| 1 | 1 | | By: West, et al. S.B. No. 491 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to consideration of family violence in the risk assessment |
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| 7 | 7 | | for international parental abduction of a child. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 153.502, Family Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as |
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| 11 | 11 | | follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) To determine whether there is a risk of the |
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| 13 | 13 | | international abduction of a child by a parent of the child, the |
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| 14 | 14 | | court shall consider evidence that the parent: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) has taken, enticed away, kept, withheld, or |
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| 16 | 16 | | concealed a child in violation of another person's right of |
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| 17 | 17 | | possession of or access to the child, unless the parent presents |
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| 18 | 18 | | evidence that the parent believed in good faith that the parent's |
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| 19 | 19 | | conduct was necessary to avoid imminent harm to the child or the |
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| 20 | 20 | | parent; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (2) has previously threatened to take, entice away, |
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| 22 | 22 | | keep, withhold, or conceal a child in violation of another person's |
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| 23 | 23 | | right of possession of or access to the child; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (3) lacks financial reason to stay in the United |
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| 25 | 25 | | States, including evidence that the parent is financially |
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| 26 | 26 | | independent, is able to work outside of the United States, or is |
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| 27 | 27 | | unemployed; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (4) has recently engaged in planning activities that |
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| 29 | 29 | | could facilitate the removal of the child from the United States by |
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| 30 | 30 | | the parent, including: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (A) quitting a job; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (B) selling a primary residence; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (C) terminating a lease; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (D) closing bank accounts; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (E) liquidating other assets; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (F) hiding or destroying documents; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (G) applying for a passport or visa or obtaining |
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| 38 | 38 | | other travel documents for the parent or the child; or |
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| 39 | 39 | | (H) applying to obtain the child's birth |
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| 40 | 40 | | certificate or school or medical records; |
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| 41 | 41 | | (5) has a history of domestic violence that the court |
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| 42 | 42 | | is required to consider under Section 153.004; or |
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| 43 | 43 | | (6) has a criminal history or a history of violating |
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| 44 | 44 | | court orders. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (a-1) In considering evidence of planning activities under |
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| 46 | 46 | | Subsection (a)(4), the court also shall consider any evidence that |
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| 47 | 47 | | the parent was engaging in those activities as a part of a safety |
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| 48 | 48 | | plan to flee from family violence. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a |
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| 50 | 50 | | suit affecting the parent-child relationship or suit for |
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| 51 | 51 | | modification pending in a trial court on the effective date of this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act or filed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 54 | 54 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 55 | 55 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 56 | 56 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 57 | 57 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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