| TO: | Honorable Tryon D. Lewis, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB496 by Hernandez Luna (Relating to authorizing a suit to declare that certain young people have been abused, neglected, or abandoned and extending the jurisdiction of certain courts making such a declaration.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Family Code to authorize suits by persons at least 18 and younger than 21 to petition a court to declare the person's special immigrant status under federal law as a result of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. The bill specifies procedural matters relating to judicial orders under the bill and court jurisdiction of such cases. The bill would also amend the Government Code to require the Office of Court Administration to track the number of such orders granted by Texas courts and to develop a form for reporting such information. The bill would take effect immediately if receiving a two-thirds vote of each house, otherwise the bill would take effect September 1, 2013. The changes in law would expire August 31, 2019.
The Office of Court Administration does not anticipate any significant fiscal impact to the agency or to the statewide court system resulting from the bill. The Department of Family and Protective Services reports the bill may result in a small increase in workload, but that any additional workload could be absorbed within existing resources and would not have a significant fiscal impact.
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of
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| LBB Staff: | UP, CL, AM
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