By Uher                                               H.B. No. 2554
         77R7805 KSD-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the transfer of a court's continuing jurisdiction in a
 1-3     suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Section 155.202, Family Code, is amended by
 1-6     amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
 1-7     follows:
 1-8           (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), for [For] the
 1-9     convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of
1-10     justice, the court, on the timely motion of a party, may transfer
1-11     the proceeding to a proper court in another county in the state.
1-12           (c)  The court shall deny a motion to transfer a child
1-13     custody proceeding under this subchapter if the court finds that
1-14     the only basis of the motion is that the party seeking transfer of
1-15     the proceeding resides in a different county than the county in
1-16     which the child primarily resides and the party is seeking to
1-17     transfer the proceeding to the county in which the party resides.
1-18           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
1-19     applies only to a motion to transfer a child custody proceeding
1-20     filed on or after that date.  A motion to transfer a child custody
1-21     proceeding filed before the effective date of this Act is governed
1-22     by the law in effect on the date the motion to transfer is filed,
1-23     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.