|
House Bill 1864 |
House Author: Gonzales |
|
Effective: 6-15-07 |
Senate Sponsor: Hinojosa |
House Bill 1864 amends the Family Code to authorize a court to award a conservator of a child reasonable periods of electronic communication with the child to supplement the conservator's periods of possession of the child and delineates the factors that the court must consider in determining whether to award electronic communication. The bill sets out certain requirements to which each conservator subject to the court's order must adhere if a court awards a conservator periods of electronic communication with a child. The bill prohibits the court from considering the availability of electronic communication as a factor in determining child support and clarifies the conditions under which the court may award periods of electronic communication in a suit in which the court's order contains provisions related to a finding of family violence.
House Bill 1864 also clarifies provisions relating to possession of a child by a possessory conservator who resides 100 miles or less from the primary residence of the child and changes the date holiday possession of a child ends from December 26 to December 28.
The bill revises provisions relating to a possessory conservator or a joint managing conservator of a child who does not have the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child and who is a member of the armed forces deployed under a military deployment. That conservator is permitted to designate a person who may exercise possession on behalf of the conservator if the conservator is deployed where access to the child is not possible, rather than outside the United States. The designated person may exercise possession for the periods and in the manner in which the deployed conservator otherwise would be entitled to exercise possession, rather than only limited possession. The designated person is considered to be the possessory conservator and subject to the general terms and conditions of possession. The bill makes conforming changes in provisions relating to a modification of an existing court order or portion of a decree that sets the terms and conditions for the possession of or access to a child based on a possessory conservator's deployment.