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(a) A boarding home facility permit holder's permit to operate a boarding home may be denied, revoked, suspended, or denied for renewal if the permit holder has been convicted of a criminal offense listed in subsections (c) or (d) of this section or if the permit holder has in its employ any person convicted of a criminal offense listed in subsection (c) or (d).
(b) The permit holder must complete any state or federal request and release forms that are required to obtain a criminal history report for the permit holder. In addition to the permit fee, the permit holder will provide funding to the county/municipality in a manner specified by the county/municipality to cover any fees imposed by state or federal agencies for the report.
(c) The following histories will disqualify a permit holder from obtaining a permit to operate a boarding home or will serve as a bar to being employed by a boarding home facility:
(1) Tex. Penal Code, Chapter 19 (criminal homicide);
(2) Tex. Penal Code, Chapter 20 (kidnapping and unlawful restraint);
(3) Tex. Penal Code, § 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of young child or children);
(4) Tex. Penal Code, § 21.08 (indecent exposure);
(5) Tex. Penal Code, § 21.11 (indecency with a child);
(6) Tex. Penal Code, § 21.12 (improper relationship between educator and student);
(7) Tex. Penal Code, § 21.15 (improper photography or visual recording);
(8) Tex. Penal Code, § 22.011 (sexual assault);
(9) Tex. Penal Code, § 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(10) Tex. Penal Code, § 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
(11) Tex. Penal Code, § 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly individual or disabled individual);
(12) Tex. Penal Code, § 22.041 (abandoning or endangering child);
(13) Tex. Penal Code, § 22.05 (deadly conduct);
(14) Tex. Penal Code, § 22.07 (terroristic threat);
(15) Tex. Penal Code, § 22.08 (aiding suicide);
(16) Tex. Penal Code, § 25.031 (agreement to abduct from custody);
(17) Tex. Penal Code, § 25.08 (sale or purchase of a child);
(18) Tex. Penal Code, § 28.02 (arson);
(19) Tex. Penal Code, § 29.02 (robbery);
(20) Tex. Penal Code, § 29.03 (aggravated robbery);
(21) Tex. Penal Code, § 30.02 (burglary);
(22) Tex. Penal Code, Chapter 31 (theft) that is punishable as a felony;
(23) Tex. Penal Code, § 33.021 (online solicitation of a minor);
(24) Tex. Penal Code, § 34.02 (money laundering);
(25) Tex. Penal Code, § 35A.02 (Medicaid fraud);
(26) Tex. Penal Code, § 42.09 (cruelty to animals); or
(27) A conviction under the laws of another state, federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense listed in this subsection.
(d) A person may not own a boarding home or be employed in a position the duties of which involve direct contact with a resident in a boarding home before the fifth anniversary of the date the person is convicted of any felony offense not listed in subsection (c) or any of the following non-felony offenses:
(1) An offense under Tex. Penal Code, § 22.01 (assault), that is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor;
(2) An offense under Tex. Penal Code, § 32.45 (misapplication of fiduciary property or property of a financial institution), that is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or a felony;
(3) An offense under Tex. Penal Code, § 32.46 (securing execution of a document by deception), that is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or a felony;
(4) An offense under Tex. Penal Code, § 37.12 (false identification as peace officer);
(5) An offense under Tex. Penal Code, § 42.01(a)(7), (8), or (9) (disorderly conduct); or
(6) A conviction under the laws of another state, federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense listed in this subsection.
(e) The permit holder must ensure that all employees, including volunteers who are not residents, have had a background check of conviction records, pending charges and disciplinary board decisions completed within the past two years, and is repeated every year thereafter, and that the individual is not disqualified under the provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of this section. The permit holder will immediately discharge any employee or volunteer whose criminal history check reveals conviction of a crime that bars employment or volunteer service.
(Ord. 25952-01-2023, § 1, passed 1-10-2023, eff. 4-15-2023)
(a) The permit holder, or a designee of the permit holder, shall:
(1) Complete and document an initial assessment of a resident within ten days after the date the resident begins residing at the facility, and conduct periodic monitoring thereafter, to ensure that the resident is capable of self-administering medication and completing basic elements of personal care as listed in subsections (b) and (c). The initial assessment will be used as a tool to determine if the needs of the resident can be provided by a boarding home facility or if the resident needs personal care services or medication administration that cannot be provided by the boarding home facility.
(2) Complete and document an annual assessment and conduct periodic monitoring to ensure that each resident is capable of self-administering medication and completing basic elements of personal care as listed in subsection (b) and (c). The annual assessment will be used as a tool to determine if the needs of the resident can continue to be provided by a boarding home facility or if the resident needs personal care services or medication administration that cannot be provided by the boarding home facility.
(b) Elements of the self-administration of medication to be assessed include the ability to perform each of the following tasks with little assistance:
(1) Identifying the name of the medication.
(2) Providing a reason for the medication (the owner or operator cannot force the resident to disclose a health condition that is the basis for the medication if the resident refuses).
(3) Distinguishing color or shape.
(4) Preparing the correct number of pills (dosage).
(5) Confirming the time to take medications.
(6) Reading labels.
(c) Elements of personal care to be assessed by the permit holder include but are not limited to the resident's ability to do the following:
(1) Eat independently.
(2) Bathe without assistance.
(3) Dress without assistance.
(4) Move and transfer independently.
(d) As a result of the initial assessment, or a subsequent annual assessment, if a permit holder finds that a resident is unable to perform basic elements of personal care as listed in subsection (c), or is in a state of self-neglect, and believes that a higher level of care is needed, the owner or operator shall:
(1) Contact the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services by phoning the state-wide intake division at 1-800-252-5400;
(2) Notify the resident's guardian or legally authorized representative;
(3) Notify a family member designated by the resident, the legal guardian, or the legally authorized representative; and
(4) Contact the appropriate health or human services authority to advise that the resident requires services beyond what can be provided by the boarding home facility.
(e) A state of self-neglect does not exist if the resident receives outside professional services that meet the resident's need for personal care or self-administration of medication. In these cases, the resident can remain in the boarding home facility provided that all needs for personal care and self-administration of medication are met.
(Ord. 25952-01-2023, § 1, passed 1-10-2023, eff. 4-15-2023)
(a) Regardless of a boarding home facility's status, a person who violates any provision of this article, or who fails to perform a duty required by this article, commits an offense.
(b) An owner, operator, employee, or other person in control of a permi tted or unpermitted boarding home commits an offense if he or she knowingly operates an unsafe facility that represents an immediate threat to the health or safety of a resident, including a situation that has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a resident.
(c) An owner, operator, employee, or volunteer shall not operate a boarding home facility in a manner that results in illegal or nuisance activities including, but not limited to, disturbance of the peace, illegal drug activity, harassment of passers-by, public urination, theft, assault, vandalism, littering, illegal parking, loud noise, disorderly conduct, lewd conduct, or police detention or arrests.
(d) An offense under this article is punishable by a fine not to exceed:
(1) Two thousand dollars ($2,000) and/or up to 180 days in jail in accordance with Tex. Health and Safety Code, § 260.0051, as amended, if a person operates a boarding home facility in the city without a valid permit in violation of this article;
(2) Two thousand dollars ($2,000) if the provision violated governs fire safety, public health, or sanitation; or
(3) Five hundred dollars ($500) for all other offenses.
(e) A separate offense occurs each day or part of a day the violation is committed, continued, or permitted.
(f) Emergency closing order.
(1) If the director finds a boarding home facility operating in violation of the standards prescribed by this article and the violations create an immediate threat to the health and safety of a resident in the facility, the director may order immediate closing of all or part of the facility.
(2) The order of immediate closure under § 20-499(d)(1) is effective immediately on providing written notice of the order to the owner or operator by facsimile, email or hand-delivery.
(3) The order of closure of all or part of a boarding home facility is valid for ten days after its effective date.
(4) If the permit holder does not promptly relocate the residents of the boarding home facility upon receiving the order of closure for that facility, the city shall provide for the relocation of those residents. If possible, the city will relocate those residents to a boarding home facility in the city for which there is a current valid permit. The relocation may not be to a facility with a more restrictive environment unless all other reasonable alternatives are exhausted. The director is authorized to seek to recover the cost of relocating the residents from the owner and operator of the closed facility.
(5) The director and the Office of the City Manager, or other appropriate technical board or committee, shall expedite any hearing or decision involving an emergency closing order issued under this section.
(g) The city attorney may petition a district court or a county court at law for civil penalties and for injunctive relief to restrain a continuing violation of the standards or permit requirements for a boarding home facility under this article if the violations create an immediate threat to the health or safety of the facility residents.
(h) The city attorney may petition a district court or a county court at law for civil penalties and for injunctive relief to restrain the continuing operation of a facility that is providing services inconsistent with those prescribed by this article and state law until such time as said facility becomes appropriately licensed by the State of Texas or meets the requirements to obtain a permit under this article.
(i) The remedies and procedures in this section and in other laws are cumulative law, and the use of any particular remedy or procedure does not prevent the enforcement of any other law.
(Ord. 25952-01-2023, § 1, passed 1-10-2023, eff. 4-15-2023)