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House Bill 2501 |
House Author: Gonzalez Toureilles |
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Effective: 9-1-07 |
Senate Sponsor: Watson |
House Bill 2501 revises and updates provisions of the Family Code relating to certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship referred to an associate judge. The bill deletes a provision requiring an associate judge to certify the date of mailing of certain notices and requires that a request for a de novo hearing before the referring court be timely filed. It requires a party requesting a hearing to file the request not later than the seventh working day, rather than the third day, after the date the party receives notice of the substance of the associate judge's report, and requires any other party that then files a request for a de novo hearing to do so not later than the seventh working day, rather than the seventh day, after the date the initial request was filed. The bill establishes that denial of relief after a de novo hearing, rather than denial of an appeal for a hearing, does not affect the right of the party to file certain post-trial motions. It provides that, for purposes of continuing a final order that places a child under care of the Department of Family and Protective Services, a proposed order or judgment rendered by an associate judge in a suit filed by the department that meets certain requirements is considered a final order.