89R1107 MLH-D
By: Cook H.B. No. 1892
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act;
creating criminal offenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Family Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 163 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 163. UNIFORM UNREGULATED CHILD CUSTODY TRANSFER ACT
SUBCHAPTER A. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION
Sec. 163.001. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. This chapter
shall be applied and construed to promote the uniformity of the law
among the states that enact the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody
Transfer Act.
Sec. 163.002. CONFLICTS BETWEEN PROVISIONS. If a provision
of this chapter conflicts with another provision of this title or
another state statute or rule and the conflict cannot be
reconciled, this chapter prevails.
SUBCHAPTER B. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 163.101. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the
Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act.
Sec. 163.102. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Child" means an individual under 18 years of age
who has not been granted by this state or another state a court
order removing the disabilities of minority of the individual for
general purposes.
(2) "Child-placing agency" means a person with
authority under other law of this state to identify or place a child
for adoption. The term does not include a parent of the child.
(3) "Custody" means the exercise of physical care and
supervision of a child.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Family and
Protective Services.
(5) "Intercountry adoption" means an adoption or
placement for adoption of a child who resides in a foreign country
at the time of adoption or placement. The term includes an adoption
finalized in the child's country of residence or in a state.
(6) "Person" means an individual, estate, business, or
nonprofit entity, public corporation, government, or governmental
subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other legal entity.
(7) "Record" means information:
(A) inscribed on a tangible medium; or
(B) stored in an electronic or other medium and
retrievable in perceivable form.
(8) "State" means a state of the United States, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
Islands, or any other territory or possession subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes a federally
recognized Indian tribe.
Sec. 163.103. LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY. This chapter
does not apply to custody of an Indian child, as defined in the
Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1901 et seq.),
to the extent custody is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act.
SUBCHAPTER C. PROHIBITION OF UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFER
Sec. 163.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Conservator" means a person recognized as a
conservator under other law of this state.
(2) "Intermediary" means a person that assists or
facilitates a transfer of custody of a child, whether or not for
compensation.
Sec. 163.202. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not
apply to a transfer of custody of a child by a parent or conservator
of the child to:
(1) a parent of the child;
(2) a stepparent of the child;
(3) an adult who is related to the child by
consanguinity or affinity;
(4) an adult who, at the time of the transfer, had a
close relationship with the child or the parent or conservator of
the child for a substantial period, and whom the parent or
conservator reasonably believes, at the time of the transfer, to be
a fit custodian of the child;
(5) an Indian custodian of the child, as defined by the
Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1901 et seq.);
or
(6) a member of the child's customary family unit
recognized by the child's indigenous group under other law of this
state.
Sec. 163.203. PROHIBITED CUSTODY TRANSFER. (a) Except as
provided in Subsection (b), a parent or conservator of a child or an
individual with whom a child has been placed for adoption may not
transfer custody of the child to another person with the intent, at
the time of the transfer, to abandon the rights and
responsibilities concerning the child.
(b) A parent or conservator of a child or an individual with
whom a child has been placed for adoption may transfer custody of
the child to another person with the intent, at the time of the
transfer, to abandon the rights and responsibilities concerning the
child only through:
(1) adoption or conservatorship;
(2) judicial award of custody;
(3) placement by or through a child-placing agency;
(4) other judicial or tribal action; or
(5) voluntary delivery of the child to a designated
emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302.
(c) A person may not receive custody of a child, or act as an
intermediary in a transfer of custody of a child, if the person
knows or reasonably should know the transfer violates Subsection
(a). This prohibition does not apply if the person, as soon as
practicable after the transfer, notifies the department of the
transfer or takes appropriate action to establish custody under
Subsection (b).
(d) A person commits an offense if a person violates this
section. An offense under this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor,
except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the child
who is the subject of the offense has been previously adopted.
(e) A violation of Subsection (a) is not established solely
because a parent or conservator that transfers custody of a child
does not regain custody.
(f) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor
may be prosecuted under this section or the other law, but not both.
Sec. 163.204. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF DEPARTMENT.
(a) If the department has a reasonable basis to believe that a
person has transferred or will transfer custody of a child in
violation of Section 163.203(a), the department may conduct a home
visit as provided by other law of this state and take appropriate
action to protect the welfare of the child.
(b) If the department conducts a home visit for a child
adopted or placed through an intercountry adoption, the department
shall:
(1) prepare a report on the welfare and plan for
permanent placement of the child; and
(2) provide a copy to the United States Department of
State.
(c) This chapter does not prevent the department from taking
appropriate action under another law of this state.
Sec. 163.205. PROHIBITED SOLICITING OR ADVERTISING. (a) A
person may not solicit or advertise to:
(1) identify a person to which to make a transfer of
custody in violation of Section 163.203(a);
(2) identify a child for a transfer of custody in
violation of Section 163.203(c); or
(3) act as an intermediary in a transfer of custody in
violation of Section 163.203(c).
(b) A person commits an offense if the person violates this
section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor,
except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the actor
has been previously convicted of an offense under this section.
Sec. 163.206. ENFORCEMENT. The department may investigate
a possible violation of this subchapter and take legal action as
provided by law of this state.
SUBCHAPTER D. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 163.301. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.
In applying and construing this uniform act, a court shall consider
the promotion of uniformity of the law among jurisdictions that
enact it.
Sec. 163.302. RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL
AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT. This chapter modifies, limits, and
supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National
Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001 et seq.), but does not modify,
limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that Act (15 U.S.C. Section
7001(c)), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices
described in Section 103(b) of that Act (15 U.S.C. Section
7003(b)).
SECTION 2. Chapter 163, Family Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective date
of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct
occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.