hb 140

"🔴 HB 140 – A Reform Bill That Quietly Removed the Public From the Process

At first glance, HB 140 looks like it’s about making child protection investigations more consistent and fair. And to be clear, that’s what it says it's doing.

But once you get into the details, it does something else entirely.

HB 140 abolishes the Family and Protective Services Council...a longstanding oversight body that helped shape DFPS policy with input from a broad range of stakeholders. In its place, it creates a new “advisory committee” that looks more independent on paper than it is in practice.

Here’s what actually changes:

✅ The governor, lieutenant governor, and House speaker get to appoint key members directly.

✅ The Department of Family and Protective Services...the agency being “overseen”...gets to pick several others and staff the whole operation.

✅ The new committee can hold closed-door meetings and review confidential case files, and its findings are sealed from public access under open records laws.

What that means is: the people who are supposed to be watchdogs are appointed by the people they’re supposed to be watching...and the public no longer gets to see what’s going on behind the scenes.

Even more concerning?

🚫 The final version of the bill removes adult protective investigations entirely. Elderly and disabled Texans...who also face abuse, neglect, and institutional failures...were dropped from the bill’s protections with no public explanation. They were in the original version. They’re gone now.

There’s no binding authority behind the committee’s findings. No requirement for DFPS to act on their recommendations. No independent audit, public hearing, or citizen review process.

And who stood to gain?

🔸 DFPS leadership, who now operate with fewer checks
🔸 Politically connected nonprofits who may end up influencing policy behind closed doors
🔸 Executive offices that now hold most of the appointment power

And who’s left out?

🔻 Adults in need of protection
🔻 The public, who used to be able to weigh in through council hearings
🔻 Local advocates, journalists, and families who want oversight with teeth...not just advisory reports buried in agency files

This wasn’t a loud power grab. It was a quiet restructure.

One that concentrates authority, removes real accountability, and limits the public’s right to know how child protection decisions are being reviewed.

What does this set up?

🧱 A precedent for advisory bodies that look neutral but are structurally aligned with political offices
🧱 A pathway to privatize CPS training or policy implementation through contracts with little oversight
🧱 A model that can be copied in other human services areas...disability, elder care, mental health

Bottom line:
HB 140 narrows oversight, centralizes power, and closes the door on meaningful public input. It strips protections from vulnerable adults and replaces a formal council with an advisory group handpicked by those in power.

And unless we name what’s happening, this won’t be the last time it happens.

Quick ask, y’all...likes help the algorithm, but shares are what get the truth out.

If this bill affects you, your kids, your patients, your neighbors...please share it.

Too many Texans don’t know what’s being signed into law. And if we don’t share it, they won’t hear it. These bills move quietly. The consequences don’t.

It’s not about going viral. It’s about making sure the people who need to know...do know.

So if this post made you pause, think, or get fired up… don’t just like it. Send it. Share it. Say something.

We don’t get transparency unless we demand it together.

🔴 #HB140 #TexasPolicy #CPSOversight #WatchTheDetails #RealOversightOrJustTalk"