By: Birdwell S.B. No. 1178
(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2021; March 18, 2021, read
first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
April 21, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 2; April 21, 2021,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1178 By: Birdwell
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the rights and duties of parents and the protection of
parental rights in suits affecting the parent-child relationship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 151.001(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) In addition to the rights and duties described by
Section 151.004, a [A] parent of a child has the following rights
and duties:
(1) the right to have physical possession[, to direct
the moral and religious training,] and to designate the residence
of the child;
(2) the duty of care, control, protection, and
reasonable discipline of the child;
(3) the duty to support the child, including providing
the child with clothing, food, shelter, medical and dental care,
and education;
(4) the duty, except when a guardian of the child's
estate has been appointed, to manage the estate of the child,
including the right as an agent of the child to act in relation to
the child's estate if the child's action is required by a state, the
United States, or a foreign government;
(5) except as provided by Section 264.0111, the right
to the services and earnings of the child;
(6) the right to consent to the child's marriage,
enlistment in the armed forces of the United States, medical and
dental care, and psychiatric, psychological, and surgical
treatment;
(7) the right to represent the child in legal action
and to make other decisions of substantial legal significance
concerning the child;
(8) the right to receive and give receipt for payments
for the support of the child and to hold or disburse funds for the
benefit of the child;
(9) the right to inherit from and through the child;
and
(10) [the right to make decisions concerning the
child's education; and
[(11)] any other right or duty existing between a
parent and child by virtue of law.
SECTION 2. Chapter 151, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 151.004 to read as follows:
Sec. 151.004. PRESUMPTION OF PARENTAL FITNESS; FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHT OF PARENTS TO RAISE CHILDREN. (a) In a suit, there is a
presumption that a parent is a fit parent who acts in the best
interest of the parent's child.
(b) The fundamental right of a parent to raise the parent's
child includes the right to direct and make decisions for the
child's care, custody, control, education, upbringing, moral and
religious training, and medical care.
(c) In a suit between a parent and a nonparent, a court may
not grant any relief that conflicts with a parent's decisions or
proposed decisions for the child unless the court finds that:
(1) the requested relief is necessary to prevent a
significant impairment of the child's physical health or emotional
well-being; or
(2) in the most recent final order rendered regarding
the child in a previous suit to which the parent was a party, the
parent:
(A) either:
(i) was given an opportunity to be heard and
present evidence; or
(ii) entered into a written agreement that
did not name the parent as the sole managing conservator or a joint
managing conservator of the child;
(B) was not appointed as the sole managing
conservator or a joint managing conservator of the child; and
(C) had adequate notice of the final hearing as
required by law.
(d) This section may not be construed to limit the rights of
the state to investigate or act on a report of child abuse or
neglect allegedly committed by a person responsible for a child's
care, custody, or welfare, beyond the limitations required by the
United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution.
(e) This section does not apply to an order to enforce child
support.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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