Amend SB 999 (house committee printing) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____.Section 161.101, Family Code, is amended to read as follow:
Sec. 161.101. PETITION ALLEGATIONS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a [A] petition for the termination of the parent-child relationship is sufficient without the necessity of specifying the underlying facts if the petition alleges in the statutory language the ground for the termination and that termination is in the best interest of the child.
(b) In a suit filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services requesting termination of the parent-child relationship, the department may plead a ground for termination against a parent only if the department includes an affidavit supporting the petition that states facts sufficient to plead the ground for termination alleged in the petition against that parent. The department may not plead a ground for termination against another parent unless the affidavit also states facts sufficient to plead the ground for termination against that parent. Facts sufficient to support a pleading alleging a ground for termination against one parent are not, in and of themselves, a sufficient basis to support a pleading alleging a ground for termination against another parent.
(c) If after filing suit, the Department of Family and Protective Services discovers additional facts sufficient to support pleading a ground for termination against a parent who was not named in the original petition, the department may amend or supplement its pleading to allege a ground for termination against the parent. The amended or supplemental pleading must be supported by an affidavit that complies with the requirements of Subsection (b).
(d) On filing an amended or supplemental pleading under Subsection (c), the court shall conduct a hearing under Section 262.201 not later than the 14th day after the date the amended or supplemental pleading is filed.
(e) The department shall join any party whose joinder is required under Rule 39, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.