By: Nixon, Wise (Senate Sponsor - Nelson) H.B. No. 1899
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 2003;
May 13, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on
Jurisprudence; May 20, 2003, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 20, 2003, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prevention of the international abduction of a
child by a parent of the child.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 153, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. PREVENTION OF INTERNATIONAL
PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION
Sec. 153.501. NECESSITY OF MEASURES TO PREVENT
INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION. (a) In a suit, if credible
evidence is presented to the court indicating a potential risk of
the international abduction of a child by a parent of the child, the
court, on its own motion or at the request of a party to the suit,
shall determine under this section whether it is necessary for the
court to take one or more of the measures described by Section
153.503 to protect the child from the risk of abduction by the
parent.
(b) In determining whether to take any of the measures
described by Section 153.503, the court shall consider:
(1) the public policies of this state described by
Section 153.001(a) and the consideration of the best interest of
the child under Section 153.002;
(2) the risk of international abduction of the child
by a parent of the child based on the court's evaluation of the risk
factors described by Section 153.502;
(3) any obstacles to locating, recovering, and
returning the child if the child is abducted to a foreign country;
and
(4) the potential physical or psychological harm to
the child if the child is abducted to a foreign country.
Sec. 153.502. ABDUCTION RISK FACTORS. (a) To determine
whether there is a risk of the international abduction of a child by
a parent of the child, the court shall consider evidence that the
parent:
(1) has taken, enticed away, kept, withheld, or
concealed a child in violation of another person's right of
possession of or access to the child, unless the parent presents
evidence that the parent believed in good faith that the parent's
conduct was necessary to avoid imminent harm to the child;
(2) has previously threatened to take, entice away,
keep, withhold, or conceal a child in violation of another person's
right of possession of or access to the child;
(3) lacks financial reason to stay in the United
States, including evidence that the parent is financially
independent, is able to work outside of the United States, or is
unemployed;
(4) has recently engaged in planning activities that
could facilitate the removal of the child from the United States by
the parent, including:
(A) quitting a job;
(B) selling a primary residence;
(C) terminating a lease;
(D) closing bank accounts;
(E) liquidating other assets;
(F) hiding or destroying documents;
(G) applying for a passport or visa for the
parent or the child; or
(H) applying to obtain the child's birth
certificate or school or medical records;
(5) has a history of domestic violence that the court
is required to consider under Section 153.004; or
(6) has a criminal history or a history of violating
court orders.
(b) If the court finds that there is credible evidence of a
risk of abduction of the child by a parent of the child based on the
court's consideration of the factors in Subsection (a), the court
shall also consider evidence regarding the following factors to
evaluate the risk of international abduction of the child by a
parent:
(1) whether the parent has strong familial, emotional,
or cultural ties to another country, particularly a country that is
not a signatory to or compliant with the Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; and
(2) whether the parent lacks strong ties to the United
States, regardless of whether the parent is a citizen or permanent
resident of the United States.
(c) If the court finds that there is credible evidence of a
risk of abduction of the child by a parent of the child based on the
court's consideration of the factors in Subsection (a), the court
may also consider evidence regarding the following factors to
evaluate the risk of international abduction of the child by a
parent:
(1) whether the parent is undergoing a change in
status with the United States Immigration and Naturalization
Service that would adversely affect that parent's ability to
legally remain in the United States;
(2) whether the parent's application for United States
citizenship has been denied by the United States Immigration and
Naturalization Service;
(3) whether the parent has forged or presented
misleading or false evidence to obtain a visa, a passport, a social
security card, or any other identification card or has made any
misrepresentation to the United States government; or
(4) whether the foreign country to which the parent
has ties:
(A) presents obstacles to the recovery and return
of a child who is abducted to the country from the United States;
(B) has any legal mechanisms for immediately and
effectively enforcing an order regarding the possession of or
access to the child issued by this state;
(C) has local laws or practices that would:
(i) enable the parent to prevent the child's
other parent from contacting the child without due cause;
(ii) restrict the child's other parent from
freely traveling to or exiting from the country because of that
parent's gender, nationality, or religion; or
(iii) restrict the child's ability to
legally leave the country after the child reaches the age of
majority because of the child's gender, nationality, or religion;
(D) is included by the United States Department
of State on a list of state sponsors of terrorism;
(E) is a country for which the United States
Department of State has issued a travel warning to United States
citizens regarding travel to the country;
(F) has an embassy of the United States in the
country;
(G) is engaged in any active military action or
war, including a civil war;
(H) is a party to and compliant with the Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
according to the most recent report on compliance issued by the
United States Department of State;
(I) provides for the extradition of a parental
abductor and the return of the child to the United States; or
(J) poses a risk that the child's physical health
or safety would be endangered in the country because of specific
circumstances relating to the child or because of human rights
violations committed against children, including arranged
marriages, lack of freedom of religion, child labor, lack of child
abuse laws, female genital mutilation, and any form of slavery.
Sec. 153.503. ABDUCTION PREVENTION MEASURES. If the court
finds that it is necessary under Section 153.501 to take measures to
protect a child from international abduction by a parent of the
child, the court may take any of the following actions:
(1) appoint a person other than the parent of the child
who presents a risk of abducting the child as the sole managing
conservator of the child;
(2) require supervised visitation of the parent by a
visitation center or independent organization until the court finds
under Section 153.501 that supervised visitation is no longer
necessary;
(3) enjoin the parent or any person acting on the
parent's behalf from:
(A) disrupting or removing the child from the
school or child-care facility in which the child is enrolled; or
(B) approaching the child at any location other
than a site designated for supervised visitation;
(4) order passport and travel controls, including
controls that:
(A) prohibit the parent and any person acting on
the parent's behalf from removing the child from this state or the
United States;
(B) require the parent to surrender any passport
issued in the child's name, including any passport issued in the
name of both the parent and the child; and
(C) prohibit the parent from applying on behalf
of the child for a new or replacement passport or international
travel visa;
(5) require the parent to provide:
(A) to the United States Department of State's
Office of Children's Issues and the relevant foreign consulate or
embassy:
(i) written notice of the court-ordered
passport and travel restrictions for the child; and
(ii) a properly authenticated copy of the
court order detailing the restrictions and documentation of the
parent's agreement to the restrictions; and
(B) to the court proof of receipt of the written
notice required by Paragraph (A)(i) by the United States Department
of State's Office of Children's Issues and the relevant foreign
consulate or embassy;
(6) order the parent to execute a bond or deposit
security in an amount sufficient to offset the cost of recovering
the child if the child is abducted by the parent to a foreign
country;
(7) authorize the appropriate law enforcement
agencies to take measures to prevent the abduction of the child by
the parent; or
(8) include in the court's order provisions:
(A) identifying the United States as the country
of habitual residence of the child;
(B) defining the basis for the court's exercise
of jurisdiction; and
(C) stating that a party's violation of the order
may subject the party to a civil penalty or criminal penalty or to
both civil and criminal penalties.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a
suit affecting the parent-child relationship pending in a trial
court on the effective date of this Act or filed on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
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