Relating to committing the criminal offense of endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual by engaging in certain conduct involving a controlled substance listed in Penalty Group 1-B of the Texas Controlled Substances Act.

Contracts

• Employment Agreements: Update "Drug-Free Workplace" policies to explicitly cite Penalty Group 1-B (Fentanyl). Employees must acknowledge that possession on company property now carries a presumption of felony endangerment.
• Vendor MSAs: Amend Master Service Agreements with third-party staffing (janitorial, nursing, cafeteria). Require indemnification specifically for criminal acts committed by their employees and mandate rigorous background checks for anyone accessing patient/resident areas.
• Insurance Policies: Review General and Professional Liability policies immediately. Confirm whether "criminal acts" exclusions will void coverage for defense costs if a staff member is charged under this statute.

Hiring/Training

• Incident Response Training: Train staff to treat any discovery of Fentanyl or an overdose event as a potential crime scene. Spoliation of evidence can now lead to obstruction charges or compound liability.
• Visitor Screening: Front-line staff must be retrained on visitor intake. The "presence" of the substance triggers liability; therefore, contraband screening protocols for visitors must be tightened.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Chain of Custody Forms: Implement strict chain-of-custody documentation for any substance found on premises. You must be able to prove a substance did not originate from your pharmacy inventory.
• Medical Administration Logs: For facilities legally administering Fentanyl (palliative care), inventory logs must be impeccable. Any diversion event in a patient area can now be prosecuted as endangerment.

Fees & Costs

• Legal Defense: While there are no new state fees, anticipate increased legal retainers. Defending against a "presumption" of guilt requires significant pre-trial resources.
• Insurance Premiums: Expect potential premium hikes in PL/GL policies for care facilities upon renewal due to increased litigation risk.