| 1 | 1 | | 88R5809 MLH-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hall S.B. No. 388 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to court orders to aid an investigation by the Department |
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| 8 | 8 | | of Family and Protective Services. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 261.303, Family Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (f) to read |
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| 12 | 12 | | as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) If admission to the home, school, or any place where the |
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| 14 | 14 | | child may be cannot be obtained, and if [then for good cause shown] |
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| 15 | 15 | | the court having family law jurisdiction has probable cause to |
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| 16 | 16 | | believe that an order is necessary to protect the child from abuse |
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| 17 | 17 | | or neglect, then the court shall order the parent, the person |
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| 18 | 18 | | responsible for the care of the children, or the person in charge of |
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| 19 | 19 | | any place where the child may be to allow entrance for the |
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| 20 | 20 | | interview, examination, and investigation. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (c) If a parent or person responsible for the child's care |
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| 22 | 22 | | does not consent to release of the child's prior medical, |
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| 23 | 23 | | psychological, or psychiatric records or to a medical, |
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| 24 | 24 | | psychological, or psychiatric examination of the child that is |
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| 25 | 25 | | requested by the department, and if the court having family law |
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| 26 | 26 | | jurisdiction has probable cause to believe that releasing the |
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| 27 | 27 | | records or conducting an examination of the child is necessary to |
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| 28 | 28 | | protect the child from abuse or neglect, then the court shall[, for |
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| 29 | 29 | | good cause shown,] order the records to be released or the |
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| 30 | 30 | | examination to be made at the times and places designated by the |
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| 31 | 31 | | court. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (f) A hearing for an order under Subsection (b) or (c) may |
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| 33 | 33 | | not be ex parte unless the court has probable cause to believe that |
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| 34 | 34 | | an immediate risk to the physical health or safety of the child |
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| 35 | 35 | | makes it impracticable to hold a full hearing. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 37 | 37 | | an order rendered on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 38 | 38 | | order rendered before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
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| 39 | 39 | | the law in effect on the date of the order, and the former law is |
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| 40 | 40 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 42 | 42 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 43 | 43 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 44 | 44 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 45 | 45 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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