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House Bill 1501 |
House Author: Thompson, Senfronia |
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Effective: 9-1-17 |
Senate Sponsor: Rodríguez |
House Bill 1501 amends the Family Code and Government Code to revise provisions relating to child custody evaluations and to make a child custody evaluator appointed in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship immune from liability for civil damages arising from an action taken, a recommendation made, or an opinion given in the suit. The bill establishes four years of age as the minimum age at which a child who is the subject of a suit may be interviewed and revises the elements required to be included in an evaluation.
House Bill 1501 entitles a child custody evaluator to obtain records from specified governmental entities that relate to any person residing in a residence subject to a child custody evaluation and creates a Class A misdemeanor offense for a person who recklessly discloses confidential record information so obtained. The bill also entitles a child custody evaluator to obtain from the Department of Public Safety criminal history record information that relates to a person involved in the evaluation and prohibits a child custody evaluator from releasing or disclosing the information to a person other than the court ordering the applicable evaluation, with certain exceptions.