1-1           By:  Harris                                      S.B. No. 348

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed January 29, 1997; February 4, 1997,

 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;

 1-4     February 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas

 1-5     7, Nays 0; February 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to costs in certain family law cases.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 106.001, Family Code, is amended to read

1-11     as follows:

1-12           Sec. 106.001.  COSTS. The court may award costs in [the same

1-13     manner as in other civil cases in] a suit or motion under this

1-14     title and in a habeas corpus proceeding.

1-15           SECTION 2.  Subsection (a), Section 106.002, Family Code, is

1-16     amended to read as follows:

1-17           (a)  In a suit under this title [subtitle], the court may

1-18     order reasonable attorney's fees as costs and order the fees to be

1-19     paid directly to an attorney.

1-20           SECTION 3.  Subsection (g), Section 152.007, Family Code, is

1-21     amended to read as follows:

1-22           (g)  If it appears to the court that it is clearly an

1-23     inappropriate forum, the court may require the party who commenced

1-24     the proceedings to pay, in addition to the costs of the proceedings

1-25     in this state, necessary travel and other expenses, including

1-26     attorney's fees, incurred by other parties or their witnesses.

1-27     [Payment is to be made to the clerk of the court for remittance to

1-28     the proper party.]

1-29           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

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

1-31     without regard to whether the suit was commenced before, on, or

1-32     after the effective date of this Act.

1-33           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-34     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-35     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-36     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-37     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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