Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

_____ HEALTH AND HUMAN
ERVICES/Children/Children
UMAN SERVICES
77 th Texas Legislature
Kids in Foster Care Can Keep the Money They Earn - S.B. 1683
by Senator Jackson
House Sponsor: Representative John Davis
A minor who receives services from the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS)
and who earns money through means of employment and/or participation in competitions which provide
financial rewards cannot be assured of protection of those earnings from confiscation by the minor's legal
parent or guardian.
Provides that a child for whom DPRS has been appointed managing conservator, and who has been
placed by DPRS in a foster home or child-care institution, is entitled to keep any money earned by the child
during the time of the child's placement.
Provides that if a child earns money and is returned to the child's parent or guardian, the child's parent or
guardian may not interfere with the child's authority to control the money.
Increased Fines for Safety Seat Offenses to be Used for Trauma Centers - H.B. 1739
by Representative Martinez Fischer
Senate Sponsor: Senator Van de Putte
Increases the penalty for not having a child under 15 years of age buckled or in a child safety seat from an
amount between $25 and $50 to an amount between $100 and $200.
Authorizes a judge to require a defendant to attend a specialized driving safety course that includes four
hours of instruction that encourages the use of child passenger safety seat systems and emphasizes the
effectiveness of the systems and the requirements of the law to use them.
Requires 50 percent of the fines collected for these violations to be deposited to the credit of the tertiary
care fund for use by trauma centers.
Senate Research Center 119