84R7432 KKA-D
By: Dale H.B. No. 3128
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to service of a temporary ex parte order issued in response
to an application for a protective order in circumstances involving
family violence.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 82.043, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and (c-3) to read as follows:
(c-1) A constable's office or law enforcement agency with
responsibility for serving a notice of an application for a
protective order together with an associated temporary ex parte
order issued under Section 83.001 shall:
(1) make the initial attempt to serve the notice and
order, and two additional attempts if necessary, within the 48-hour
period immediately following receipt of the notice and order by the
office or agency;
(2) if the initial attempt to serve the notice and
order is unsuccessful, make at least one of the subsequent two
attempts at a different location than the location of the initial
attempt, except as provided by Subsection (c-2); and
(3) send a copy of the notice and order to the
respondent by first class mail to the respondent's last known
mailing address within the 24-hour period immediately following
receipt of the notice and order by the office or agency, unless
personal service is completed during that period or a mailing
address for the respondent is unknown.
(c-2) Subsection (c-1)(2) does not apply if a different
location is unknown and cannot be identified through a background
check of the respondent conducted by the constable's office or law
enforcement agency.
(c-3) A constable's office or law enforcement agency that is
unable to personally serve a notice of an application for a
protective order and an associated temporary ex parte order issued
under Section 83.001 within the 48-hour period required by
Subsection (c-1) after at least three attempts made in compliance
with Subsection (c-1) may serve the respondent by affixing the
notice and order to the front door of the respondent's last known
residence. The method of service authorized by this subsection:
(1) does not require a court order directing that
method of service, notwithstanding any other provision of law or
the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure;
(2) is sufficient to subject the respondent to being
taken into custody for a violation of the temporary ex parte order
that occurs after service of the order, as provided by Section
25.07, Penal Code, and Section 11c, Article I, Texas Constitution;
and
(3) does not affect any other method of service
authorized by law or the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
SECTION 2. Section 82.043, Family Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a notice of an application for a protective
order and associated temporary ex parte order received by a
constable's office or law enforcement agency on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application for a protective order
and associated temporary ex parte order received by a constable's
office or law enforcement agency before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the application and
order are received, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.