81R14600 JSC-D
By: Aycock, Sheffield, Leibowitz, H.B. No. 63
Gonzalez Toureilles, et al.
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 63:
By: Woolley C.S.H.B. No. 63
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to possession of or access to a child by a parent who is
deployed by the military.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 151, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 151.004 to read as follows:
Sec. 151.004. PROHIBITION AGAINST CERTAIN ORDERS DURING
PARENT'S MILITARY DEPLOYMENT. A court may not render an order
affecting the terms of a parent's possession of or access to the
parent's child on the sole grounds that the parent has voluntarily
abandoned or left the child or has otherwise voluntarily
relinquished the primary care and possession of the child if the
parent has temporarily relinquished the primary care and possession
of the child to another person during a period in which the parent:
(1) is ordered to duty as a member of the armed forces
of the United States, the Texas National Guard, or the National
Guard of another state without the option of being accompanied by
the child; and
(2) is serving in a location where access to the child
is not reasonably possible.
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 153, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 153.3162 to read as follows:
Sec. 153.3162. ADDITIONAL PERIODS OF POSSESSION OR ACCESS
AFTER CONCLUSION OF MILITARY DEPLOYMENT. (a) In this section,
"conservator" means:
(1) a possessory conservator of a child; or
(2) a joint managing conservator of a child without
the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the
child.
(b) Not later than the 90th day after the date a conservator
who is a member of the armed services concludes the conservator's
active military deployment, the conservator may petition the court
to:
(1) compute the periods of possession of or access to
the child to which the conservator would have otherwise been
entitled during the conservator's deployment; and
(2) award the conservator additional periods of
possession of or access to the child to compensate for the periods
described by Subdivision (1).
(c) If a conservator petitions the court under Subsection
(b), the court:
(1) shall compute the periods of possession or access
to the child described by Subsection (b)(1); and
(2) may award to the conservator additional periods of
possession of or access to the child for a length of time and under
terms the court considers reasonable, if the court determines that:
(A) the conservator was deployed in a location
where access to the child was not reasonably possible; and
(B) the award of additional periods of possession
of or access to the child is in the best interest of the child.
(d) In making the determination under Subsection (c)(2),
the court:
(1) shall consider:
(A) the periods of possession of or access to the
child to which the conservator would otherwise have been entitled
during the conservator's deployment, as computed under Subsection
(c)(1);
(B) whether the court provided in an order under
Section 153.3161 that a person exercise limited possession of the
child during the conservator's deployment; and
(C) any other factor the court considers
appropriate; and
(2) is not required to award additional periods of
possession of or access to the child that equals the possession or
access to which the conservator would have been entitled during the
conservator's deployment, as computed under Subsection (c)(1).
(e) After the conservator has exercised all additional
periods of possession or access awarded under this section, the
rights of all affected parties are governed by the terms of any
court order applicable when the conservator is not deployed.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a
suit affecting the parent-child relationship, or an action to
modify an order in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship,
pending in a trial court on the effective date of this Act or filed
on or after that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.