Texas HB 2552 (2021): Recorded CPS Interviews and No Required Drug Tests (Did Not Pass)

This bill is not law. It did not pass. Its last official action was "Committee report sent to Calendars" in the Texas House on May 3, 2021 Texas Legislature Online, History for 87(R) HB 2552.

The short answer

HB 2552 would have changed two things in CPS investigations. DFPS would have had to record interviews with parents, not only children, and it could not have required a parent or child to take a drug test during an investigation. A House committee approved it, but the full House never voted on it, so it died when the 2021 session ended Legislative Reference Library of Texas, What's Next? Post-Session FAQ, 89th R.S..

How far it got

• Filed: March 2, 2021. It went to the House Human Services Committee on March 17, 2021.
• Committee: On April 27, 2021, the committee approved a substitute version.
• Stopped: On May 3, 2021, the committee report was sent to the House Calendars Committee. The official history shows nothing after that.

What it would have changed

Recording parent interviews too. Under the committee version, an investigation-stage interview with a child or a parent, where the allegations are discussed, would have had to be audiotaped or videotaped 87(R) HB 2552, House Committee Report (substitute) text.

Fewer reasons to skip recording a child. A child's interview could have gone unrecorded only if the child was unwilling to be recorded and DFPS made a reasonable effort, fitting the child's age and the case, to convince the child 87(R) HB 2552, House Committee Report (substitute) text. The bill would have struck the current exceptions for broken equipment and for not having recording equipment 87(R) HB 2552, House Committee Report (substitute) text.

Unrecorded interviews kept out of court. An unrecorded child interview could not have been used as evidence in this kind of family court case unless the judge found that both of those conditions were met 87(R) HB 2552, House Committee Report (substitute) text.

No required drug tests during an investigation. DFPS could not have required a parent or child to submit to a drug test during an investigation. It also could not have threatened or pressured a parent to agree to one, including by saying the child would be removed if the parent refused 87(R) HB 2552, House Committee Report (substitute) text.

Which laws it affects

• Texas Family Code §261.302 (conduct of investigation). The bill would have amended Subsection (e) and added Subsections (e-2) and (g) 87(R) HB 2552, House Committee Report (substitute) text. Because it did not pass, the current text of Tex. Fam. Code §261.302(e) still lists equipment malfunction as one exception to recording a child's interview.
• Drug tests today. A separate, current law requires DFPS, at first contact, to give you a verbal notice of rights that includes the right to refuse to submit to a drug test Tex. Fam. Code §261.307(a).

Related

• CPS Drug Testing in Texas: What DFPS Policy Says
• Your Rights When Texas CPS Contacts You (Family Code §261.307)
• The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
• Texas HB 135 (2021): CPS Must Tell You About Recording and Review Rights
• Texas HB 730 (2023): Rights Notices, Investigation Limits and Safety Placements
• The 2027 Texas Legislature (90th): When CPS Bills Can Be Filed