By: Wise H.B. No. 79
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to possession of or access to a child.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 105.001(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) In a suit, the court may make a temporary order,
including the modification of a prior temporary order, for the
safety and welfare of the child, including an order:
(1) for the temporary conservatorship of the child;
(2) for the temporary support of the child;
(3) restraining a party from molesting or disturbing
the peace of the child or another party;
(4) prohibiting a person from removing the child
beyond a geographical area identified by the court; [or]
(5) for payment of reasonable attorney's fees and
expenses; or
(6) to take possession of the child under Section
157.009.
SECTION 2. Sections 107.001(a) and (c), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) In a suit affecting the parent-child relationship [in
which termination of the parent-child relationship is requested],
the court or an associate judge shall appoint a guardian ad litem to
represent the interests of the child immediately after the filing
of the petition but before the full adversary hearing to ensure
adequate representation of the child, unless:
(1) the child is a petitioner; or
(2) an attorney ad litem has been appointed for the
child[; or
[(3) the court or an associate judge finds that the
interests of the child will be represented adequately by a party to
the suit and are not adverse to that party].
(c) The [In any other suit, the] court or an associate judge
may appoint a guardian ad litem in a suit in which the appointment
is not required by Subsection (a) or (b).
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 151, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 151.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 151.006. EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO POSSESSION PRESUMED. It
is presumed that the mother of a child is entitled to exclusive
physical possession of the child if:
(1) the mother was not married at the time of the
child's birth;
(2) paternity of the child has not been established;
(3) there is no court order that provides for
possession of or access to the child; and
(4) the child lives with the mother.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 157, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 157.009 to read as follows:
Sec. 157.009. EMERGENCY POSSESSION OF CHILD. (a) A person
filing a motion to enforce a final order that provides for
possession of or access to a child may seek a temporary order under
which a law enforcement officer may take possession of the child and
deliver the child to the court. The court shall render the order
if:
(1) a person is violating an order that provides for
possession of or access to a child;
(2) the court has reason to believe that the person
violating the order may remove the child from the state; and
(3) the person requesting the order knows the location
of the child.
(b) The court may authorize temporary placement of the child
until a hearing on the motion for enforcement with:
(1) a person entitled to possession of the child under
the final order; or
(2) a local social services agency.
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 157, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 157.169 to read as follows:
Sec. 157.169. REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS. The court may
require a person violating an order that provides for possession of
or access to a child to pay to the appropriate person:
(1) the costs to locate and recover the child incurred
by the person entitled to possession of the child;
(2) the costs incurred by an agency assisting the
person entitled to possession of the child in locating and
recovering the child;
(3) the costs of medical and mental health services
incurred by the person entitled to possession of the child to
reestablish a relationship with the child; and
(4) the amount of money paid from the crime victims
compensation fund to the child or the person entitled to possession
of the child as a result of the wrongful taking or retention of the
child.
SECTION 6. Subchapter B, Chapter 56, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 56.545 to read as follows:
Art. 56.545. COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF INTERFERENCE WITH
CHILD CUSTODY. (a) In this article, "victim" means a parent of a
child taken or retained in violation of Section 25.03, Penal Code,
or a child taken or retained in violation of Section 25.03, Penal
Code. The term does not include the parent who is prosecuted for
violating Section 25.03, Penal Code.
(b) The attorney general shall award compensation for a loss
arising from the commission of an offense under Section 25.03,
Penal Code, in substantially the same manner as the attorney
general is required to award compensation under this subchapter for
a pecuniary loss arising from criminally injurious conduct.
SECTION 7. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
(b) The change in law made by Sections 1-4 of this Act
applies to a pending suit affecting the parent-child relationship
without regard to whether the suit was filed before, on, or after
the effective date of this Act.
(c) The change in law made by Section 157.169, Family Code,
as added by this Act, applies only to a violation of an order that
provides for possession of or access to a child that occurs on or
after the effective date of this Act.
(d) The change in law made by Article 56.545, Code of
Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, applies only to a
violation of Section 25.03, Penal Code, that occurs on or after the
effective date of this Act.