Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1892 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1107 MLH-D
2	2	By: Cook H.B. No. 1892
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act;
10	10	creating criminal offenses.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Family Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Chapter 163 to read as follows:
14	14	CHAPTER 163. UNIFORM UNREGULATED CHILD CUSTODY TRANSFER ACT
15	15	SUBCHAPTER A. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION
16	16	Sec. 163.001. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. This chapter
17	17	shall be applied and construed to promote the uniformity of the law
18	18	among the states that enact the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody
19	19	Transfer Act.
20	20	Sec. 163.002. CONFLICTS BETWEEN PROVISIONS. If a provision
21	21	of this chapter conflicts with another provision of this title or
22	22	another state statute or rule and the conflict cannot be
23	23	reconciled, this chapter prevails.
24	24	SUBCHAPTER B. GENERAL PROVISIONS
25	25	Sec. 163.101. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the
26	26	Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act.
27	27	Sec. 163.102. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
28	28	(1) "Child" means an individual under 18 years of age
29	29	who has not been granted by this state or another state a court
30	30	order removing the disabilities of minority of the individual for
31	31	general purposes.
32	32	(2) "Child-placing agency" means a person with
33	33	authority under other law of this state to identify or place a child
34	34	for adoption. The term does not include a parent of the child.
35	35	(3) "Custody" means the exercise of physical care and
36	36	supervision of a child.
37	37	(4) "Department" means the Department of Family and
38	38	Protective Services.
39	39	(5) "Intercountry adoption" means an adoption or
40	40	placement for adoption of a child who resides in a foreign country
41	41	at the time of adoption or placement. The term includes an adoption
42	42	finalized in the child's country of residence or in a state.
43	43	(6) "Person" means an individual, estate, business, or
44	44	nonprofit entity, public corporation, government, or governmental
45	45	subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other legal entity.
46	46	(7) "Record" means information:
47	47	(A) inscribed on a tangible medium; or
48	48	(B) stored in an electronic or other medium and
49	49	retrievable in perceivable form.
50	50	(8) "State" means a state of the United States, the
51	51	District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
52	52	Islands, or any other territory or possession subject to the
53	53	jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes a federally
54	54	recognized Indian tribe.
55	55	Sec. 163.103. LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY. This chapter
56	56	does not apply to custody of an Indian child, as defined in the
57	57	Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1901 et seq.),
58	58	to the extent custody is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act.
59	59	SUBCHAPTER C. PROHIBITION OF UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFER
60	60	Sec. 163.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
61	61	(1) "Conservator" means a person recognized as a
62	62	conservator under other law of this state.
63	63	(2) "Intermediary" means a person that assists or
64	64	facilitates a transfer of custody of a child, whether or not for
65	65	compensation.
66	66	Sec. 163.202. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not
67	67	apply to a transfer of custody of a child by a parent or conservator
68	68	of the child to:
69	69	(1) a parent of the child;
70	70	(2) a stepparent of the child;
71	71	(3) an adult who is related to the child by
72	72	consanguinity or affinity;
73	73	(4) an adult who, at the time of the transfer, had a
74	74	close relationship with the child or the parent or conservator of
75	75	the child for a substantial period, and whom the parent or
76	76	conservator reasonably believes, at the time of the transfer, to be
77	77	a fit custodian of the child;
78	78	(5) an Indian custodian of the child, as defined by the
79	79	Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1901 et seq.);
80	80	or
81	81	(6) a member of the child's customary family unit
82	82	recognized by the child's indigenous group under other law of this
83	83	state.
84	84	Sec. 163.203. PROHIBITED CUSTODY TRANSFER. (a) Except as
85	85	provided in Subsection (b), a parent or conservator of a child or an
86	86	individual with whom a child has been placed for adoption may not
87	87	transfer custody of the child to another person with the intent, at
88	88	the time of the transfer, to abandon the rights and
89	89	responsibilities concerning the child.
90	90	(b) A parent or conservator of a child or an individual with
91	91	whom a child has been placed for adoption may transfer custody of
92	92	the child to another person with the intent, at the time of the
93	93	transfer, to abandon the rights and responsibilities concerning the
94	94	child only through:
95	95	(1) adoption or conservatorship;
96	96	(2) judicial award of custody;
97	97	(3) placement by or through a child-placing agency;
98	98	(4) other judicial or tribal action; or
99	99	(5) voluntary delivery of the child to a designated
100	100	emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302.
101	101	(c) A person may not receive custody of a child, or act as an
102	102	intermediary in a transfer of custody of a child, if the person
103	103	knows or reasonably should know the transfer violates Subsection
104	104	(a). This prohibition does not apply if the person, as soon as
105	105	practicable after the transfer, notifies the department of the
106	106	transfer or takes appropriate action to establish custody under
107	107	Subsection (b).
108	108	(d) A person commits an offense if a person violates this
109	109	section. An offense under this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor,
110	110	except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the child
111	111	who is the subject of the offense has been previously adopted.
112	112	(e) A violation of Subsection (a) is not established solely
113	113	because a parent or conservator that transfers custody of a child
114	114	does not regain custody.
115	115	(f) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
116	116	section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor
117	117	may be prosecuted under this section or the other law, but not both.
118	118	Sec. 163.204. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF DEPARTMENT.
119	119	(a) If the department has a reasonable basis to believe that a
120	120	person has transferred or will transfer custody of a child in
121	121	violation of Section 163.203(a), the department may conduct a home
122	122	visit as provided by other law of this state and take appropriate
123	123	action to protect the welfare of the child.
124	124	(b) If the department conducts a home visit for a child
125	125	adopted or placed through an intercountry adoption, the department
126	126	shall:
127	127	(1) prepare a report on the welfare and plan for
128	128	permanent placement of the child; and
129	129	(2) provide a copy to the United States Department of
130	130	State.
131	131	(c) This chapter does not prevent the department from taking
132	132	appropriate action under another law of this state.
133	133	Sec. 163.205. PROHIBITED SOLICITING OR ADVERTISING. (a) A
134	134	person may not solicit or advertise to:
135	135	(1) identify a person to which to make a transfer of
136	136	custody in violation of Section 163.203(a);
137	137	(2) identify a child for a transfer of custody in
138	138	violation of Section 163.203(c); or
139	139	(3) act as an intermediary in a transfer of custody in
140	140	violation of Section 163.203(c).
141	141	(b) A person commits an offense if the person violates this
142	142	section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor,
143	143	except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the actor
144	144	has been previously convicted of an offense under this section.
145	145	Sec. 163.206. ENFORCEMENT. The department may investigate
146	146	a possible violation of this subchapter and take legal action as
147	147	provided by law of this state.
148	148	SUBCHAPTER D. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
149	149	Sec. 163.301. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.
150	150	In applying and construing this uniform act, a court shall consider
151	151	the promotion of uniformity of the law among jurisdictions that
152	152	enact it.
153	153	Sec. 163.302. RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL
154	154	AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT. This chapter modifies, limits, and
155	155	supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National
156	156	Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001 et seq.), but does not modify,
157	157	limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that Act (15 U.S.C. Section
158	158	7001(c)), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices
159	159	described in Section 103(b) of that Act (15 U.S.C. Section
160	160	7003(b)).
161	161	SECTION 2. Chapter 163, Family Code, as added by this Act,
162	162	applies only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective date
163	163	of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this
164	164	Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct
165	165	occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
166	166	purpose.
167	167	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.