.201, Family Code, if the facility: | ||
| (A) is currently under a contract with a state or | ||
| federal agency; or | ||
| (B) meets the requirements listed under Section | ||
| 51.005(b)(3); | ||
| (13) a juvenile detention facility certified under | ||
| Section 51.12, Family Code, a juvenile correctional facility | ||
| certified under Section 51.125, Family Code, a juvenile facility | ||
| providing services solely for the Texas Juvenile Justice | ||
| Department, or any other correctional facility for children | ||
| operated or regulated by another state agency or by a political | ||
| subdivision of the state; | ||
| (14) an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program | ||
| operated by a municipality provided the governing body of the | ||
| municipality annually adopts standards of care by ordinance after a | ||
| public hearing for such programs, that such standards are provided | ||
| to the parents of each program participant, and that the ordinances | ||
| shall include, at a minimum, staffing ratios, minimum staff | ||
| qualifications, minimum facility, health, and safety standards, | ||
| and mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the adopted local | ||
| standards; and further provided that parents be informed that the | ||
| program is not licensed by the state and the program may not be | ||
| advertised as a child-care facility; | ||
| (15) an annual youth camp held in a municipality with a | ||
| population of more than 1.5 million that operates for not more than | ||
| three months and that has been operated for at least 10 years by a | ||
| nonprofit organization that provides care for the homeless; | ||
| (16) a food distribution program that: | ||
| (A) serves an evening meal to children two years | ||
| of age or older; and | ||
| (B) is operated by a nonprofit food bank in a | ||
| nonprofit, religious, or educational facility for not more than two | ||
| hours a day on regular business days; | ||
| (17) a child-care facility that operates for less than | ||
| three consecutive weeks and less than 40 days in a period of 12 | ||
| months; | ||
| (18) a program: | ||
| (A) in which a child receives direct instruction | ||
| in a single skill, talent, ability, expertise, or proficiency; | ||
| (B) that does not provide services or offerings | ||
| that are not directly related to the single talent, ability, | ||
| expertise, or proficiency; | ||
| (C) that does not advertise or otherwise | ||
| represent that the program is a child-care facility, day-care | ||
| center, or licensed before-school or after-school program or that | ||
| the program offers child-care services; | ||
| (D) that informs the parent or guardian: | ||
| (i) that the program is not licensed by the | ||
| state; and | ||
| (ii) about the physical risks a child may | ||
| face while participating in the program; and | ||
| (E) that conducts background checks for all | ||
| program employees and volunteers who work with children in the | ||
| program using information that is obtained from the Department of | ||
| Public Safety; | ||
| (19) an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program | ||
| that: | ||
| (A) adopts standards of care, including | ||
| standards relating to staff ratios, staff training, health, and | ||
| safety; | ||
| (B) provides a mechanism for monitoring and | ||
| enforcing the standards and receiving complaints from parents of | ||
| enrolled children; | ||
| (C) does not advertise as or otherwise represent | ||
| the program as a child-care facility, day-care center, or licensed | ||
| before-school or after-school program or that the program offers | ||
| child-care services; | ||
| (D) informs parents that the program is not | ||
| licensed by the state; | ||
| (E) is organized as a nonprofit organization or | ||
| is located on the premises of a participant's residence; | ||
| (F) does not accept any remuneration other than a | ||
| nominal annual membership fee; | ||
| (G) does not solicit donations as compensation or | ||
| payment for any good or service provided as part of the program; and | ||
| (H) conducts background checks for all program | ||
| employees and volunteers who work with children in the program | ||
| using information that is obtained from the Department of Public | ||
| Safety; | ||
| (20) a living arrangement in a caretaker's home | ||
| involving one or more children or a sibling group, excluding | ||
| children who are related to the caretaker, in which the caretaker: | ||
| (A) had a prior relationship with the child or | ||
| sibling group or other family members of the child or sibling group; | ||
| (B) does not care for more than one unrelated | ||
| child or sibling group; | ||
| (C) does not receive compensation or solicit | ||
| donations for the care of the child or sibling group; and | ||
| (D) has a written agreement with the parent to | ||
| care for the child or sibling group; | ||
| (21) a living arrangement in a caretaker's home | ||
| involving one or more children or a sibling group, excluding | ||
| children who are related to the caretaker, in which: | ||
| (A) the department is the managing conservator of | ||
| the child or sibling group; | ||
| (B) the department placed the child or sibling | ||
| group in the caretaker's home; and | ||
| (C) the caretaker had a long-standing and | ||
| significant relationship with the child or sibling group, or the | ||
| family of the child or sibling group, before the child or sibling | ||
| group was placed with the caretaker; | ||
| (22) a living arrangement in a caretaker's home | ||
| involving one or more children or a sibling group, excluding | ||
| children who are related to the caretaker, in which the child is in | ||
| the United States on a time-limited visa under the sponsorship of | ||
| the caretaker or of a sponsoring organization; | ||
| (23) a facility operated by a nonprofit organization | ||
| that: | ||
| (A) does not otherwise operate as a child-care | ||
| facility that is required to be licensed under this section; | ||
| (B) provides emergency shelter and care for not | ||
| more than 15 days to children 13 years of age or older but younger | ||
| than 18 years of age who are victims of human trafficking alleged | ||
| under Section 20A.02, Penal Code; | ||
| (C) is located in a municipality with a | ||
| population of at least 600,000 that is in a county on an | ||
| international border; and | ||
| (D) meets one of the following criteria: | ||
| (i) is licensed by, or operates under an | ||
| agreement with, a state or federal agency to provide shelter and | ||
| care to children; or | ||
| (ii) meets the eligibility requirements for | ||
| a contract under Section 51.005(b)(3); | ||
| (24) a facility that provides respite care exclusively | ||
| for a local mental health authority under a contract with the local | ||
| mental health authority; [ |
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| (25) a living arrangement in a caretaker's home | ||
| involving one or more children or a sibling group in which the | ||
| caretaker: | ||
| (A) has a written authorization agreement under | ||
| Chapter 34, Family Code, with the parent of each child or sibling | ||
| group to care for each child or sibling group; | ||
| (B) does not care for more than six children, | ||
| excluding children who are related to the caretaker; and | ||
| (C) does not receive compensation for caring for | ||
| any child or sibling group; | ||
| (26) a child-care facility located on a federal | ||
| military base or other federal property that maintains a | ||
| certificate to operate issued by the United States Department of | ||
| Defense; or | ||
| (27) a military family child-care provider that | ||
| maintains a certificate to operate issued by the United States | ||
| Department of Defense. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
| TO: | Honorable Lacey Hull, Chair, House Committee on Human Services |
| FROM: | Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB4529 by Hefner (Relating to provisional child care licensing.), As Introduced |
| Source Agencies: | 529 Health and Human Services Commission |
| LBB Staff: | JMc, NPe, ER, LBl |
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Common questions about HB4529
HB4529 immediately deregulates child-care facilities operating on federal military property or holding a U. S. Department of Defense (DoD) certificate, removing them from Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) jurisdiction.
HB4529 was authored by Texas Representative Cole Hefner during the Regular Session.
HB4529 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
HB4529 is enforced by Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).
The compliance urgency for HB4529 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
The cost impact of HB4529 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
HB4529 addresses topics including day care, military & veterans, minors and minors--health & safety.
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