| TO: | Honorable Jeff Wentworth, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1012 by Gonzalez Toureilles (Relating to the conservatorship or possession of, or access to, a child in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted |
The bill would amend the Family Code relating to the conservatorship or possession of, or access to, a child in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. The bill would create a new actor in suits affecting the parent-child relationship known as a "parenting facilitator." The parenting facilitator would be appointed by a court to assist parties in resolving parenting issues through non-confidential procedures. The appointment of a parenting facilitator could occur only after a hearing and after the court makes specific fact findings. The court may not appoint a parenting facilitator unless the court finds that the parties have the means to pay the fees of the parenting facilitator. A domestic relations office could be appointed to serve as a parenting facilitator if the parties have no means to pay a parenting facilitator's fees.
To the extent the bill would amend court procedures regarding terms of possession or access and appointments of parenting facilitators no significant additional workload to the courts or fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. The bill would take effect September 1, 2009.
To the extent the bill would increase the workloads of county domestic relations offices appointed as parenting facilitators, no significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, TB, MN, TP
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