CT
Connecticut House Bill HB06685

Connecticut 2013 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06685 Compare Versions

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1-General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6685
2-January Session, 2013 *_____HB06685JUD___041913____*
1+General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6685
2+January Session, 2013 LCO No. 4896
3+ *04896_______JUD*
4+Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
5+Introduced by:
6+(JUD)
37
48 General Assembly
59
6-Substitute Bill No. 6685
10+Raised Bill No. 6685
711
812 January Session, 2013
913
10-*_____HB06685JUD___041913____*
14+LCO No. 4896
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12-AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY LEGAL DISPUTES INVOLVING THE CARE AND CUSTODY OF MINOR CHILDREN.
16+*04896_______JUD*
17+
18+Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
19+
20+Introduced by:
21+
22+(JUD)
23+
24+AN ACT CONCERNING THE PRESUMPTION OF SHARED CUSTODY IN DISPUTES INVOLVING THE CARE AND CUSTODY OF MINOR CHILDREN.
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1426 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
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16-Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to study (1) the role of a guardian ad litem and the attorney for a minor child in any action involving the custody, care and upbringing of a child, (2) actions involving the custody, care and upbringing of a child in which one party alleges that he or she has been subjected to parental alienation and the role of a court when considering such allegations, and (3) whether the state should adopt a presumption that shared custody is in the best interest of a minor child in any action involving the custody, care and upbringing of a child. Such study shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of (A) state statutes applicable to an action involving the custody, care and upbringing of a child, and (B) the costs associated with contested divorce actions, including, but not limited to, expert witness fees and attorneys' fees including the fees of guardians ad litem and attorneys for the minor children. Such study may include recommendations for legislation on matters studied by the task force.
28+Section 1. Section 46b-56a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
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18-(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
30+(a) For the purposes of this section, ["joint custody"] "shared custody" means an order (1) awarding legal custody of the minor child to both parents, providing for [joint] shared decision-making by the parents on matters relating to a child's welfare, including, but not limited to, matters relating to education, medical care, and emotional, moral, social and religious development, and (2) providing that physical custody shall be shared by the parents in such a way as to [assure the child of continuing contact with both parents. The court may award joint legal custody without awarding joint physical custody where the parents have agreed to merely joint legal custody.] ensure that each parent exercises physical care of the child for substantial periods of time. An equal sharing of physical care and control of the child shall not be required when the court enters an award of shared custody.
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20-(1) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be a practicing attorney with significant experience in the handling of child custody matters in state courts;
32+(b) There shall be a presumption, affecting the burden of proof, that [joint] shared custody is in the best interests of a minor child where the parents have agreed to an award of [joint] shared custody or so agree in open court at a hearing for the purpose of determining the custody of the minor child or children of the marriage. If the court declines to enter an order awarding [joint] shared custody pursuant to this subsection, the court shall state in its decision the reasons for denial of an award of [joint] shared custody.
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22-(2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall be a practicing attorney with significant experience serving as a guardian ad litem or an attorney for the minor child in child custody matters in state courts;
34+(c) If only one parent seeks an order of [joint] shared custody upon a motion duly made, the court may order both parties to submit to conciliation at their own expense with the costs of such conciliation to be borne by the parties as the court directs according to each party's ability to pay.
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24-(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall have personal or professional experience in matters involving allegations of parental alienation made in the context of a proceeding involving the custody, care and upbringing of a minor child;
36+(d) In any proceeding before the Superior Court involving a dispute between the parents of a minor child with respect to the custody, care, education and upbringing of such child, the parents shall file with the court, at such time and in such form as provided by rule of court, a proposed parental responsibility plan that shall include, at a minimum, the following: (1) A schedule of the physical residence of the child during the year; (2) provisions allocating shared decision-making authority to [one or] both parents regarding the child's [health, education and religious upbringing] welfare, including, but not limited to, matters relating to education, medical care, and emotional, moral, social and religious development; (3) provisions for the resolution of future disputes between the parents, including, where appropriate, the involvement of a mental health professional or other parties to assist the parents in reaching a developmentally appropriate resolution to such disputes; (4) provisions for dealing with the parents' failure to honor their responsibilities under the plan; (5) provisions for dealing with the child's changing needs as the child grows and matures; and (6) provisions for minimizing the child's exposure to harmful parental conflict, encouraging the parents in appropriate circumstances to meet their responsibilities through agreements, and protecting the best interests of the child.
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26-(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall be an attorney whose practice includes civil trial work;
38+(e) The objectives of a parental responsibility plan under this section are to provide for the child's physical care and emotional stability, to provide for the child's changing needs as the child grows and to set forth the authority and responsibility of each parent with respect to the child.
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28-(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be an attorney with significant experience in the handling of child custody matters in state courts;
40+(f) If both parents consent to a parental responsibility plan under this section, such plan shall be approved by the court as the custodial and access orders of the court pursuant to section 46b-56, as amended by this act, unless the court finds that such plan as submitted and agreed to is not in the best interests of the child.
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30-(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall have personal or professional experience in matters involving allegations of parental alienation made in the context of a proceeding involving the custody, care and upbringing of a minor child; and
42+(g) The court may modify any orders made under this section in accordance with section 46b-56, as amended by this act.
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32-(7) The Chief Administrative Judge of the Family Division of the Superior Court, or the Chief Administrative Judge's designee.
44+Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 46b-56e of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
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34-(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly.
46+(c) If a parent is a member of the armed forces, has sole or [joint] shared custody of a child or court ordered visitation, parental access or parenting time and receives notice from military leadership that he or she will deploy or mobilize in the near future and will be required to be separated from such child due to such deployment or mobilization, then upon motion of such deploying parent or the nondeploying parent, a court may enter temporary orders of custody or visitation modifying final orders of custody or visitation during the period of such deployment or mobilization if: (1) The deployment or mobilization would have a material effect upon the deploying parent's ability to exercise parental rights and responsibilities or parent-child contact as set forth in the existing final orders of custody or visitation, and (2) the court finds that such modification is in the best interests of the child. In issuing such temporary modification orders, the court shall be guided by the provisions of the general statutes pertaining to custody and visitation. Motions for temporary modification of final orders of custody or visitation because of deployment or mobilization shall be given priority for this purpose.
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36-(d) All appointments to the task force shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
48+Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 46b-56 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
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38-(e) The Chief Administrative Judge of the Family Division of the Superior Court shall serve as the chairperson of the task force. The chairperson shall schedule the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than forty-five days after the effective date of this section.
50+(b) In making or modifying any order as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the rights and responsibilities of both parents shall be considered and the court shall enter orders accordingly that serve the best interests of the child and provide the child with the active and consistent involvement of both parents commensurate with their abilities and interests. Such orders may include, but shall not be limited to: (1) Approval of a parental responsibility plan agreed to by the parents pursuant to section 46b-56a, as amended by this act; (2) the award of [joint] shared parental responsibility of a minor child to both parents, which shall include (A) provisions for residential arrangements with each parent in accordance with the needs of the child and the parents, and (B) provisions for consultation between the parents and for the making of major decisions regarding the child's [health, education and religious upbringing] welfare, including, but not limited to, matters relating to education, medical care, and emotional, moral, social and religious development; (3) the award of sole custody to one parent with appropriate parenting time for the noncustodial parent where sole custody is in the best interests of the child; or (4) any other custody arrangements as the court may determine to be in the best interests of the child.
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40-(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
52+Sec. 4. Section 46b-56 of the general statutes is amended by adding subsection (j) as follows (Effective October 1, 2013):
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42-(g) Not later than February 1, 2014, the task force shall submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such report or February 1, 2014, whichever is later.
54+(NEW) (j) In any controversy before the Superior Court as to the custody or care of minor children, any parent who is alleged to have knowingly made a false statement to the court relating to the care and custody of the minor children may be referred by the court to the office of the Chief State's Attorney for purposes of a criminal investigation. Any parent who knowingly makes a false statement to the court relating to the care and custody of a minor child may be fined not more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or both.
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4759 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
48-Section 1 from passage New section
60+Section 1 October 1, 2013 46b-56a
61+Sec. 2 October 1, 2013 46b-56e(c)
62+Sec. 3 October 1, 2013 46b-56(b)
63+Sec. 4 October 1, 2013 46b-56
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5065 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
5166
5267 Section 1
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54-from passage
69+October 1, 2013
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56-New section
71+46b-56a
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73+Sec. 2
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75+October 1, 2013
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60-JUD Joint Favorable Subst.
77+46b-56e(c)
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62-JUD
79+Sec. 3
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64-Joint Favorable Subst.
81+October 1, 2013
82+
83+46b-56(b)
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85+Sec. 4
86+
87+October 1, 2013
88+
89+46b-56
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91+Statement of Purpose:
92+
93+To (1) establish a presumption of shared custody in any dispute involving the care and custody of minor children, and (2) provide the court with sanctions that may be imposed against a parent who knowingly makes a false statement to the court in a proceeding relating to the care and custody of minor children.
94+
95+[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]