1-1     By:  Mowery (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief)               H.B. No. 2615

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 1997;

 1-3     May 13, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 18, 1997, reported favorably, as amended, by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6     COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1                               By:  Harris

 1-7           Amend H.B. 2615 (House Engrossment), in SECTION 1 of the

 1-8     bill, by inserting the following on page 1, line 24, between "law"

 1-9     and the period:

1-10                 ", including attorneys fees, costs of experts, and any

1-11     other costs".

1-12                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

1-13                                   AN ACT

1-14     relating to certain findings concerning an allegation of child

1-15     abuse or neglect in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.

1-16           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-17           SECTION 1.  Section 105.006, Family Code, is amended by

1-18     adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

1-19           (f)  The court may include in a final order in a suit in

1-20     which a party to the suit makes an allegation of child abuse or

1-21     neglect a finding on whether the party who made the allegation knew

1-22     that the allegation was false or lacked factual foundation.  The

1-23     court may impose on a party found to have made a false allegation

1-24     of child abuse or neglect any sanction permitted under law.

1-25           SECTION 2.  Section 153.013, Family Code, is amended by

1-26     adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

1-27           (c)  If the court makes a finding under Subsection (a), the

1-28     court shall impose a civil penalty not to exceed $500.

1-29           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

1-30     applies only to a suit affecting the parent-child relationship

1-31     filed on or after that date.  A suit affecting the parent-child

1-32     relationship filed before the effective date of this Act is

1-33     governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was filed, and

1-34     the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-35           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-36     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-37     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-38     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-39     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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