By Harris S.B. No. 1815
76R7866 MCK-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the designation of the primary residence of certain
1-3 children in an order for possession of and access to a child.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 153.133(a), Family Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (a) If a written agreement of the parents is filed with the
1-8 court, the court shall render an order appointing the parents as
1-9 joint managing conservators only if the agreement:
1-10 (1) establishes the geographic area within which a
1-11 conservator shall maintain the child's primary [county of]
1-12 residence [of the child] until modified by further order and[, or]
1-13 designates the conservator who has the exclusive right to establish
1-14 the primary residence of the child;
1-15 (2) specifies the rights and duties of each parent
1-16 regarding the child's physical care, support, and education;
1-17 (3) includes provisions to minimize disruption of the
1-18 child's education, daily routine, and association with friends;
1-19 (4) allocates between the parents, independently,
1-20 jointly, or exclusively, all of the remaining rights and duties of
1-21 a parent provided by Chapter 151;
1-22 (5) is voluntarily and knowingly made by each parent
1-23 and has not been repudiated by either parent at the time the order
1-24 is rendered; and
2-1 (6) is in the best interest of the child.
2-2 SECTION 2. Section 153.136, Family Code, is amended to read
2-3 as follows:
2-4 Sec. 153.136. COURT DESIGNATION OF PRIMARY PHYSICAL
2-5 RESIDENCE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), if [If]
2-6 joint managing conservatorship is ordered, [the best interest of
2-7 the child ordinarily requires] the court shall [to] designate the
2-8 geographic area within which a conservator shall maintain the
2-9 child's [a] primary physical residence [for the child].
2-10 (b) If one of the parties has been convicted of family
2-11 violence in the two years before the date the order is rendered,
2-12 the court may not designate the geographic area within which a
2-13 conservator shall maintain the child's primary residence unless the
2-14 parties agree in writing to the designation of a geographic area.
2-15 (c) The court shall order that the child shall reside in the
2-16 geographic area designated under Subsection (d) until further order
2-17 of the court unless:
2-18 (1) a party presents evidence that it is in the
2-19 child's best interest to reside in another county; or
2-20 (2) the parties file a written agreement with the
2-21 court stating that the child should reside in another county.
2-22 (d) The court shall order that the child shall reside in:
2-23 (1) the county in which the court of continuing
2-24 jurisdiction is located if the parent who does not determine the
2-25 child's primary residence resides in that county;
2-26 (2) the county in which the court of continuing
2-27 jurisdiction is located or a contiguous county if:
3-1 (A) at the time the order is rendered, the
3-2 parent who determines the child's primary residence resides in a
3-3 county contiguous to the county in which the court of continuing
3-4 jurisdiction is located; or
3-5 (B) the parent who determines the child's
3-6 primary residence can show good cause why the parent should be
3-7 allowed to move to a contiguous county; or
3-8 (3) the county in which the parent who determines the
3-9 child's primary residence resides if, at the time the order is
3-10 rendered, the parent does not reside in the county in which the
3-11 court of continuing jurisdiction is located or a contiguous county.
3-12 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, and
3-13 applies to an order or portion of a decree providing for possession
3-14 of or access to a child rendered on or after that date. An order
3-15 or decree rendered before the effective date of this Act is
3-16 governed by the law in effect on the date the order or decree was
3-17 rendered, and the former law is continued in effect for that
3-18 purpose.
3-19 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.