The Texas Senate passed House Bill 31,20 on May 25, directing owners and operators of residential child detention facilities to enter memoranda of understanding with the local municipality or county commissioners court that regulates the facility and to provide specified reports and records to local officials and law enforcement.

Senator Sandra Huffman, who brought the bill to the floor, described complaints from local officials and public‑safety authorities about limited access to information from facility operators. "Local governments, law enforcement, and health authorities lacked sufficient statutory mechanisms to obtain pertinent information from facility operators about their employees and the children in their custody and care," she said on the floor.

As described on the floor, the bill requires facilities to provide to local health authorities and governing bodies a description of illness‑prevention methods, emergency evacuation plans and quarterly compliance and safety reports. It requires owners or operators to provide monthly occupancy records and quarterly incident summaries to municipal police departments or county sheriffs.

The bill also requires criminal‑history background checks for personnel and authorizes facility operators to receive criminal history record information from the Department of Public Safety for evaluation of prospective or current employees and certain volunteers; the transcript states that the information may be used only for evaluation purposes and cannot be publicly disclosed without a court order. According to the sponsor’s floor summary, the bill conditions state funding eligibility — facilities out of compliance would be ineligible for state funds until a state audit and public report are completed.

Senator Huffman said the measure is intended to safeguard vulnerable children, including unaccompanied minors, and improve local officials’ ability to oversee facilities. The Senate recorded 31 ayes and 0 nays on final passage.