86R22429 JSC-D
By: VanDeaver H.B. No. 1223
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1223:
By: Murr C.S.H.B. No. 1223
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation and enforcement of a criminal offense
relating to interference with child custody and to the prosecution
of child custody offenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 2.274 to read as follows:
Art. 2.274. REPORT ON CERTAIN INTERFERENCE WITH CHILD
CUSTODY. On receipt of a report of a violation of Section
25.03(a-1), Penal Code, a peace officer shall attempt to determine
the whereabouts of the child and:
(1) if the child's whereabouts are known, locate the
child and:
(A) return the child to a parent of the child who
is listed on the child's birth certificate and whose parental
rights have not been terminated; or
(B) if the child is the subject of an ongoing
investigation by the Department of Family and Protective Services
under Chapter 261, Family Code, return the child to or allow the
child to remain with the caregiver designated in a parental child
safety placement agreement approved by the department under
Subchapter L, Chapter 264, of that code; or
(2) if the child's whereabouts are unknown, submit a
missing child report under Chapter 63.
SECTION 2. Section 25.03, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (a-1) and (e) to read as follows:
(a-1) A person commits an offense if:
(1) the person takes or retains a child younger than 18
years of age;
(2) the person:
(A) is not a parent of the child who is listed on
the child's birth certificate; or
(B) is a parent of the child whose parental
rights have been terminated;
(3) there is no judgment or order of a court disposing
of the child's custody; and
(4) the person knows that the taking or retaining of
the child is without the effective consent of or against the
expressed wishes of a parent of the child who is listed on the
child's birth certificate and whose parental rights have not been
terminated.
(e) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
actor may be prosecuted under either section or both sections.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.