85R5685 LED-F
By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 539
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the qualifications for an impartial third party in
certain civil disputes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 154.052(b), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) To qualify for an appointment as an impartial third
party under this subchapter in a dispute relating to the
parent-child relationship, a person must complete the training
required by Subsection (a) and:
(1) an additional 24 hours of training in the fields of
family dynamics, child development, and family law; and
(2) an additional eight hours of family violence
dynamics training provided by a family violence service provider.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 154.052, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, a person who satisfies
the qualifications to be an impartial third party in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act is not required to
comply with the requirements imposed by that section, as amended by
this Act, until January 1, 2018, to be qualified to serve as an
impartial third party under Subchapter C, Chapter 154, Civil
Practice and Remedies Code, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.