By: Uresti S.B. No. 768
(Naishtat)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to suits affecting the parent-child relationship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 107.011, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter, in a
suit filed by a governmental entity seeking termination of the
parent-child relationship or the appointment of a conservator for a
child, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the
best interests of the child immediately after the filing of the
petition but before an [the full] adversary hearing conducted under
Subchapter C, Chapter 262.
SECTION 2. Section 107.012, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 107.012. MANDATORY APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY AD LITEM
FOR CHILD. In a suit filed by a governmental entity requesting
termination of the parent-child relationship or to be named
conservator of a child, the court shall appoint an attorney ad litem
to represent the interests of the child immediately after the
filing, but before an [the full] adversary hearing conducted under
Subchapter C, Chapter 262, to ensure adequate representation of the
child.
SECTION 3. Section 161.001, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 161.001. INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF PARENT-CHILD
RELATIONSHIP. The court may order termination of the parent-child
relationship if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence:
(1) that the parent has:
(A) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another not the parent and expressed an intent not to
return;
(B) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another not the parent without expressing an intent
to return, without providing for the adequate support of the child,
and remained away for a period of at least three months;
(C) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another without providing adequate support of the
child and remained away for a period of at least six months;
(D) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the
child to remain in conditions or surroundings which endanger the
physical or emotional well-being of the child;
(E) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the
child with persons who engaged in conduct which endangers the
physical or emotional well-being of the child;
(F) failed to support the child in accordance
with the parent's ability during a period of one year ending within
six months of the date of the filing of the petition;
(G) abandoned the child without identifying the
child or furnishing means of identification, and the child's
identity cannot be ascertained by the exercise of reasonable
diligence;
(H) voluntarily, and with knowledge of the
pregnancy, abandoned the mother of the child beginning at a time
during her pregnancy with the child and continuing through the
birth, failed to provide adequate support or medical care for the
mother during the period of abandonment before the birth of the
child, and remained apart from the child or failed to support the
child since the birth;
(I) contumaciously refused to submit to a
reasonable and lawful order of a court under Subchapter D, Chapter
261;
(J) been the major cause of:
(i) the failure of the child to be enrolled
in school as required by the Education Code; or
(ii) the child's absence from the child's
home without the consent of the parents or guardian for a
substantial length of time or without the intent to return;
(K) executed before or after the suit is filed an
unrevoked or irrevocable affidavit of relinquishment of parental
rights as provided by this chapter;
(L) been convicted or has been placed on
community supervision, including deferred adjudication community
supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or
serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal
Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, or the Uniform
Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are
substantially similar to the elements of an offense under one of the
following Penal Code sections, or adjudicated under Title 3 for
conduct that caused the death or serious injury of a child and that
would constitute a violation of one of the following Penal Code
sections:
(i) Section 19.02 (murder);
(ii) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(iii) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
(iv) Section 21.11 (indecency with a
child);
(v) Section 22.01 (assault);
(vi) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(vii) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(viii) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual
assault);
(ix) Section 22.04 (injury to a child,
elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(x) Section 22.041 (abandoning or
endangering child);
(xi) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual
conduct);
(xii) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by
a child);
(xiii) Section 43.26 (possession or
promotion of child pornography);
(xiv) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual
abuse of young child or children);
(xv) Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8)
(trafficking of persons); and
(xvi) Section 43.05(a)(2) (compelling
prostitution);
(M) had his or her parent-child relationship
terminated with respect to another child based on a finding that the
parent's conduct was in violation of Paragraph (D) or (E) or
substantially equivalent provisions of the law of another state;
(N) constructively abandoned the child who has
been in the permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the
Department of Family and Protective Services or an authorized
agency for not less than six months, and:
(i) the department or authorized agency has
made reasonable efforts to return the child to the parent;
(ii) the parent has not regularly visited
or maintained significant contact with the child; and
(iii) the parent has demonstrated an
inability to provide the child with a safe environment;
(O) failed to comply with the provisions of a
court order that specifically established the actions necessary for
the parent to obtain the return of the child who has been in the
permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the Department
of Family and Protective Services for not less than nine months as a
result of the child's removal from the parent under Chapter 262 for
the abuse or neglect of the child;
(P) used a controlled substance, as defined by
Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, in a manner that endangered the
health or safety of the child, and:
(i) failed to complete a court-ordered
substance abuse treatment program; or
(ii) after completion of a court-ordered
substance abuse treatment program, continued to abuse a controlled
substance;
(Q) knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that
has resulted in the parent's:
(i) conviction of an offense; and
(ii) confinement or imprisonment and
inability to care for the child for not less than two years from the
date of filing the petition;
(R) been the cause of the child being born
addicted to alcohol or a controlled substance, other than a
controlled substance legally obtained by prescription, as defined
by Section 261.001;
(S) voluntarily delivered the child to a
designated emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302
without expressing an intent to return for the child; or
(T) been convicted of:
(i) the murder of the other parent of the
child under Section 19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code, or under a law of
another state, federal law, [the law of a foreign country,] or the
Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are
substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section
19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code;
(ii) criminal attempt under Section 15.01,
Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, [the law
of a foreign country,] or the Uniform Code of Military Justice that
contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of
an offense under Section 15.01, Penal Code, to commit the offense
described by Subparagraph (i); or
(iii) criminal solicitation under Section
15.03, Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law,
[the law of a foreign country,] or the Uniform Code of Military
Justice that contains elements that are substantially similar to
the elements of an offense under Section 15.03, Penal Code, of the
offense described by Subparagraph (i); and
(2) that termination is in the best interest of the
child.
SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 201.2041, Family Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) For purposes of Sections 263.401 and 263.403, a suit is
not required to be dismissed if the associate judge commences the
trial on the merits before the applicable deadline for dismissal
regardless [Regardless] of whether a de novo hearing is requested
before the referring court after the trial before the associate
judge concludes[, a proposed order or judgment rendered by an
associate judge that meets the requirements of Section 263.401(d)
is considered a final order for purposes of Section 263.401].
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 262.1095, Family Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) When the Department of Family and Protective Services or
another agency takes possession of a child under this chapter, the
department:
(1) shall provide information as prescribed by this
section to each adult the department is able to identify and locate
who:
(A) is related to the child within the third
degree by consanguinity as determined under Chapter 573, Government
Code, or is an adult relative of the alleged father of the child who
the department determines is most likely to be the child's
biological father; or [and]
(B) is identified as a potential relative or
designated caregiver, as defined by Section 264.751, on the
proposed child placement resources form provided under Section
261.307; and
(2) may provide information as prescribed by this
section to each adult the department is able to identify and locate
who has a long-standing and significant relationship with the
child.
SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 262.2015, Family Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) The court may find under Subsection (a) that a parent
has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances if:
(1) the parent abandoned the child without
identification or a means for identifying the child;
(2) the child or another child of the parent is a
victim of serious bodily injury or sexual abuse inflicted by the
parent or by another person with the parent's consent;
(3) the parent has engaged in conduct against the
child that would constitute an offense under the following
provisions of the Penal Code:
(A) Section 19.02 (murder);
(B) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(C) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
(D) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
(E) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(F) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(G) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
(H) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual);
(I) Section 22.041 (abandoning or endangering
child);
(J) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual conduct);
(K) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a
child);
(L) Section 43.26 (possession or promotion of
child pornography);
(M) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of
young child or children);
(N) Section 43.05(a)(2) (compelling
prostitution); or
(O) Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8) (trafficking of
persons);
(4) the parent voluntarily left the child alone or in
the possession of another person not the parent of the child for at
least six months without expressing an intent to return and without
providing adequate support for the child;
(5) the parent's parental rights with regard to
another child have been involuntarily terminated based on a finding
that the parent's conduct violated Section 161.001(1)(D) or (E) or
a substantially equivalent provision of another state's law;
(6) the parent has been convicted for:
(A) the murder of another child of the parent and
the offense would have been an offense under 18 U.S.C. Section
1111(a) if the offense had occurred in the special maritime or
territorial jurisdiction of the United States;
(B) the voluntary manslaughter of another child
of the parent and the offense would have been an offense under 18
U.S.C. Section 1112(a) if the offense had occurred in the special
maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States;
(C) aiding or abetting, attempting, conspiring,
or soliciting an offense under Subdivision (A) or (B); or
(D) the felony assault of the child or another
child of the parent that resulted in serious bodily injury to the
child or another child of the parent; [or]
(7) the parent's parental rights with regard to two
other children have been involuntarily terminated; or
(8) the parent is required under any state or federal
law to register with a sex offender registry.
SECTION 7. Section 263.401, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b-1) If, after commencement of the initial trial on the
merits within the time required by Subsection (a) or (b), the court
grants a motion for a new trial or mistrial, or the case is remanded
to the court by an appellate court following an appeal of the
court's final order, the court may retain the suit on the court's
docket. If the court retains the suit on the court's docket, the
court shall render an order in which the court:
(1) schedules a new date on which the suit will be
dismissed if the new trial has not commenced, which must be a date
not later than the 180th day after the date:
(A) the motion for new trial or mistrial is
granted; or
(B) the appellate court remanded the case;
(2) makes further temporary orders for the safety and
welfare of the child as necessary to avoid further delay in
resolving the suit; and
(3) sets the new trial on the merits for a date not
later than the date specified under Subdivision (1).
(c) If the court grants an extension under Subsection (b) or
(b-1) but does not commence the trial on the merits before the new
dismissal [required] date [for dismissal under Subsection (b)], the
court shall dismiss the suit. The court may not grant an additional
extension that extends the suit beyond the required date for
dismissal under Subsection (b) or (b-1).
SECTION 8. Section 263.403, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:
(c-1) If, after commencement of the initial trial on the
merits within the time required by Subsection (b) or (c), the court
grants a motion for a new trial or mistrial, or the case is remanded
to the court by an appellate court following an appeal of the
court's final order, the court may retain the suit on the court's
docket. If the court retains the suit on the court's docket, the
court shall render an order in which the court:
(1) schedules a new date on which the suit will be
dismissed if the new trial has not commenced, which must be a date
not later than the 180th day after the date:
(A) the motion for new trial or mistrial is
granted; or
(B) the appellate court remanded the case;
(2) makes further temporary orders for the safety and
welfare of the child as necessary to avoid further delay in
resolving the suit; and
(3) sets the new trial on the merits for a date not
later than the date specified under Subdivision (1).
(c-2) If the court grants an extension under Subsection (b),
(c), or (c-1) but does not commence the trial on the merits before
the new dismissal date, the court shall dismiss the suit. The court
may not grant an additional extension that extends the suit beyond
the required date for dismissal under Subsection (b), (c), or
(c-1).
SECTION 9. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, the changes in law made by this Act apply to a suit
affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A suit affecting the parent-child
relationship filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
201.2041, 263.401, and 263.403, Family Code, apply to a suit
affecting the parent-child relationship pending in a trial court on
or filed on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.