1-1 By: West S.B. No. 1726
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 14, 1997; March 24, 1997, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
1-4 April 16, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 16, 1997,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1726 By: Duncan
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to full faith and credit for valid foreign protective
1-11 orders; providing penalties.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Chapter 71, Family Code, as added by S.B. No.
1-14 797, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is
1-15 amended by adding Section 71.008 to read as follows:
1-16 Sec. 71.008. PROTECTIVE ORDER FROM ANOTHER JURISDICTION.
1-17 "Protective order from another jurisdiction" means a protective
1-18 order rendered by a military court or a court of another state,
1-19 tribe, or territory related to protecting an individual from
1-20 domestic or family violence and that meets the following
1-21 requirements:
1-22 (1) the order is rendered by a court that has
1-23 jurisdiction over the parties and the matter under the law of the
1-24 military, state, tribe, or territory; and
1-25 (2) the respondent is given notice and an opportunity
1-26 to be heard consistent with due process either:
1-27 (A) before the date the order was rendered; or
1-28 (B) in the case of an ex parte order, within the
1-29 time required by the jurisdiction rendering the order after the
1-30 date the order is rendered, but not later than a reasonable time.
1-31 SECTION 2. Chapter 86, Family Code, as added by S.B. No.
1-32 797, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is
1-33 amended by adding Section 86.005 to read as follows:
1-34 Sec. 86.005. PROTECTIVE ORDER FROM ANOTHER JURISDICTION.
1-35 (a) To ensure that law enforcement officers responding to calls are
1-36 aware of the existence and terms of a protective order from another
1-37 jurisdiction, each law enforcement agency shall establish
1-38 procedures in the agency to provide adequate information or access
1-39 to information for law enforcement officers regarding the name of
1-40 each person protected by an order rendered in another jurisdiction
1-41 and of each person against whom the protective order is directed.
1-42 (b) Unless a law enforcement officer knows that the
1-43 protective order has expired, the officer shall rely on:
1-44 (1) a copy of a protective order from another
1-45 jurisdiction that has been provided to the officer by any source;
1-46 and
1-47 (2) the statement by a person protected by the order
1-48 that the order remains in effect.
1-49 (c) A law enforcement officer acting in good faith is not
1-50 subject to civil or criminal liability for any action arising in
1-51 connection with the enforcement of a protective order issued in
1-52 another jurisdiction that a court later determines was not entitled
1-53 to full faith and credit under Chapter 88.
1-54 SECTION 3. Subtitle B, Title 4, Family Code, as added by
1-55 S.B. No. 797, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
1-56 is amended by adding Chapter 88 to read as follows:
1-57 CHAPTER 88. PROTECTIVE ORDER FROM ANOTHER JURISDICTION
1-58 Sec. 88.001. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OF PROTECTIVE ORDER FROM
1-59 ANOTHER JURISDICTION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a
1-60 protective order from another jurisdiction shall be accorded full
1-61 faith and credit by the courts of this state and enforced as if the
1-62 order was rendered by a court in this state.
1-63 (b) A protective order from another jurisdiction rendered
1-64 against both the applicant and respondent is not enforceable
2-1 against the applicant in this state unless:
2-2 (1) the respondent filed a cross or counter petition,
2-3 complaint, or other written pleading seeking a protective order
2-4 against the applicant; and
2-5 (2) the issuing court determined that each party was
2-6 entitled to a protective order.
2-7 Sec. 88.002. PRESUMPTION OF VALIDITY. A protective order
2-8 from another jurisdiction is presumed to be valid if the order
2-9 appears authentic on the order's face.
2-10 Sec. 88.003. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE. It is an affirmative
2-11 defense in any action seeking enforcement of a protective order
2-12 rendered in another jurisdiction that the respondent was not given
2-13 reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard consistent with
2-14 due process either:
2-15 (1) before the date the order was rendered; or
2-16 (2) in the case of an ex parte order, within the time
2-17 required by the jurisdiction rendering the order after the date the
2-18 order was rendered, but not later than a reasonable time.
2-19 Sec. 88.004. ENFORCEMENT OF AN ORDER. A protective order
2-20 from another jurisdiction may be enforced even if the order is not
2-21 entered into the state law enforcement information system
2-22 maintained by the Department of Public Safety.
2-23 SECTION 4. Subsections (a) and (g), Section 25.07, Penal
2-24 Code, as amended by Chapters 658 and 1024, Acts of the 74th
2-25 Legislature, 1995, are amended to read as follows:
2-26 (a) A person commits an offense if, in violation of an order
2-27 issued under Section 3.581[, 71.11,] or Chapter 85 [71.12], Family
2-28 Code, [or] under Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, or by
2-29 another jurisdiction as provided by Chapter 88, Family Code, the
2-30 person knowingly or intentionally:
2-31 (1) commits family violence or an act in furtherance
2-32 of an offense under Section 42.07(a)(7);
2-33 (2) communicates:
2-34 (A) directly with a protected individual or a
2-35 member of the family or household in a threatening or harassing
2-36 manner;
2-37 (B) a threat through any person to a protected
2-38 individual or a member of the family or household; and
2-39 (C) in any manner with the protected individual
2-40 or a member of the family or household except through the person's
2-41 attorney or a person appointed by the court, if the order prohibits
2-42 any communication with a protected individual or a member of the
2-43 family or household;
2-44 (3) goes to or near any of the following places as
2-45 specifically described in the order:
2-46 (A) the residence or place of employment or
2-47 business of a protected individual or a member of the family or
2-48 household; or
2-49 (B) any child care facility, residence, or
2-50 school where a child protected by the order normally resides or
2-51 attends.
2-52 (4) engages in conduct directed specifically toward a
2-53 person who is a member of the family or household, including
2-54 following the person, that is reasonably likely to harass, annoy,
2-55 alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass that person.
2-56 (g) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor
2-57 unless it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant
2-58 has previously been convicted under this section two or more times
2-59 or has violated the protective order by committing an assault or
2-60 the offense of stalking, in which event the offense is a third
2-61 degree felony [state jail felony].
2-62 SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Article 5.04, Code of Criminal
2-63 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
2-64 (a) The primary duties of a peace officer who investigates a
2-65 family violence allegation or who responds to a disturbance call
2-66 that may involve family violence are to protect any potential
2-67 victim of family violence, enforce the law of this state, enforce a
2-68 protective order from another jurisdiction as provided by Chapter
2-69 88, Family Code, and make lawful arrests of violators.
3-1 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
3-2 SECTION 7. (a) The change in law made by Section 4 of this
3-3 Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective
3-4 date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is
3-5 committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
3-6 the offense occurs before that date.
3-7 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-8 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-9 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-10 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
3-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-15 * * * * *