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78R3423 JMM-F
By: Goodman H.B. No. 233
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 233:
By: Goodman C.S.H.B. No. 233
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to standing to file a suit requesting termination of the
parent-child relationship or adoption.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 102.003(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) An original suit may be filed at any time by:
(1) a parent of the child;
(2) the child through a representative authorized by
the court;
(3) a custodian or person having the right of
visitation with or access to the child appointed by an order of a
court of another state or country;
(4) a guardian of the person or of the estate of the
child;
(5) a governmental entity;
(6) an authorized agency;
(7) a licensed child placing agency;
(8) a man alleging himself to be the father of a child
filing in accordance with Chapter 160, subject to the limitations
of that chapter, but not otherwise;
(9) a person, other than a foster parent, who has had
actual care, control, and possession of the child for at least six
months ending not more than 90 days preceding the date of the filing
of the petition;
(10) a person designated as the managing conservator
in a revoked or unrevoked affidavit of relinquishment under Chapter
161 or to whom consent to adoption has been given in writing under
Chapter 162;
(11) a person with whom the child and the child's
guardian, managing conservator, or parent have resided for at least
six months ending not more than 90 days preceding the date of the
filing of the petition if the child's guardian, managing
conservator, or parent is deceased at the time of the filing of the
petition;
(12) a person who is the foster parent of a child
placed by the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in
the person's home for at least 12 months ending not more than 90
days preceding the date of the filing of the petition; [or]
(13) a person who is a relative of the child within the
third degree by consanguinity, as determined by Chapter 573,
Government Code, if the child's parents are deceased at the time of
the filing of the petition; or
(14) a person who has been named as a prospective
adoptive parent of a child by a pregnant woman or the parent of the
child, in a verified written statement to confer standing executed
under Section 102.0035, regardless of whether the child has been
born.
SECTION 2. Chapter 102, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 102.0035 to read as follows:
Sec. 102.0035. STATEMENT TO CONFER STANDING. (a) A
pregnant woman or a parent of a child may execute a statement to
confer standing to a prospective adoptive parent as provided by
this section to assert standing under Section 102.003(a)(14). A
statement to confer standing under this section may not be executed
in a suit brought by a governmental entity under Chapter 262 or 263.
(b) A statement to confer standing must contain:
(1) the signature, name, age, and address of the
person named as a prospective adoptive parent;
(2) the signature, name, age, and address of the
pregnant woman or of the parent of the child who is consenting to
the filing of a petition for adoption or to terminate the
parent-child relationship as described by Subsection (a);
(3) the birth date of the child or the anticipated
birth date if the child has not been born; and
(4) the name of the county in which the suit will be
filed.
(c) The statement to confer standing must be attached to the
petition in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. The
statement may not be used for any purpose other than to confer
standing in a proceeding for adoption or to terminate the
parent-child relationship.
(d) A statement to confer standing may be signed at any time
during the pregnancy of the mother of the unborn child whose
parental rights are to be terminated.
(e) A statement to confer standing is not required in a suit
brought by a person who has standing to file a suit affecting the
parent-child relationship under Sections 102.003(a)(1)-(13) or any
other law under which the person has standing to file a suit.
(f) A person who executes a statement to confer standing may
revoke the statement at any time before the person executes an
affidavit for voluntary relinquishment of parental rights. The
revocation of the statement must be in writing and must be sent by
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the prospective
adoptive parent.
(g) On filing with the court proof of the delivery of the
revocation of a statement to confer standing under Subsection (f),
the court shall dismiss any suit affecting the parent-child
relationship filed by the prospective adoptive parent named in the
statement.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.