89R21266 AMF-D
By: Metcalf H.B. No. 2340
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2340:
By: Leach C.S.H.B. No. 2340
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the qualifications, communications, and recordkeeping
of a child custody evaluator and the admissibility of a child
custody evaluation under certain circumstances.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 107.104(a), Family Code, is amended by
adding Subdivisions (3) and (4) to read as follows:
(3) "Developmental disability" has the meaning
assigned by Section 614.001, Health and Safety Code.
(4) "Intellectual disability" has the meaning
assigned by Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Section 107.104, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) In addition to the qualifications prescribed by this
section, to be qualified to conduct a child custody evaluation
under this subchapter, an individual must complete, during the
two-year period preceding the evaluation, at least three hours of
initial or continuing training, as applicable, related to the care
of a child with an intellectual disability or developmental
disability, including education, therapy, preparation for
independent living, or methods for addressing physical or mental
health challenges.
SECTION 3. Section 107.112, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c), (d), and (f) and adding Subsection (i) to
read as follows:
(c) Except for records obtained from the department in
accordance with Section 107.111 or from an entity described by
Section 107.1111(a) in accordance with Section 107.1111, a private
child custody evaluator shall, after completion of an evaluation
and the [preparation and] filing of a notice [child custody
evaluation report] under Section 107.113(b) [107.113], make
available in a reasonable time the evaluator's records relating to
the evaluation on the written request of an attorney for a party, a
party who does not have an attorney, and any person appointed under
this chapter in the suit in which the evaluator conducted the
evaluation, unless a court has issued an order restricting
disclosure of the records.
(d) Subject to Subsection (b-1) and except for records
obtained from the department in accordance with Section 107.111 or
from an entity described by Section 107.1111(a) in accordance with
Section 107.1111, records relating to a child custody evaluation
conducted by an employee of or contractor with a domestic relations
office shall, after completion of the evaluation and the
[preparation and] filing of a notice [child custody evaluation
report] under Section 107.113(b) [107.113], be made available
according to the local rules and policies of the office on written
request of an attorney for a party, a party who does not have an
attorney, and any person appointed under this chapter in the suit in
which the evaluator conducted the evaluation, unless a court has
issued an order restricting disclosure of the records [according to
the local rules and policies of the office].
(f) A private child custody evaluator shall retain all
records relating to a child custody evaluation conducted by the
evaluator until the ending date of the retention period adopted by
the licensing authority that issues the professional license held
by the evaluator based on the date the evaluator filed the notice
under Section 107.113(b) [child custody evaluation report prepared
under this section] with the court.
(i) A child custody evaluator shall redact any social
security number or child's birth date from records subject to
disclosure under this section before making the records available.
SECTION 4. Section 107.114, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) Unless the child custody evaluator is appointed under
Section 107.106, the court may not admit into evidence a child
custody evaluation report prepared under Section 107.113 if:
(1) the child who is the subject of the report has an
intellectual disability or developmental disability; and
(2) on the date the evaluation that is the subject of
the report was made, the child custody evaluator had not satisfied
the training requirement under Section 107.104(f).
SECTION 5. Sections 107.104(f) and 107.114(a-1), Family
Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a child custody evaluation
that is conducted by a child custody evaluator appointed by a court
on or after January 1, 2026. A child custody evaluation conducted by
a child custody evaluator appointed by a court before January 1,
2026, is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. Sections 107.112(c) and (d), Family Code, as
amended by this Act, and Section 107.112(i), Family Code, as added
by this Act, apply to a disclosure of information made on or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. Section 107.112(f), Family Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to all records in the possession of a child
custody evaluator on or after the effective date of this Act,
regardless of whether the records were created before, on, or after
that date.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.