Latest news with #SenateBill1403
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
These 5 KXAN investigations sparked bills landing on the Texas governor's desk
AUSTIN (KXAN) – This session, Texas lawmakers filed around 50 bills sparked by or following KXAN investigations on a wide range of important topics from schools and health care to criminal justice and constitutional law. Many of those advanced far in the legislative process, while a handful even made it the governor's desk and will likely become law. Two bills related to the state's 'Do Not Hire' registries made it to the governor. He already signed Senate Bill 1437 into law, allowing the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to designate former employees or volunteers permanently ineligible for certification if they engage in conduct that threatens juvenile safety. The other expected to be signed is Senate Bill 571, which expands the Texas Education Agency's authority to investigate volunteers and third-part contractors who work on school campuses and are accused of misconduct. These bills were filed after KXAN revealed a juvenile corrections officer was able to get a tutoring job at an Austin ISD campus while under investigation for sexual misconduct by a state agency. Part of Senate Bill 1, the budget bill sent to the governor, includes a change to the state's crime victim compensation fund, which pays victims and their loved ones for recovery costs and other items like funeral expenses. It requires the Texas attorney general's office, which manages the fund, to give a more accurate picture of how quickly victims are paid and how well the program is working. It comes after KXAN discovered a flawed data formula was showing a much shorter wait time than the actual eight-month average to receive a first payment. The new law aims to have that happen in under 90 days. Another bill signed by the governor that will impact the attorney general's office is Senate Bill 1403, dealing with the agency's child support division. It allows the attorney general to speed up procedures to cut down on unnecessary delays in delivering child support payments. The agency will also now be able to get information directly to families at courthouses and on its website. The measure comes after a KXAN investigation highlighted concerns from parents owed billions of dollars in child support. A measure pushing Botox patient safety and transparency will also become law. Senate Bill 378 prohibits barbers, cosmetologists and estheticians from administering Botox and other injectables unless they are licensed or authorized to give the shots. It also gives the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation more disciplinary authority over those professionals. Several Texas estheticians and injectors registered their opposition to the bill this session. KXAN's reporting revealed anyone in Texas can become certified to do injections, including Botox, and highlighted the lack of oversight concerning medical experts. Another measure, Senate Bill 660, related to patient safety and sparked by a KXAN investigation didn't make it over the legislative finish line. The hospital security measure cleared the Senate but stalled in a House committee. In its original form, it would have required hospitals to have security barriers at their entrances statewide. The bill was filed after KXAN's coverage of a deadly crash into an Austin emergency room last year, which led to a local ordinance requiring those devices at all new hospitals in the city. The state legislation, however, met heavy resistance from the Texas Hospital Association, largely over costs, even as lawmakers used KXAN's data to illustrate the frequency of these kinds of crashes into medical centers. The dataset now lists more than 580 over the last decade nationwide – many of those in Texas. The bill's author, Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said he plans to re-file next session. Another medical-related bill filed after KXAN's reporting would have expanded the use of medical examiners for death investigations in more counties across Texas. It came after we revealed most counties don't have medical examiners – doctors trained for that purpose – and instead rely on elected justices of the peace who often lack expertise in this area. Senate Bill 1370 died along with many other bills at a midnight House deadline in the session's final week, just one step from the governor's desk. But its sponsor, Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, tells KXAN he plans to call for an interim charge to study how to attract more doctors with this expertise to fill the growing need in Texas ahead of the next session. Also, looking ahead to next session, the author of House Bill 1738, Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, said he plans to re-file his legislation aimed at repealing the state's unconstitutional ban on 'homosexual conduct.' KXAN's analysis shows, since the 1980s, there have been at least 60 attempts to do just that – most of those since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 ruling struck down the law as unenforceable. HB 1978, which was filed after a KXAN investigation, made it further in the legislative process than any of those past bills. Critics say leaving the old law on the books allows for police and policymakers' misinterpretation of it. The governor has until June 22 to sign, veto or allow bills to become law without his signature. Several this session – including others on open government and state hospital beds – started with KXAN viewer tips. If you have something you think we should investigate, reach out to our investigative team. The following KXAN journalists contributed to this report: Digital Data Reporter Christopher Adams, Senior Investigative Producer David Barer, Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, Investigative Reporter Arezow Doost, Investigative Reporter Matt Grant, Investigative Producer Dalton Huey, Investigative Photojournalist Chris Nelson, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims, Investigative Reporter Kelly Wiley, Digital Director Kate Winkle Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill streamlining child support services will soon become law
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Legislation meant to modernize administrative processes in child support cases will go into effect on September 1st. The bill which will help Texas families struggling with child support challenges was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott. Senate Bill 1403 allows the Texas Office of the Attorney General to speed up procedures using e-mail to cut down on unnecessary delays in delivering child support. RELATED: Bill to modernize child support services headed to governor 'The bill also authorizes that a notice of administrative adjustment may be sent to the last known residence, mailing, or e-mail address provided to the Title IV-D agency or listed in the court order and that sending the notice in the manner authorized satisfies due process requirements for notice and service of process on a party,' said the bill analysis. The AG's office will also be able to make relevant information available to families at courthouses and on the agency's website. The measure comes after a KXAN investigation highlighted concerns from parents owned billions of dollars in child support. KXAN investigators continue to hear from impacted families looking for solutions to help with their cases. READ: Central Texas mom awaits nearly $40K in child support. Parents owed $21B statewide Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, authored the legislation which would also expand the agency's authority to file investigations reports on a person's financial information required to calculate support. 'The bill establishes evidentiary standards for the record and authorizes a respondent to offer controverting income information,' according to the bill analysis. KXAN reached out to the AG's office to find out how it will start implementing the law but has not gotten a response back yet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Senate passes bill to help child support families
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Legislation that would modernize administrative processes in child support cases passed the Texas Senate this week. Senate Bill 1403 would allow the Texas Office of the Attorney General to expedite procedures and provide 'clarity that reduces unnecessary delays in delivering child support services to Texas families,' according to the bill analysis. The legislation comes after a KXAN investigation highlighted that Texas parents are owed billions of dollars in child support and the challenges of tracking down delinquent payments. If passed, the legislation authorizes the use of e-mail in administrative processes and requires brochures published by the agency to be accessible on the OAG's website so that relevant information is readily available to families. WATCH: Central Texas mom awaits nearly $40K in child support. Parents owed $21B statewide Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, authored the bill, which would also clarify the proper method of requesting parental locate information from the OAG and allows the agency to stop enforcement measures for a person in jail for an act of family violence committed against the child. West's office said the legislation is meant to clean up various technical issues the OAG and families have experienced over the last two years related to filings and notices. 'We have expedited process rules that we have to follow in terms of time frames and getting cases resolved. And so, this helps us to meet those and be a more efficient agency,' Joel Rogers, with the Office of the Attorney General's Child Support Division, said during a March Senate hearing. The bill will head to the House committee next for a public hearing before being sent to the full House for a vote. The Speaker of the House assigned similar legislation, House Bill 4034, authored by Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr., D-Houston, to a judiciary and civil jurisprudence subcommittee in late March. The legislation was left pending in the subcommittee on Monday. Another bill making its way through the process, Senate Bill 1404, would authorize a court clerk to send legal documents and notices to an email address using the state's electronic filing system. The legislation passed the Senate on Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
