74R11134 JMM-D
By Brady H.B. No. 2568
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2568:
By Cook C.S.H.B. No. 2568
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the practice and regulation of attorneys and guardians
1-3 ad litem.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 107.002, Family Code, as added by House
1-6 Bill 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is
1-7 amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
1-8 (e) A court is not required under this section to appoint an
1-9 attorney ad litem in a proceeding in which:
1-10 (1) a suit for the dissolution of a marriage is
1-11 uncontested; or
1-12 (2) the issues of possession of and access to a child
1-13 are agreed to by both parents.
1-14 SECTION 2. Chapter 107, Family Code, as added by House Bill
1-15 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is
1-16 amended by adding Section 107.006 to read as follows:
1-17 Sec. 107.006. GUARDIAN AD LITEM AND ATTORNEY AD LITEM POOL;
1-18 QUALIFICATIONS. (a) The local administrative district judge in
1-19 each county in the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
1-20 region for child protective services that contains Harris County
1-21 shall establish and a local administrative district judge in any
1-22 other county may establish a pool from which guardians ad litem and
1-23 attorneys ad litem are appointed for proceedings in the district
1-24 courts of the county. To be eligible for the pool established
2-1 under this subsection, a person must:
2-2 (1) complete training provided by the State Bar of
2-3 Texas in family law and the responsibilities of ad litems;
2-4 (2) complete as part of the person's annual continuing
2-5 legal education requirement not fewer than three hours in family
2-6 law issues; and
2-7 (3) meet other requirements established by the local
2-8 administrative district judge.
2-9 (b) Before appointment as a guardian ad litem or an attorney
2-10 ad litem, the person must have read, acknowledged by signing, and
2-11 filed with the local administrative judge a written statement
2-12 prepared by the local administrative district judge that lists the
2-13 responsibilities of an ad litem, some or all of which may be
2-14 appropriate to the person's specific case. The court shall retain
2-15 a copy of the acknowledgment for two years. To continue to receive
2-16 appointments under this section, the person must execute a new
2-17 statement at least every two years.
2-18 (c) A party to a proceeding in which a person is appointed
2-19 as a guardian ad litem or an attorney ad litem may object to
2-20 appointment of the person at any time before the date of the trial
2-21 of the proceeding. A party may object under this subsection on the
2-22 grounds that the party believes that the person appointed lacks
2-23 objectivity or is failing to fulfill the person's responsibilities
2-24 as an ad litem as outlined in the written statement of ad litem
2-25 responsibilities.
2-26 (d) A person appointed as a guardian ad litem or attorney ad
2-27 litem shall complete and submit to the court a voucher or claim for
3-1 payment that includes the fees charged and hours worked by the ad
3-2 litem. Information submitted under this section is subject to
3-3 disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
3-4 (e) The Bureau of Vital Statistics may compile information
3-5 submitted under Subsection (d) for a county that maintains that
3-6 information on an electronic database. On the request of the
3-7 bureau, the county shall provide the information. Information
3-8 compiled by the bureau under this section shall be made available
3-9 to the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
3-10 SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-11 (b) The change in law made by this Act regarding the
3-12 appointment of a guardian ad litem or an attorney ad litem applies
3-13 only to a proceeding commenced on or after the effective date of
3-14 this Act. A proceeding commenced before the effective date of this
3-15 Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the proceeding was
3-16 commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
3-17 purpose.
3-18 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.