By:  Van de Putte                                      S.B. No. 619
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to court-ordered social studies in certain suits affecting
 1-3     the parent-child relationship.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subsection (c), Section 107.051, Family Code, is
 1-6     amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (c)  In a suit in which adoption is requested or possession
 1-8     of or access to the child is an issue and in which the Department
 1-9     of Protective and Regulatory Services is not a party, the court
1-10     shall appoint a private agency or another person, including a
1-11     domestic relations office, to conduct the social study.  If a
1-12     domestic relations office is appointed, the domestic relations
1-13     office shall charge a fee to cover the cost of the social study.
1-14           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
1-15     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
1-16     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
1-17     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
1-18     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.