In 2021, we wrote an article addressing new Texas legislation that every lawyer should know about. We are tracking pending legislation and hope to provide an update in summer 2023. In the interim, Texas state representatives, state senators, lobbyists and constituents are all hard at work in Austin (and beyond) crafting new legislation to be considered by the 88th Texas Legislature. As always, there is a marked contrast in proposed legislation. Let's focus on some of the pending bills working their way through the legislative process.

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Dallas) is the author of Texas House Bill 1100. While it remains a work in progress, the bill relates to the regulation of certain senior living facilities, with the goal in mind of securing seniors' safety. There is a companion bill in process, Senate Bill 651. These bills seek to mandate criminal history checks for individuals working at such facilities, and further prohibit a senior living facility from:

1. Preventing or penalizing a resident from communicating with a law enforcement officer, a social worker, a family member or any other interested person regarding the safety and security at the facility 2. Preventing a law enforcement officer or a court officer from entering a common area at such a facility to engage in a voluntary interview with a resident in the course of investigating criminal activity at the facility 3. Including waivers of liability under Section 95.005 of the Texas Property Code in its residential lease agreements 4. Creates civil liability against senior living facilities for failing to comply with the terms of the (proposed) statute