BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3996

By: Dutton

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current statute, certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) are subject to a one-year deadline before the court's jurisdiction is terminated, beginning with the date the court renders a temporary order assigning DFPS as temporary managing conservator. The bill author has informed the committee that this practice may lead to instances where cases are prematurely dismissed, resulting in incomplete resolutions and potential harm to the child's welfare. C.S.H.B. 3996 seeks to address this issue by allowing a parent or alleged father of a child to request or file a motion to extend the deadline.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3996 amends the Family Code to specify that a court may retain on the court's docket a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) requesting termination of the parent-child relationship or requesting that DFPS be named conservator of a child after the first anniversary of the date the court rendered a temporary order appointing DFPS as the child's temporary managing conservator if a parent or an alleged father in open court requests an extension of time or files a motion to extend time or a motion for the monitored return of a child to a parent, in addition to the other requisite conditions. The bill, with respect to the requisite finding by a court for purposes of extending such a suit following the applicable one-year period that extraordinary circumstances necessitate the child remaining in the temporary managing conservatorship of DFPS if a parent of a child has made a good faith effort to successfully complete the service plan but needs additional time, specifies that such additional time includes additional time for the parent to complete a substance abuse treatment program that was ordered by the court as part of a service plan.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3996 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute changes the provision in the introduced that specified that a court may retain on the court's docket an applicable suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed by DFPS after the statutorily prescribed deadline if the parent in open court requests an extension of time, in addition to the other requisite conditions, by instead specifying that the court may retain such a suit if a parent or an alleged father in open court requests an extension of time or files a motion to extend time or a motion for the monitored return of a child to a parent, in addition to the other requisite conditions.