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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to procedures for determining court jurisdiction under the |
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Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 152.110(c), (d), and (f), Family Code, |
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are amended to read as follows: |
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(c) All [The court may allow the parties to participate in
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the communication. If the] parties [are not able to participate in
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the communication, they] must be given the opportunity to present |
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facts and legal arguments in connection with a decision on |
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jurisdiction or any court communication between the court in this |
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state and the court in another state relevant to the [before a] |
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decision on jurisdiction [is made]. |
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(d) If proceedings involving the same parties are pending |
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simultaneously in a court of this state and a court of another |
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state, the court of this state shall inform the other court of the |
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simultaneous proceedings. The court of this state shall request |
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that the other court hold the proceeding in that court in abeyance |
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until the court in this state conducts a hearing, in an expedited |
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manner, if possible, to determine whether the court has |
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jurisdiction over the proceeding. After conclusion of the |
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jurisdictional hearing conducted in this state, the court in this |
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state shall provide the other court with a copy of any written order |
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resulting from that hearing. |
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(f) Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (e), a record |
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must be made of any communication under this section. The parties |
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must be informed promptly by first class mail of the communication |
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and granted access to the record before any jurisdictional hearing |
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is conducted. |
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SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act to Section |
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152.110, Family Code, apply to a motion or other request for relief |
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made in a child custody proceeding or to enforce a child custody |
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determination that is commenced on or after the effective date of |
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this Act. A motion or other request for relief made in a child |
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custody proceeding or to enforce a child custody determination that |
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was commenced before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
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the law in effect at the time the motion or other request was made, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |