Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3380 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R1520 MLH-D
2	2	By: Cook H.B. No. 3380
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act;
8	8	creating criminal offenses.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Family Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Chapter 163 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 163. UNIFORM UNREGULATED CHILD CUSTODY TRANSFER ACT
13	13	SUBCHAPTER A. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION
14	14	Sec. 163.001. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. This chapter
15	15	shall be applied and construed to promote the uniformity of the law
16	16	among the states that enact the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody
17	17	Transfer Act.
18	18	Sec. 163.002. CONFLICTS BETWEEN PROVISIONS. If a provision
19	19	of this chapter conflicts with another provision of this title or
20	20	another state statute or rule and the conflict cannot be
21	21	reconciled, this chapter prevails.
22	22	SUBCHAPTER B. GENERAL PROVISIONS
23	23	Sec. 163.101. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the
24	24	Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act.
25	25	Sec. 163.102. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
26	26	(1) "Child" means an individual under 18 years of age
27	27	who has not been granted by this state or another state a court
28	28	order removing the disabilities of minority of the individual for
29	29	general purposes.
30	30	(2) "Child-placing agency" means a person with
31	31	authority under other law of this state to identify or place a child
32	32	for adoption. The term does not include a parent of the child.
33	33	(3) "Custody" means the exercise of physical care and
34	34	supervision of a child.
35	35	(4) "Department" means the Department of Family and
36	36	Protective Services.
37	37	(5) "Intercountry adoption" means an adoption or
38	38	placement for adoption of a child who resides in a foreign country
39	39	at the time of adoption or placement. The term includes an adoption
40	40	finalized in the child's country of residence or in a state.
41	41	(6) "Person" means an individual, estate, business, or
42	42	nonprofit entity, public corporation, government, or governmental
43	43	subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other legal entity.
44	44	(7) "Record" means information:
45	45	(A) inscribed on a tangible medium; or
46	46	(B) stored in an electronic or other medium and
47	47	retrievable in perceivable form.
48	48	(8) "State" means a state of the United States, the
49	49	District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
50	50	Islands, or any other territory or possession subject to the
51	51	jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes a federally
52	52	recognized Indian tribe.
53	53	Sec. 163.103. LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY. This chapter
54	54	does not apply to custody of an Indian child, as defined in the
55	55	Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1901 et seq.),
56	56	to the extent custody is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act.
57	57	SUBCHAPTER C. PROHIBITION OF UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFER
58	58	Sec. 163.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
59	59	(1) "Conservator" means a person recognized as a
60	60	conservator under other law of this state.
61	61	(2) "Intermediary" means a person that assists or
62	62	facilitates a transfer of custody of a child, whether or not for
63	63	compensation.
64	64	Sec. 163.202. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not
65	65	apply to a transfer of custody of a child by a parent or conservator
66	66	of the child to:
67	67	(1) a parent of the child;
68	68	(2) a stepparent of the child;
69	69	(3) an adult who is related to the child by
70	70	consanguinity or affinity;
71	71	(4) an adult who, at the time of the transfer, had a
72	72	close relationship with the child or the parent or conservator of
73	73	the child for a substantial period, and whom the parent or
74	74	conservator reasonably believes, at the time of the transfer, to be
75	75	a fit custodian of the child;
76	76	(5) an Indian custodian of the child, as defined by the
77	77	Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1901 et seq.);
78	78	or
79	79	(6) a member of the child's customary family unit
80	80	recognized by the child's indigenous group under other law of this
81	81	state.
82	82	Sec. 163.203. PROHIBITED CUSTODY TRANSFER. (a) Except as
83	83	provided in Subsection (b), a parent or conservator of a child or an
84	84	individual with whom a child has been placed for adoption may not
85	85	transfer custody of the child to another person with the intent, at
86	86	the time of the transfer, to abandon the rights and
87	87	responsibilities concerning the child.
88	88	(b) A parent or conservator of a child or an individual with
89	89	whom a child has been placed for adoption may transfer custody of
90	90	the child to another person with the intent, at the time of the
91	91	transfer, to abandon the rights and responsibilities concerning the
92	92	child only through:
93	93	(1) adoption or conservatorship;
94	94	(2) judicial award of custody;
95	95	(3) placement by or through a child-placing agency;
96	96	(4) other judicial or tribal action; or
97	97	(5) voluntary delivery of the child to a designated
98	98	emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302.
99	99	(c) A person may not receive custody of a child, or act as an
100	100	intermediary in a transfer of custody of a child, if the person
101	101	knows or reasonably should know the transfer violates Subsection
102	102	(a). This prohibition does not apply if the person, as soon as
103	103	practicable after the transfer, notifies the department of the
104	104	transfer or takes appropriate action to establish custody under
105	105	Subsection (b).
106	106	(d) A person commits an offense if a person violates this
107	107	section. An offense under this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor,
108	108	except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the child
109	109	who is the subject of the offense has been previously adopted.
110	110	(e) A violation of Subsection (a) is not established solely
111	111	because a parent or conservator that transfers custody of a child
112	112	does not regain custody.
113	113	Sec. 163.204. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF DEPARTMENT.
114	114	(a) If the department has a reasonable basis to believe that a
115	115	person has transferred or will transfer custody of a child in
116	116	violation of Section 163.203(a), the department may conduct a home
117	117	visit as provided by other law of this state and take appropriate
118	118	action to protect the welfare of the child.
119	119	(b) If the department conducts a home visit for a child
120	120	adopted or placed through an intercountry adoption, the department
121	121	shall:
122	122	(1) prepare a report on the welfare and plan for
123	123	permanent placement of the child; and
124	124	(2) provide a copy to the United States Department of
125	125	State.
126	126	(c) This chapter does not prevent the department from taking
127	127	appropriate action under another law of this state.
128	128	Sec. 163.205. PROHIBITED SOLICITING OR ADVERTISING. (a) A
129	129	person may not solicit or advertise to:
130	130	(1) identify a person to which to make a transfer of
131	131	custody in violation of Section 163.203(a);
132	132	(2) identify a child for a transfer of custody in
133	133	violation of Section 163.203(c); or
134	134	(3) act as an intermediary in a transfer of custody in
135	135	violation of Section 163.203(c).
136	136	(b) A person commits an offense if the person violates this
137	137	section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor,
138	138	except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the actor
139	139	has been previously convicted of an offense under this section.
140	140	Sec. 163.206. ENFORCEMENT. The department may investigate
141	141	a possible violation of this subchapter and take legal action as
142	142	provided by law of this state.
143	143	SUBCHAPTER D. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
144	144	Sec. 163.301. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.
145	145	In applying and construing this uniform act, a court shall consider
146	146	the promotion of uniformity of the law among jurisdictions that
147	147	enact it.
148	148	Sec. 163.302. RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL
149	149	AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT. This chapter modifies, limits, and
150	150	supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National
151	151	Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001 et seq.), but does not modify,
152	152	limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that Act (15 U.S.C. Section
153	153	7001(c)), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices
154	154	described in Section 103(b) of that Act (15 U.S.C. Section
155	155	7003(b)).
156	156	SECTION 2. Chapter 163, Family Code, as added by this Act,
157	157	applies only to a transfer of custody or an act of solicitation or
158	158	advertising that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
159	159	A transfer of custody or an act of solicitation or advertising that
160	160	occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
161	161	in effect on the date the transfer of custody or act of solicitation
162	162	or advertising occurred, and the former law is continued in effect
163	163	for that purpose.
164	164	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.