Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB845 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Lucio III (Senate Sponsor - West) H.B. No. 845
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 22, 2013;
3	3	April 22, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Jurisprudence; May 9, 2013, reported favorably by the following
5	5	vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 9, 2013, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to possession of or access to a child.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 153.316, Family Code, is amended to read
13	13	as follows:
14	14	Sec. 153.316. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS. The court
15	15	shall order the following general terms and conditions of
16	16	possession of a child to apply without regard to the distance
17	17	between the residence of a parent and the child:
18	18	(1) the managing conservator shall surrender the child
19	19	to the possessory conservator at the beginning of each period of the
20	20	possessory conservator's possession at the residence of the
21	21	managing conservator;
22	22	(2) if the possessory conservator elects to begin a
23	23	period of possession at the time the child's school is regularly
24	24	dismissed, the managing conservator shall surrender the child to
25	25	the possessory conservator at the beginning of each period of
26	26	possession at the school in which the child is enrolled;
27	27	(3) the possessory conservator shall be ordered to do
28	28	one of the following:
29	29	(A) the possessory conservator shall surrender
30	30	the child to the managing conservator at the end of each period of
31	31	possession at the residence of the possessory conservator; or
32	32	(B) the possessory conservator shall return the
33	33	child to the residence of the managing conservator at the end of
34	34	each period of possession, except that the order shall provide that
35	35	the possessory conservator shall surrender the child to the
36	36	managing conservator at the end of each period of possession at the
37	37	residence of the possessory conservator if:
38	38	(i) at the time the original order or a
39	39	modification of an order establishing terms and conditions of
40	40	possession or access the possessory conservator and the managing
41	41	conservator lived in the same county, the possessory conservator's
42	42	county of residence remains the same after the rendition of the
43	43	order, and the managing conservator's county of residence changes,
44	44	effective on the date of the change of residence by the managing
45	45	conservator; or
46	46	(ii) the possessory conservator and
47	47	managing conservator lived in the same residence at any time during
48	48	a six-month period preceding the date on which a suit for
49	49	dissolution of the marriage was filed and the possessory
50	50	conservator's county of residence remains the same and the managing
51	51	conservator's county of residence changes after they no longer live
52	52	in the same residence, effective on the date the order is rendered;
53	53	(4) if the possessory conservator elects to end a
54	54	period of possession at the time the child's school resumes, the
55	55	possessory conservator shall surrender the child to the managing
56	56	conservator at the end of each period of possession at the school in
57	57	which the child is enrolled;
58	58	(5) each conservator shall return with the child the
59	59	personal effects that the child brought at the beginning of the
60	60	period of possession;
61	61	(6) either parent may designate a competent adult to
62	62	pick up and return the child, as applicable; a parent or a
63	63	designated competent adult shall be present when the child is
64	64	picked up or returned;
65	65	(7) a parent shall give notice to the person in
66	66	possession of the child on each occasion that the parent will be
67	67	unable to exercise that parent's right of possession for a
68	68	specified period;
69	69	(8) written notice, including notice provided by
70	70	electronic mail or facsimile, shall be deemed to have been timely
71	71	made if received or, if applicable, postmarked before or at the time
72	72	that notice is due; and
73	73	(9) if a conservator's time of possession of a child
74	74	ends at the time school resumes and for any reason the child is not
75	75	or will not be returned to school, the conservator in possession of
76	76	the child shall immediately notify the school and the other
77	77	conservator that the child will not be or has not been returned to
78	78	school.
79	79	SECTION 2. Section 153.317(a), Family Code, is amended to
80	80	read as follows:
81	81	(a) If elected by a conservator, the court shall alter the
82	82	standard possession order under Sections 153.312, 153.314, and
83	83	153.315 to provide for one or more of the following alternative
84	84	beginning and ending possession times for the described periods of
85	85	possession, unless the court finds that the election is not in the
86	86	best interest of the child:
87	87	(1) for weekend periods of possession under Section
88	88	153.312(a)(1) during the regular school term:
89	89	(A) beginning at the time the child's school is
90	90	regularly dismissed; [or]
91	91	(B) ending at the time the child's school resumes
92	92	after the weekend; or
93	93	(C) beginning at the time described by Paragraph
94	94	(A) and ending at the time described by Paragraph (B);
95	95	(2) for Thursday periods of possession under Section
96	96	153.312(a)(2):
97	97	(A) beginning at the time the child's school is
98	98	regularly dismissed; [or]
99	99	(B) ending at the time the child's school resumes
100	100	on Friday; or
101	101	(C) beginning at the time described by Paragraph
102	102	(A) and ending at the time described by Paragraph (B);
103	103	(3) for spring vacation periods of possession under
104	104	Section 153.312(b)(1), beginning at the time the child's school is
105	105	dismissed for those vacations;
106	106	(4) for Christmas school vacation periods of
107	107	possession under Section 153.314(1), beginning at the time the
108	108	child's school is dismissed for the vacation;
109	109	(5) for Thanksgiving holiday periods of possession
110	110	under Section 153.314(3), beginning at the time the child's school
111	111	is dismissed for the holiday;
112	112	(6) for Father's Day periods of possession under
113	113	Section 153.314(5), ending at 8 a.m. on the Monday after Father's
114	114	Day weekend;
115	115	(7) for Mother's Day periods of possession under
116	116	Section 153.314(6):
117	117	(A) beginning at the time the child's school is
118	118	regularly dismissed on the Friday preceding Mother's Day; [or]
119	119	(B) ending at the time the child's school resumes
120	120	after Mother's Day; or
121	121	(C) beginning at the time described by Paragraph
122	122	(A) and ending at the time described by Paragraph (B); or
123	123	(8) for weekend periods of possession that are
124	124	extended under Section 153.315(b) by a student holiday or teacher
125	125	in-service day that falls on a Friday, beginning at the time the
126	126	child's school is regularly dismissed on Thursday.
127	127	SECTION 3. Section 153.3162, Family Code, is repealed.
128	128	SECTION 4. Sections 153.316 and 153.317, Family Code, as
129	129	amended by this Act, apply only to a court order providing for
130	130	possession of or access to a child rendered on or after the
131	131	effective date of this Act. A court order rendered before the
132	132	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
133	133	date the order was rendered, and the former law is continued in
134	134	effect for that purpose.
135	135	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
136	136	* * * * *