Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB231 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R1524 MCK-F
2	2	By: Farrar H.B. No. 231
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to extending the court's jurisdiction in a suit affecting
8	8	the parent-child relationship over certain young people for
9	9	purposes of obtaining special immigrant juvenile status and
10	10	Department of Family and Protective Services policies for handling
11	11	cases involving those young people.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 101.003, Family Code, is amended by
14	14	adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
15	15	(b-1) In the context of applying for a court order relating
16	16	to the special immigrant juvenile status of a person under Section
17	17	101(a)(27)(J) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (8
18	18	U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(27)(J)), "child" or "minor" includes a
19	19	person who is:
20	20	(1) not a citizen of the United States;
21	21	(2) present in the United States;
22	22	(3) not married;
23	23	(4) under 21 years of age; and
24	24	(5) applying for a special immigrant juvenile visa.
25	25	SECTION 2. Chapter 102, Family Code, is amended by adding
26	26	Section 102.0115 to read as follows:
27	27	Sec. 102.0115. JURISDICTION IN CASES INVOLVING SPECIAL
28	28	IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS. The court has jurisdiction over a child
29	29	with respect to issues relating to the child's special immigrant
30	30	juvenile status if the child has filed or intends to file an
31	31	application with the appropriate federal authority seeking special
32	32	immigrant juvenile status as defined by Section 101(a)(27)(J) of
33	33	the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section
34	34	1101(a)(27)(J)) for the child.
35	35	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 155, Family Code, is
36	36	amended by adding Section 155.006 to read as follows:
37	37	Sec. 155.006. EXTENDED JURISDICTION. (a) If a child over
38	38	whom the court has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction has filed or
39	39	intends to file an application with the appropriate federal
40	40	authority seeking special immigrant juvenile status as defined by
41	41	Section 101(a)(27)(J) of the federal Immigration and Nationality
42	42	Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(27)(J)), the court may extend the
43	43	court's jurisdiction over the child after the child's 18th birthday
44	44	until the earliest of:
45	45	(1) the child's 21st birthday;
46	46	(2) the date the child is granted lawful permanent
47	47	resident status;
48	48	(3) the date an appeal of the denial of an application
49	49	for permanent residency based on a petition for special immigrant
50	50	juvenile status is denied; or
51	51	(4) if an appeal described by Subdivision (3) is not
52	52	filed, the day after the last day to file an appeal of the denial of
53	53	an application for permanent residency based on a petition for
54	54	special immigrant juvenile status.
55	55	(b) The court's jurisdiction under this section is limited
56	56	to issues relating to the child's special immigrant juvenile
57	57	status.
58	58	SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
59	59	is amended by adding Section 40.0529 to read as follows:
60	60	Sec. 40.0529. CASES INVOLVING IMMIGRANT CHILDREN. The
61	61	department shall ensure that all cases in which the child is
62	62	categorized as having an undetermined immigration status in the
63	63	central registry of reported cases of child abuse or neglect
64	64	established under Section 261.002, Family Code, are assigned to
65	65	caseworkers who have experience preparing applications for special
66	66	immigrant juvenile status and legal permanent resident status.
67	67	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.