(a) Each employee of the department or of a department contractor who becomes aware of conduct constituting a criminal offense engaged in by another employee of the department or by a department contractor against a person receiving services from the department or a department contractor shall report the conduct to a local law enforcement agency not later than the 48th hour after the hour the employee becomes aware of the conduct.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person is required to make a report under Subsection (a) and knowingly fails to make the report.

Attorney's Note

Under the Texas Codes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
State jail felonybetween 180 days and 2 yearsup to $10,000
Class A misdemeanorup to 1 yearup to $4,000
For details, see Texas Penal Code § 12.35 and Texas Penal Code § 12.21

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Terms Used In Texas Human Resources Code 203.020

  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

(c) An offense under Subsection (b) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor intended to hinder an investigation of or conceal the criminal conduct described by Subsection (a).