88R4796 AMF-F

By: Cook H.B. No. 3379

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to orders for the conservatorship of, possession of or access to, or support of a child in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 153.001(a), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The public policy of this state is to:

(1) assure that children will have frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of the child;

(2) provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment for the child; [and]

(3) encourage parents to share equally in the rights and duties of raising their child after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage; and

(4) if parents reside in reasonable proximity to each other, allocate rights of equal or nearly equal periods of physical possession of and access to the child.

SECTION 2. Section 153.002, Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 153.002. BEST INTEREST OF CHILD. (a) The best interest of the child shall always be the primary consideration of the court in determining the issues of conservatorship and possession of and access to the child.

(b) In determining the best interest of the child, in addition to any other factors the court is required to consider under this chapter or other law, the court shall consider the following factors:

(1) the child's wishes as to conservatorship, possession, or access;

(2) the child's current and future emotional and physical needs;

(3) any current or future emotional or physical danger to the child;

(4) the parenting abilities of the party seeking conservatorship or possession of or access to the child;

(5) the programs available to assist the party seeking conservatorship or possession of or access to the child;

(6) the plans for the child of any person seeking conservatorship or possession of or access to the child;

(7) the stability of any proposed placement;

(8) any act or omission by a parent seeking conservatorship or possession of or access to the child that may indicate the parent does not act in the best interest of the child;

(9) any explanation for the parent's act or omission described by Subdivision (8); and

(10) any other factor the court considers relevant to the determination.

SECTION 3. Section 153.007(a), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) To promote the amicable settlement of disputes between the parties to a suit, the parties may enter into a written agreed parenting plan containing provisions for conservatorship and possession of the child and for modification of the parenting plan, including variations from the equal parenting order under Subchapter F-1 or the standard possession order under Subchapter F.

SECTION 4. Section 153.134, Family Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter and except as otherwise provided by this subsection, if the court renders an order appointing the parents as joint managing conservators under this section and the parents reside 20 miles or less apart, the court shall render an equal parenting order under Subchapter F-1 providing for equal or nearly equal periods of physical possession of the child, unless the court determines and enters a finding of fact on the record specifying that equal or nearly equal periods of physical possession are not in the best interest of the child, in which case the court may enter:

(1) a standard possession order as provided by Subchapter F, including an expanded standard possession order under Section 153.3171, if applicable; or

(2) if the court finds that the standard possession order is not in the best interest of the child, another order for possession of the child that the court determines is in the best interest of the child.

SECTION 5. Section 153.251(a), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The guidelines established in the standard possession order are intended to guide the courts in ordering the terms and conditions for possession of a child by a parent named as a possessory conservator, or as the minimum possession for a joint managing conservator if the court does not render an equal parenting order under Subchapter F-1.

SECTION 6. Section 153.252, Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 153.252. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), in [In] a suit, there is a rebuttable presumption that the standard possession order in Subchapter F:

(1) provides reasonable minimum possession of a child for a parent named as a possessory conservator or joint managing conservator; and

(2) is in the best interest of the child.

(b) If the court renders an order appointing the parents as joint managing conservators and the parents reside 20 miles or less apart, there is a rebuttable presumption that the equal parenting order under Subchapter F-1 is in the best interest of the child. If the court finds that the equal parenting order under Subchapter F-1 is not in the best interest of the child, the presumption provided by Subsection (a) applies.

SECTION 7. Chapter 153, Family Code, is amended by adding Subchapter F-1 to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER F-1. EQUAL PARENTING ORDER FOR JOINT MANAGING

CONSERVATORS WHO RESIDE 20 MILES OR LESS APART

Sec. 153.351. AUTHORITY TO RENDER EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a court shall enter an equal parenting order under this subchapter providing for equal or nearly equal periods of possession of a child in accordance with this subchapter if the court:

(1) appoints the parents as joint managing conservators under Section 153.134;

(2) determines the parents reside 20 miles or less apart; and

(3) determines that the order would be in the best interest of the child.

Sec. 153.352. DESIGNATION OF CONSERVATORS UNDER EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. For purposes of this subchapter, the court shall designate the joint managing conservator with the exclusive right to designate the child's primary residence as "conservator A" and the other joint managing conservator as "conservator B."

Sec. 153.353. REFERENCE TO "SCHOOL" IN EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. (a) In an equal parenting order, "school" means the elementary or secondary school in which the child is enrolled or, if the child is not enrolled in an elementary or secondary school, the public school district in which the child primarily resides.

(b) In this subchapter, if a period of possession in an equal parenting order begins or ends at the time the child's school regularly resumes, and the child is not attending school on that day, the period of possession shall begin or end at 8:00 a.m.

Sec. 153.354. MUTUAL AGREEMENT OR SPECIFIED TERMS FOR POSSESSION. The court shall specify in an equal parenting order that the parties may have possession of the child at times mutually agreed to in advance by the parties and, in the absence of mutual agreement, shall have possession of the child under the specified terms set out in the equal parenting order.

Sec. 153.355. POSSESSION SCHEDULE UNDER EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. Unless an alternative possession schedule is ordered under Section 153.356, in an equal parenting order:

(1) conservator B shall have the right to possession of the child as follows:

(A) on weekends throughout the year beginning at the time school regularly resumes on the first and third Friday of each month and ending at the time school regularly resumes on the following Monday; and

(B) on Wednesdays and Thursdays of each week beginning at the time school regularly resumes on Wednesday and ending at the time school regularly resumes on Friday;

(2) conservator A shall have the right to possession of the child as follows:

(A) on weekends throughout the year beginning at the time school regularly resumes on the second and fourth Friday of each month and ending at the time school regularly resumes on the following Monday; and

(B) on Mondays and Tuesdays of each week beginning at the time school regularly resumes on Monday and ending at the time school regularly resumes on Wednesday; and

(3) for weekends that begin at the time school regularly resumes on the fifth Friday of a month and end at the time school regularly resumes on the following Monday, the conservators shall alternate weekends of possession throughout the year on a schedule that begins as follows:

(A) conservator B shall have the right to possession of the child on the first such weekend of the year in even-numbered years; and

(B) conservator A shall have the right to possession of the child on the first such weekend of the year in odd-numbered years.

Sec. 153.356. ALTERNATIVE SCHEDULE UNDER EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. (a) As an alternative to the possession schedule under Section 153.355, the court in an equal parenting order may designate an alternative possession schedule as provided in this section.

(b) Under an alternative possession schedule:

(1) conservator B shall have the right to possession of the child beginning at the time school regularly resumes on the first and third Friday of each month and ending at the time school regularly resumes on the following Friday;

(2) conservator A shall have the right to possession of the child beginning at the time school regularly resumes on the second and fourth Friday of each month and ending at the time school regularly resumes on the following Friday; and

(3) for weeks that begin at the time school regularly resumes on the fifth Friday of a month and end at the time school regularly resumes on the following Friday, the conservators shall alternate weeks of possession throughout the year on a schedule that begins as follows:

(A) conservator B shall have the right to possession of the child on the first such week of the year in even-numbered years; and

(B) conservator A shall have the right to possession of the child on the first such week of the year in odd-numbered years.

Sec. 153.357. VACATION AND HOLIDAY POSSESSION SCHEDULE UNDER EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. (a) This section governs possession of the child for certain vacations and holidays and supersedes the periods of possession described by Section 153.355 or 153.356.

(b) Under an equal parenting order:

(1) conservator B shall have possession of the child in even-numbered years beginning at the time the child's school resumes on the day the child is dismissed from school for the school's spring vacation and ending at the time the child's school resumes after that vacation;

(2) conservator A shall have possession of the child in odd-numbered years beginning at the time the child's school resumes on the day the child is dismissed from school for the school's spring vacation and ending at the time the child's school resumes after that vacation;

(3) the conservators shall alternate 14-day periods of possession for eight weeks during the period the child's school is dismissed for summer vacation, regardless of whether the child participates in summer school, on a schedule that begins as follows:

(A) in even-numbered years, conservator B shall have the right to possession of the child:

(i) beginning when school regularly resumes the day school is dismissed for summer vacation if school is dismissed for summer vacation on a Friday, otherwise at 8:00 a.m. the first Friday of the period the child's school is dismissed for summer vacation; and

(ii) ending at 8 a.m. the second Friday after the period of possession begins; and

(B) in odd-numbered years, conservator A shall have the right to possession of the child:

(i) beginning when school regularly resumes the day school is dismissed for summer vacation if school is dismissed for summer vacation on a Friday, otherwise at 8:00 a.m. the first Friday of the period the child's school is dismissed for summer vacation; and

(ii) ending at 8 a.m. the second Friday after the period of possession begins; and

(4) the conservators shall have rights of possession of the child during holiday periods as follows:

(A) conservator B shall have possession of the child in even-numbered years beginning at 4 p.m. on the day the child is dismissed from school for the Christmas school vacation and ending at noon on December 28, and conservator A shall have possession for the same period in odd-numbered years;

(B) conservator B shall have possession of the child in odd-numbered years beginning at noon on December 28 and ending at 4 p.m. on the day before school resumes after that vacation, and conservator A shall have possession for the same period in even-numbered years;

(C) conservator B shall have possession of the child in odd-numbered years beginning at 4 p.m. on the day the child is dismissed from school before Thanksgiving and ending at 4 p.m. on the following Sunday, and conservator A shall have possession for the same period in even-numbered years;

(D) the parent not otherwise entitled under this equal order to present possession of a child on the child's birthday shall have possession of the child beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at 8 p.m. on that day, provided that the parent picks up the child from the residence of the conservator entitled to possession and returns the child to that same place;

(E) the father shall have possession of the child beginning at 6 p.m. on the Friday preceding Father's Day and ending on Father's Day at 6 p.m., provided that, if he is not otherwise entitled under this equal parenting order to present possession of the child, he picks up the child from the residence of the conservator entitled to possession and returns the child to that same place; and

(F) the mother shall have possession of the child beginning at 6 p.m. on the Friday preceding Mother's Day and ending on Mother's Day at 6 p.m., provided that, if she is not otherwise entitled under this equal parenting order to present possession of the child, she picks up the child from the residence of the conservator entitled to possession and returns the child to that same place.

SECTION 8. Section 154.122, Family Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) An order for child support rendered for a child who is the subject of an equal parenting order under Subchapter F-1, Chapter 153, is presumed to be reasonable and in the best interest of the child if the order for child support conforms to Section 154.1265.

SECTION 9. Subchapter C, Chapter 154, Family Code, is amended by adding Section 154.1265 to read as follows:

Sec. 154.1265. APPLICATION OF GUIDELINES FOR CHILD SUBJECT TO EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. (a) In ordering child support for a child who is the subject of an equal parenting order under Subchapter F-1, Chapter 153, the court shall determine the amount of the child support obligation as provided by this section.

(b) The court shall first apply the child support guidelines with respect to each parent without regard to the other and then subtract the amount of child support determined under the guidelines for the parent who would be obligated to pay the lesser of the two amounts from the amount of child support determined for the parent who would be obligated to pay the greater amount. The net amount is presumed to be a reasonable amount of child support.

(c) The court shall render an order requiring the parent determined under Subsection (b) to owe the greater amount to pay as periodic child support the net amount to the other parent.

(d) A child support order conforming to the requirements of this section is presumed to be in the best interest of the child.

SECTION 10. The enactment of this Act does not constitute a material and substantial change of circumstances sufficient to warrant modification of a court order or portion of a decree that provides for the possession of or access to a child rendered before the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 11. The change in law made by this Act applies to a suit affecting the parent-child relationship that is pending in a trial court on the effective date of this Act or that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.