Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB494 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R260 KKA-D
2	2	By: Zerwas, et al. H.B. No. 494
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to involuntary termination of parental rights based on
8	8	attempted murder or solicitation of murder of the child's other
9	9	parent.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 161.001, Family Code, is amended to read
12	12	as follows:
13	13	Sec. 161.001. INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF PARENT-CHILD
14	14	RELATIONSHIP. The court may order termination of the parent-child
15	15	relationship if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence:
16	16	(1) that the parent has:
17	17	(A) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
18	18	possession of another not the parent and expressed an intent not to
19	19	return;
20	20	(B) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
21	21	possession of another not the parent without expressing an intent
22	22	to return, without providing for the adequate support of the child,
23	23	and remained away for a period of at least three months;
24	24	(C) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
25	25	possession of another without providing adequate support of the
26	26	child and remained away for a period of at least six months;
27	27	(D) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the
28	28	child to remain in conditions or surroundings which endanger the
29	29	physical or emotional well-being of the child;
30	30	(E) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the
31	31	child with persons who engaged in conduct which endangers the
32	32	physical or emotional well-being of the child;
33	33	(F) failed to support the child in accordance
34	34	with the parent's ability during a period of one year ending within
35	35	six months of the date of the filing of the petition;
36	36	(G) abandoned the child without identifying the
37	37	child or furnishing means of identification, and the child's
38	38	identity cannot be ascertained by the exercise of reasonable
39	39	diligence;
40	40	(H) voluntarily, and with knowledge of the
41	41	pregnancy, abandoned the mother of the child beginning at a time
42	42	during her pregnancy with the child and continuing through the
43	43	birth, failed to provide adequate support or medical care for the
44	44	mother during the period of abandonment before the birth of the
45	45	child, and remained apart from the child or failed to support the
46	46	child since the birth;
47	47	(I) contumaciously refused to submit to a
48	48	reasonable and lawful order of a court under Subchapter D, Chapter
49	49	261;
50	50	(J) been the major cause of:
51	51	(i) the failure of the child to be enrolled
52	52	in school as required by the Education Code; or
53	53	(ii) the child's absence from the child's
54	54	home without the consent of the parents or guardian for a
55	55	substantial length of time or without the intent to return;
56	56	(K) executed before or after the suit is filed an
57	57	unrevoked or irrevocable affidavit of relinquishment of parental
58	58	rights as provided by this chapter;
59	59	(L) been convicted or has been placed on
60	60	community supervision, including deferred adjudication community
61	61	supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or
62	62	serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal
63	63	Code or adjudicated under Title 3 for conduct that caused the death
64	64	or serious injury of a child and that would constitute a violation
65	65	of one of the following Penal Code sections:
66	66	(i) Section 19.02 (murder);
67	67	(ii) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
68	68	(iii) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
69	69	(iv) Section 21.11 (indecency with a
70	70	child);
71	71	(v) Section 22.01 (assault);
72	72	(vi) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
73	73	(vii) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
74	74	(viii) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual
75	75	assault);
76	76	(ix) Section 22.04 (injury to a child,
77	77	elderly individual, or disabled individual);
78	78	(x) Section 22.041 (abandoning or
79	79	endangering child);
80	80	(xi) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual
81	81	conduct);
82	82	(xii) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by
83	83	a child);
84	84	(xiii) Section 43.26 (possession or
85	85	promotion of child pornography); and
86	86	(xiv) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual
87	87	abuse of young child or children);
88	88	(M) had his or her parent-child relationship
89	89	terminated with respect to another child based on a finding that the
90	90	parent's conduct was in violation of Paragraph (D) or (E) or
91	91	substantially equivalent provisions of the law of another state;
92	92	(N) constructively abandoned the child who has
93	93	been in the permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the
94	94	Department of Family and Protective Services or an authorized
95	95	agency for not less than six months, and:
96	96	(i) the department or authorized agency has
97	97	made reasonable efforts to return the child to the parent;
98	98	(ii) the parent has not regularly visited
99	99	or maintained significant contact with the child; and
100	100	(iii) the parent has demonstrated an
101	101	inability to provide the child with a safe environment;
102	102	(O) failed to comply with the provisions of a
103	103	court order that specifically established the actions necessary for
104	104	the parent to obtain the return of the child who has been in the
105	105	permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the Department
106	106	of Family and Protective Services for not less than nine months as a
107	107	result of the child's removal from the parent under Chapter 262 for
108	108	the abuse or neglect of the child;
109	109	(P) used a controlled substance, as defined by
110	110	Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, in a manner that endangered the
111	111	health or safety of the child, and:
112	112	(i) failed to complete a court-ordered
113	113	substance abuse treatment program; or
114	114	(ii) after completion of a court-ordered
115	115	substance abuse treatment program, continued to abuse a controlled
116	116	substance;
117	117	(Q) knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that
118	118	has resulted in the parent's:
119	119	(i) conviction of an offense; and
120	120	(ii) confinement or imprisonment and
121	121	inability to care for the child for not less than two years from the
122	122	date of filing the petition;
123	123	(R) been the cause of the child being born
124	124	addicted to alcohol or a controlled substance, other than a
125	125	controlled substance legally obtained by prescription, as defined
126	126	by Section 261.001;
127	127	(S) voluntarily delivered the child to a
128	128	designated emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302
129	129	without expressing an intent to return for the child; or
130	130	(T) been convicted of:
131	131	(i) the murder of the other parent of the
132	132	child under Section 19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code, or under a law of
133	133	another state, federal law, the law of a foreign country, or the
134	134	Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are
135	135	substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section
136	136	19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code;
137	137	(ii) criminal attempt under Section 15.01,
138	138	Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, the law of
139	139	a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice that
140	140	contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of
141	141	an offense under Section 15.01, Penal Code, to commit the offense
142	142	described by Subparagraph (i); or
143	143	(iii) criminal solicitation under Section
144	144	15.03, Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, the
145	145	law of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice
146	146	that contains elements that are substantially similar to the
147	147	elements of an offense under Section 15.03, Penal Code, of the
148	148	offense described by Subparagraph (i); and
149	149	(2) that termination is in the best interest of the
150	150	child.
151	151	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
152	152	to a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after
153	153	the effective date of this Act. A suit affecting the parent-child
154	154	relationship filed before the effective date of this Act is
155	155	governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the
156	156	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
157	157	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.