H.B. No. 3121
AN ACT
relating to the enforcement of orders in a suit affecting the
parent-child relationship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 157.001, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to
read as follows:
(a) A motion for enforcement as provided in this chapter may
be filed to enforce any provision of a temporary or [a] final order
rendered in a suit [for conservatorship, child support, possession
of or access to a child, or other provisions of a final order].
(b) The court may enforce by contempt any provision of a
temporary or final order [for possession of and access to a child as
provided in this chapter].
(c) The court may enforce a temporary or final order for
child support as provided in this chapter or Chapter 158.
(e) For purposes of this section, "temporary order"
includes a temporary restraining order, standing order,
injunction, and any other temporary order rendered by a court.
SECTION 2. Sections 157.062(c) and (d), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(c) Notice of hearing on a motion for enforcement of a final
[an existing] order providing for child support or possession of or
access to a child, any provision of a final order rendered against a
party who has already appeared in a suit under this title, or any
provision of a temporary order shall be given to the respondent by
personal service of a copy of the motion and notice not later than
the 10th day before the date of the hearing. For purposes of this
subsection, "temporary order" includes a temporary restraining
order, standing order, injunction, and any other temporary order
rendered by a court.
(d) If a motion for enforcement of a final order, other than
a final order rendered against a party who has already appeared in a
suit under this title, is joined with another claim:
(1) the hearing may not be held before 10 a.m. on the
first Monday after the 20th day after the date of service; and
(2) the provisions of the Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure applicable to the filing of an original lawsuit apply.
SECTION 3. Section 157.065(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If a party has been ordered under Chapter 105 to provide
the court and the state case registry with the party's current
mailing address, notice of a hearing on a motion for enforcement of
a final order may be served by mailing a copy of the notice to the
respondent, together with a copy of the motion, by first class mail
to the last mailing address of the respondent on file with the court
and the registry.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a
motion for enforcement that is filed on or after the effective date
of this Act. A motion for enforcement filed before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
motion is filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3121 was passed by the House on May 5,
2015, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 3121 on May 29, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3121 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 27, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor