| 1 | 1 | | By: Thompson, Gonzalez (Senate Sponsor - Harris) H.B. No. 905 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House March 31, 2011; |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | April 13, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | Jurisprudence; April 27, 2011, reported favorably by the following |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 27, 2011, sent to printer.) |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | relating to the admissibility of certain hearsay statements of a |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | child in hearings on an application for a protective order. |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 84, Family Code, is amended by adding |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | Section 84.006 to read as follows: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 84.006. HEARSAY STATEMENT OF CHILD VICTIM OF FAMILY |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | VIOLENCE. In a hearing on an application for a protective order, a |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | statement made by a child 12 years of age or younger that describes |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | alleged family violence against the child is admissible as evidence |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | in the same manner that a child's statement regarding alleged abuse |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | against the child is admissible under Section 104.006 in a suit |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | affecting the parent-child relationship. |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | a hearing on an application for a protective order that is commenced |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | on or after the effective date of this Act. A hearing on an |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | application for a protective order that is commenced before the |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | date the hearing was commenced, and that law is continued in effect |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | for that purpose. |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | * * * * * |
|---|