|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the conservatorship or possession of, or access to, a |
|
child by a parent who is deployed by the military. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
SECTION 1. Chapter 153, Family Code, is amended by adding |
|
Subchapter L to read as follows: |
|
SUBCHAPTER L. MILITARY DUTY |
|
Sec. 153.701. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
|
(1) "Designated person" means the person ordered by |
|
the court to temporarily exercise a conservator's rights, duties, |
|
and periods of possession and access with regard to a child during |
|
the conservator's military deployment, military mobilization, or |
|
temporary military duty. |
|
(2) "Military deployment" means the temporary |
|
transfer of a service member of the armed forces of this state or |
|
the United States serving in an active-duty status to another |
|
location in support of combat or some other military operation. |
|
(3) "Military mobilization" means the call-up of a |
|
National Guard or Reserve service member of the armed forces of this |
|
state or the United States to extended active duty status. The term |
|
does not include National Guard or Reserve annual training. |
|
(4) "Temporary military duty" means the transfer of a |
|
service member of the armed forces of this state or the United |
|
States from one military base to a different location, usually |
|
another base, for a limited time for training or to assist in the |
|
performance of a noncombat mission. |
|
Sec. 153.702. TEMPORARY ORDERS. (a) If a conservator is |
|
ordered to military deployment, military mobilization, or |
|
temporary military duty that involves moving a substantial distance |
|
from the conservator's residence so as to materially affect the |
|
conservator's ability to exercise the conservator's rights and |
|
duties in relation to a child, either conservator may file for an |
|
order under this subchapter. |
|
(b) The court may render a temporary order in a proceeding |
|
under this subchapter regarding: |
|
(1) possession of or access to the child; or |
|
(2) child support. |
|
(c) A temporary order rendered by the court under this |
|
subchapter may grant rights to and impose duties on a designated |
|
person regarding the child, except the court may not require the |
|
designated person to pay child support. |
|
(d) After a conservator's military deployment, military |
|
mobilization, or temporary military duty is concluded, and the |
|
conservator returns to the conservator's usual residence, the |
|
temporary orders under this section terminate and the rights of all |
|
affected parties are governed by the terms of any court order |
|
applicable when the conservator is not ordered to military |
|
deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military duty. |
|
Sec. 153.703. APPOINTING DESIGNATED PERSON FOR CONSERVATOR |
|
WITH EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO DESIGNATE PRIMARY RESIDENCE OF CHILD. (a) |
|
If the conservator with the exclusive right to designate the |
|
primary residence of the child is ordered to military deployment, |
|
military mobilization, or temporary military duty, the court may |
|
render a temporary order to appoint a designated person to exercise |
|
the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child |
|
during the military deployment, military mobilization, or |
|
temporary military duty in the following order of preference: |
|
(1) the conservator who does not have the exclusive |
|
right to designate the primary residence of the child; |
|
(2) if appointing the conservator described by |
|
Subdivision (1) is not in the child's best interest, a designated |
|
person chosen by the conservator with the exclusive right to |
|
designate the primary residence of the child; or |
|
(3) if appointing the conservator described by |
|
Subdivision (1) or the person chosen under Subdivision (2) is not in |
|
the child's best interest, another person chosen by the court. |
|
(b) A designated person named in a temporary order rendered |
|
under this section has the rights and duties of a nonparent |
|
appointed as sole managing conservator under Section 153.371. |
|
(c) The court may limit or expand the rights of a nonparent |
|
named as a designated person in a temporary order rendered under |
|
this section as appropriate to the best interest of the child. |
|
Sec. 153.704. APPOINTING DESIGNATED PERSON TO EXERCISE |
|
VISITATION FOR CONSERVATOR WITH EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO DESIGNATE |
|
PRIMARY RESIDENCE OF CHILD IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. (a) If the |
|
court appoints the conservator without the exclusive right to |
|
designate the primary residence of the child under Section |
|
153.703(a)(1), the court may award visitation with the child to a |
|
designated person chosen by the conservator with the exclusive |
|
right to designate the primary residence of the child. |
|
(b) The periods of visitation shall be the same as the |
|
visitation to which the conservator without the exclusive right to |
|
designate the primary residence of the child was entitled under the |
|
court order in effect immediately before the date the temporary |
|
order is rendered. |
|
(c) The temporary order for visitation must provide that: |
|
(1) the designated person under this section has the |
|
right to possession of the child for the periods and in the manner |
|
in which the conservator without the exclusive right to designate |
|
the primary residence of the child is entitled under the court order |
|
in effect immediately before the date the temporary order is |
|
rendered; |
|
(2) the child's other conservator and the designated |
|
person under this section are subject to the requirements of |
|
Section 153.316, with the designated person considered for purposes |
|
of that section to be the possessory conservator; |
|
(3) the designated person under this section has the |
|
rights and duties of a nonparent possessory conservator under |
|
Section 153.376(a) during the period that the person has possession |
|
of the child; and |
|
(4) the designated person under this section is |
|
subject to any provision in a court order restricting or |
|
prohibiting access to the child by any specified individual. |
|
(d) The court may limit or expand the rights of a nonparent |
|
designated person named in a temporary order rendered under this |
|
section as appropriate to the best interest of the child. |
|
Sec. 153.705. APPOINTING DESIGNATED PERSON TO EXERCISE |
|
VISITATION FOR CONSERVATOR WITHOUT EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO DESIGNATE |
|
PRIMARY RESIDENCE OF CHILD. (a) If the conservator without the |
|
exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child is |
|
ordered to military deployment, military mobilization, or |
|
temporary military duty, the court may award visitation with the |
|
child to a designated person chosen by the conservator, if the |
|
visitation is in the best interest of the child. |
|
(b) The temporary order for visitation must provide that: |
|
(1) the designated person under this section has the |
|
right to possession of the child for the periods and in the manner |
|
in which the conservator described by Subsection (a) would be |
|
entitled if not ordered to military deployment, military |
|
mobilization, or temporary military duty; |
|
(2) the child's other conservator and the designated |
|
person under this section are subject to the requirements of |
|
Section 153.316, with the designated person considered for purposes |
|
of that section to be the possessory conservator; |
|
(3) the designated person under this section has the |
|
rights and duties of a nonparent possessory conservator under |
|
Section 153.376(a) during the period that the designated person has |
|
possession of the child; and |
|
(4) the designated person under this section is |
|
subject to any provision in a court order restricting or |
|
prohibiting access to the child by any specified individual. |
|
(c) The court may limit or expand the rights of a nonparent |
|
designated person named in a temporary order rendered under this |
|
section as appropriate to the best interest of the child. |
|
Sec. 153.706. TEMPORARY ORDER FOR CHILD SUPPORT. A |
|
temporary order rendered under this subchapter may result in a |
|
change of circumstances sufficient to justify a temporary order |
|
modifying the child support obligations of a party. |
|
Sec. 153.707. EXPEDITED HEARING. (a) On a motion by the |
|
conservator who has been ordered to military deployment, military |
|
mobilization, or temporary military duty, the court shall, for good |
|
cause shown, hold an expedited hearing if the court finds that the |
|
conservator's military duties have a material effect on the |
|
conservator's ability to appear in person at a regularly scheduled |
|
hearing. |
|
(b) A hearing under this section shall, if possible, take |
|
precedence over other suits affecting the parent-child |
|
relationship not involving a conservator who has been ordered to |
|
military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military |
|
duty. |
|
(c) On a motion by any party, the court shall, after |
|
reasonable advance notice and for good cause shown, allow a party to |
|
present testimony and evidence by electronic means, including by |
|
teleconference or through the Internet. |
|
Sec. 153.708. ENFORCEMENT. Temporary orders rendered under |
|
this subchapter may be enforced by or against the designated person |
|
to the same extent that an order would be enforceable against the |
|
conservator who has been ordered to military deployment, military |
|
mobilization, or temporary military duty. |
|
Sec. 153.709. ADDITIONAL PERIODS OF POSSESSION OR ACCESS. |
|
(a) Not later than the 90th day after the date a conservator |
|
without the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of |
|
the child who is a member of the armed services concludes the |
|
conservator's military deployment, military mobilization, or |
|
temporary military duty, the conservator may petition the court to: |
|
(1) compute the periods of possession of or access to |
|
the child to which the conservator would have otherwise been |
|
entitled during the conservator's deployment; and |
|
(2) award the conservator additional periods of |
|
possession of or access to the child to compensate for the periods |
|
described by Subdivision (1). |
|
(b) If the conservator described by Subsection (a) |
|
petitions the court under Subsection (a), the court: |
|
(1) shall compute the periods of possession or access |
|
to the child described by Subsection (a)(1); and |
|
(2) may award to the conservator additional periods of |
|
possession of or access to the child for a length of time and under |
|
terms the court considers reasonable, if the court determines that: |
|
(A) the conservator was on military deployment, |
|
military mobilization, or temporary military duty in a location |
|
where access to the child was not reasonably possible; and |
|
(B) the award of additional periods of possession |
|
of or access to the child is in the best interest of the child. |
|
(c) In making the determination under Subsection (b)(2), |
|
the court: |
|
(1) shall consider: |
|
(A) the periods of possession of or access to the |
|
child to which the conservator would otherwise have been entitled |
|
during the conservator's military deployment, military |
|
mobilization, or temporary military duty, as computed under |
|
Subsection (b)(1); |
|
(B) whether the court named a designated person |
|
under Section 153.705 to exercise limited possession of the child |
|
during the conservator's deployment; and |
|
(C) any other factor the court considers |
|
appropriate; and |
|
(2) is not required to award additional periods of |
|
possession of or access to the child that equals the possession or |
|
access to which the conservator would have been entitled during the |
|
conservator's military deployment, military mobilization, or |
|
temporary military duty, as computed under Subsection (b)(1). |
|
(d) After the conservator described by Subsection (a) has |
|
exercised all additional periods of possession or access awarded |
|
under this section, the rights of all affected parties are governed |
|
by the terms of the court order applicable when the conservator is |
|
not ordered to military deployment, military mobilization, or |
|
temporary military duty. |
|
SECTION 2. Section 156.006, Family Code, is amended by |
|
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: |
|
(c) Subsection (b)(2) does not apply to a conservator who |
|
has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the |
|
child and who has temporarily relinquished the primary care and |
|
possession of the child to another person during the conservator's |
|
military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military |
|
duty, as those terms are defined by Section 153.701. |
|
SECTION 3. Section 156.101, Family Code, is amended to read |
|
as follows: |
|
Sec. 156.101. GROUNDS FOR MODIFICATION OF ORDER |
|
ESTABLISHING CONSERVATORSHIP OR POSSESSION AND ACCESS. (a) The |
|
court may modify an order that provides for the appointment of a |
|
conservator of a child, that provides the terms and conditions of |
|
conservatorship, or that provides for the possession of or access |
|
to a child if modification would be in the best interest of the |
|
child and: |
|
(1) the circumstances of the child, a conservator, or |
|
other party affected by the order have materially and substantially |
|
changed since the earlier of: |
|
(A) the date of the rendition of the order; or |
|
(B) the date of the signing of a mediated or |
|
collaborative law settlement agreement on which the order is based; |
|
(2) the child is at least 12 years of age and has filed |
|
with the court, in writing, the name of the person who is the |
|
child's preference to have the exclusive right to designate the |
|
primary residence of the child; or |
|
(3) the conservator who has the exclusive right to |
|
designate the primary residence of the child has voluntarily |
|
relinquished the primary care and possession of the child to |
|
another person for at least six months. |
|
(b) Subsection (a)(3) does not apply to a conservator who |
|
has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the |
|
child and who has temporarily relinquished the primary care and |
|
possession of the child to another person during the conservator's |
|
military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military |
|
duty, as those terms are defined by Section 153.701. |
|
SECTION 4. Section 156.102, Family Code, is amended by |
|
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
|
(d) Subsection (b)(3) does not apply to a person who has the |
|
exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child and |
|
who has temporarily relinquished the primary care and possession of |
|
the child to another person during the conservator's military |
|
deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military duty, as |
|
those terms are defined by Section 153.701. |
|
SECTION 5. Section 156.105, Family Code, is amended to read |
|
as follows: |
|
Sec. 156.105. MODIFICATION OF ORDER BASED ON MILITARY DUTY |
|
[DEPLOYMENT]. [(a)
In this section, "military deployment" means
|
|
military duty ordered for a period of more than six months during
|
|
which the person ordered to duty:
|
|
[(1)
is not provided the option of being accompanied
|
|
by the person's child; and
|
|
[(2)
is serving in a location where access to the
|
|
person's child is not reasonably possible.
|
|
[(b)] The military duty of a conservator who is ordered to |
|
military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military |
|
duty, as those terms are defined by Section 153.701, does not by |
|
itself constitute [of a person who is a possessory conservator or a
|
|
joint managing conservator without the exclusive right to designate
|
|
the primary residence of the child is] a material and substantial |
|
change of circumstances sufficient to justify a modification of an |
|
existing court order or portion of a decree that sets the terms and |
|
conditions for the possession of or access to a child except that |
|
the court may render a temporary order under Subchapter L, Chapter |
|
153. |
|
[(c)
If the court determines that modification is in the
|
|
best interest of the child, the court may modify the order or decree
|
|
to provide in a manner consistent with Section 153.3161 for
|
|
possession of the child during the period of the military
|
|
deployment by a person designated by the deployed conservator.] |
|
SECTION 6. Sections 153.3161 and 156.410, Family Code, are |
|
repealed. |
|
SECTION 7. Sections 156.006, 156.101, 156.102, and 156.105, |
|
Family Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a suit affecting |
|
the parent-child relationship pending in a trial court on or filed |
|
on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
|
|
|
* * * * * |