By Harris S.B. No. 789
74R4545 MJW-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to possession and delivery of a child in an emergency
1-3 without a court order.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 17.03(a) and (h), Family Code, are
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) An authorized representative of the Texas Department of
1-8 Human Services, a law enforcement officer, or a juvenile probation
1-9 officer may take possession of a child without a court order only
1-10 under the following conditions, except as provided by Section
1-11 17.032 of this code <and no others>:
1-12 (1) upon discovery of a child in a situation of danger
1-13 to the child's physical health or safety when the sole purpose is
1-14 to deliver the child without unnecessary delay to the parent,
1-15 managing conservator, possessory conservator, guardian, caretaker,
1-16 or custodian who is presently entitled to possession of the child;
1-17 (2) upon the voluntary delivery of the child by the
1-18 parent, managing conservator, possessory conservator, guardian,
1-19 caretaker, or custodian who is presently entitled to possession of
1-20 the child;
1-21 (3) upon personal knowledge of facts which would lead
1-22 a person of ordinary prudence and caution to believe that there is
1-23 an immediate danger to the physical health or safety of the child
1-24 and that there is no time to obtain a temporary restraining order
2-1 or attachment under Section 17.02 of this code;
2-2 (4) upon information furnished by another which has
2-3 been corroborated by personal knowledge of facts and all of which
2-4 taken together would lead a person of ordinary prudence and caution
2-5 to believe that there is an immediate danger to the physical health
2-6 or safety of the child and that there is no time to obtain a
2-7 temporary restraining order or attachment under Section 17.02 of
2-8 this code;
2-9 (5) upon personal knowledge of facts that would lead a
2-10 person of ordinary prudence and caution to believe that the child
2-11 has been the victim of sexual abuse and that there is no time to
2-12 obtain a temporary restraining order or attachment under Section
2-13 17.02 of this code; or
2-14 (6) upon information furnished by another that has
2-15 been corroborated by personal knowledge of facts and all of which
2-16 taken together would lead a person of ordinary prudence and caution
2-17 to believe that the child has been the victim of sexual abuse and
2-18 that there is no time to obtain a temporary restraining order or
2-19 attachment under Section 17.02 of this code.
2-20 (h) When a child is taken into possession under this
2-21 section, that child may <shall> not be held in isolation or in a
2-22 jail or juvenile detention facility. The child may not be placed
2-23 in a facility where the child can see or be seen by or hear or be
2-24 heard by a child who has been adjudicated as a child who engaged in
2-25 delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision
2-26 under Title 3.
2-27 SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Family Code, is amended by adding
3-1 Section 17.032 to read as follows:
3-2 Sec. 17.032. POSSESSION AND DELIVERY OF MISSING CHILD. (a)
3-3 A law enforcement officer who discovers during a criminal
3-4 investigation relating to a child's custody that the child is a
3-5 missing child and who believes that a person may flee with or
3-6 conceal the child may:
3-7 (1) take possession of the child; and
3-8 (2) deliver or arrange for the delivery of the child
3-9 to a parent or other person entitled to possession of the child.
3-10 (b) A law enforcement officer who takes possession of a
3-11 child and delivers or arranges for the delivery of the child to a
3-12 person entitled to possession under this section is immune from
3-13 criminal and civil liability for actions relating to the delivery
3-14 of the child if, at the time the possession and delivery occurs,
3-15 the officer reasonably believes that:
3-16 (1) the child is a missing child; and
3-17 (2) the person to whom the child is delivered is
3-18 entitled to possession of the child.
3-19 (c) In this section, "missing child" has the meaning
3-20 assigned by Section 79.001, Human Resources Code.
3-21 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-22 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.