HBA-NLM H.B. 2744 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2744 By: Wise Human Services 3/21/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the required staff to child ratio for Texas day-care centers is 1:19 for 4-year-olds. The national average is reported to be 1:12. The purpose of this bill is to improve the quality of daycare facilities by requiring the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (department) to prescribe minimum initial and annual training standards for employees of day care facilities and to ensure that those standards are at least as comprehensive as the reported national average. H.B. 2744 requires the department, by rule, to prescribe minimum initial and annual training standards for an employee of a regulated child-care facility. This bill also provides that the department must ensure that the initial and annual training standards are at least as comprehensive as the average national standards for each type of facility. It requires the department, in adopting standards for minimum staff ratios, to require that each day-care center maintain a staff-to-child ratio of at least 1:12 for children who are four years of age. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority previously delegated to the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services is modified in SECTION 1 (Section 42.042, Human Resources Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 42.042, Human Resources Code, by amending Subsection (p) and by adding Subsection (q), as follows: (p) Requires the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (department), by rule, to prescribe minimum initial and annual training standards for an employee of a regulated child-care facility. Requires the department to ensure that the initial and annual training standards are at least as comprehensive as the average national standards for each type of facility. (q) Requires the department, in adopting standards for minimum staff ratios, to require that each day-care center maintain a staff-to-child ratio of at least 1:12 for children who are four years of age. SECTION 2. Requires the department to adopt the standards required by Section 42.042, Human Resources Code, as amended by this Act, not later than January 1, 2000. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: 90 days after adjournment.