Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 706 amends provisions of the Family Code relating to the emergency possession of and the termination of the parent-child relationship of certain abandoned children. The bill defines a designated emergency infant care provider to include an emergency medical services provider, a hospital, or a child-placing agency licensed by the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. A designated emergency infant care provider is required to take possession of a child who appears to be 60, rather than 30, days old, or younger if the child is voluntarily delivered to the provider by the child's parent and the parent does not express an intent to return for the child. The bill provides that the provider has no legal duty to detain the parent or ascertain the parent's identity and is not liable for damages related to the possession or treatment of the child. The provider must notify the department of the possession, and the department is required to assume care, control, and custody of the child and to file a suit seeking termination of the parent-child relationship not later than the 45th day after the date it assumes custody. The bill requires the department to report the child to local law enforcement as a potential missing child, defines certain parental rights, and allows the department not to search for or give preference to the child's relatives in the permanency planning process if it does not have information concerning the identity of the child or the child's parents.