Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB849 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R4896 AMF-D
2	2	By: Middleton S.B. No. 849
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to orders providing for the conservatorship of or
10	10	possession of and access to a child by the child's parents in a suit
11	11	affecting the parent-child relationship.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by adding
14	14	Section 101.0122 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 101.0122. EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. "Equal parenting
16	16	order" means an order that provides both parents of a child who are
17	17	joint managing conservators with rights of equal or nearly equal
18	18	periods of physical possession of and access to the child in
19	19	accordance with Section 153.135.
20	20	SECTION 2. Section 101.029, Family Code, is redesignated as
21	21	Section 101.0016, Family Code, and amended to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 101.0016 [101.029]. ALTERNATIVE [STANDARD] POSSESSION
23	23	ORDER. "Alternative [Standard] possession order" means an order
24	24	that provides a parent with rights of possession of a child in
25	25	accordance with the terms and conditions of Subchapter F, Chapter
26	26	153.
27	27	SECTION 3. Section 105.001(g), Family Code, is amended to
28	28	read as follows:
29	29	(g) The rebuttable presumptions established in favor of the
30	30	application of the guidelines for a child support order and for the
31	31	equal parenting order or the alternative [standard] possession
32	32	order, as applicable, under Chapters 153 and 154 apply to temporary
33	33	orders. The presumptions do not limit the authority of the court to
34	34	render other temporary orders.
35	35	SECTION 4. Section 153.001(a), Family Code, is amended to
36	36	read as follows:
37	37	(a) The public policy of this state is to:
38	38	(1) assure that children will have frequent and
39	39	continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in
40	40	the best interest of the child;
41	41	(2) provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment
42	42	for the child; and
43	43	(3) encourage parents to share equally in the rights
44	44	and duties of raising their child after the parents have separated
45	45	or dissolved their marriage.
46	46	SECTION 5. Section 153.007(a), Family Code, is amended to
47	47	read as follows:
48	48	(a) To promote the amicable settlement of disputes between
49	49	the parties to a suit, the parties may enter into a written agreed
50	50	parenting plan containing provisions for conservatorship and
51	51	possession of the child and for modification of the parenting plan,
52	52	including variations from:
53	53	(1) equal or nearly equal periods of physical
54	54	possession as provided by an equal parenting order under Section
55	55	153.135; or
56	56	(2) the alternative [standard] possession order under
57	57	Subchapter F.
58	58	SECTION 6. Section 153.072, Family Code, is amended to read
59	59	as follows:
60	60	Sec. 153.072. WRITTEN FINDING REQUIRED TO LIMIT PARENTAL
61	61	RIGHTS AND DUTIES. The court may limit the rights and duties of a
62	62	parent appointed as a conservator only if the court makes a written
63	63	finding that the limitation is in the best interest of the child.
64	64	SECTION 7. Section 153.131(b), Family Code, is amended to
65	65	read as follows:
66	66	(b) It is a rebuttable presumption that the appointment of
67	67	the parents of a child as joint managing conservators with rights of
68	68	equal or nearly equal periods of physical possession of and access
69	69	to the child is in the best interest of the child. A finding of a
70	70	history of family violence involving the parents of a child removes
71	71	the presumption under this subsection.
72	72	SECTION 8. Section 153.135, Family Code, is amended to read
73	73	as follows:
74	74	Sec. 153.135. EQUAL PARENTING ORDER FOR JOINT MANAGING
75	75	CONSERVATORS [POSSESSION NOT REQUIRED]. (a) Notwithstanding any
76	76	other provision of this chapter and except as otherwise provided by
77	77	this section, if the court renders an order under Section 153.134
78	78	appointing both parents of a child as joint [Joint] managing
79	79	conservators, the court shall render an equal parenting order
80	80	providing for [conservatorship does not require the award of] equal
81	81	or nearly equal periods of physical possession of and access to the
82	82	child to each of the managing [joint] conservators unless the court
83	83	determines and enters findings of fact on the record specifying
84	84	that:
85	85	(1) an equal parenting order is unworkable or
86	86	inappropriate due to the work schedule or other special
87	87	circumstances of a managing conservator or the child, or the school
88	88	schedule of the child; or
89	89	(2) equal or nearly equal periods of physical
90	90	possession and access are not in the best interest of the child.
91	91	(b) If the court determines under Subsection (a) that the
92	92	equal parenting order is unworkable or inappropriate or not in the
93	93	best interest of the child, the court may enter an alternative
94	94	possession order under Subchapter F, including an expanded
95	95	alternative possession order under Section 153.3171, if
96	96	applicable. If the court finds that the alternative possession
97	97	order is unworkable or inappropriate, the court may modify the
98	98	alternative possession order as provided by Section 153.253. If
99	99	the court finds that the alternative possession order is not in the
100	100	best interest of the child, the court may render an order that the
101	101	court finds to be in the best interest of the child considering the
102	102	guidelines established by the alternative possession order and the
103	103	factors provided by Section 153.256.
104	104	(c) The court shall render an order appropriate under the
105	105	circumstances for the possession of a child less than three years of
106	106	age, as provided by Section 153.254(a), which does not need to
107	107	provide equal or nearly equal periods of possession of or access to
108	108	a child to both joint managing conservators. The court shall render
109	109	a prospective order to take effect on the child's third birthday,
110	110	which presumptively will be an equal parenting order.
111	111	SECTION 9. The heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 153, Family
112	112	Code, is amended to read as follows:
113	113	SUBCHAPTER E. GUIDELINES FOR THE POSSESSION OF A CHILD BY A PARENT
114	114	NAMED AS POSSESSORY CONSERVATOR OR FOR THE MINIMUM POSSESSION FOR A
115	115	PARENT NAMED AS JOINT MANAGING CONSERVATOR
116	116	SECTION 10. Sections 153.251(a) and (d), Family Code, are
117	117	amended to read as follows:
118	118	(a) The guidelines established in the alternative
119	119	[standard] possession order are intended to guide the courts in
120	120	ordering the terms and conditions for possession of a child by a
121	121	parent named as a possessory conservator, or as the minimum
122	122	possession for a joint managing conservator if the court does not
123	123	render an equal parenting order under Section 153.135.
124	124	(d) The equal parenting and alternative [standard]
125	125	possession orders are [order is] designed to apply to a child three
126	126	years of age or older.
127	127	SECTION 11. Section 153.252, Family Code, is amended to
128	128	read as follows:
129	129	Sec. 153.252. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION. In a suit, there is a
130	130	rebuttable presumption that the alternative [standard] possession
131	131	order in Subchapter F[:
132	132	[(1)] provides reasonable minimum possession of a
133	133	child for a parent named as a:
134	134	(1) possessory conservator; or
135	135	(2) joint managing conservator, if the court does not
136	136	render an equal parenting order under Section 153.135[; and
137	137	[(2) is in the best interest of the child].
138	138	SECTION 12. Section 153.253, Family Code, is amended to
139	139	read as follows:
140	140	Sec. 153.253. EQUAL PARENTING OR ALTERNATIVE [STANDARD]
141	141	POSSESSION ORDER INAPPROPRIATE OR UNWORKABLE. The court shall
142	142	render an order that grants periods of possession of the child as
143	143	similar as possible to those provided by:
144	144	(1) the equal parenting order if the work schedule or
145	145	other special circumstances of a parent who is a joint managing
146	146	conservator or the child or the year-round school schedule of the
147	147	child make the equal parenting order unworkable or inappropriate;
148	148	or
149	149	(2) in circumstances other than those described by
150	150	Subdivision (1), the alternative [standard] possession order if the
151	151	work schedule or other special circumstances of the managing
152	152	conservator, the possessory conservator, or the child, or the
153	153	year-round school schedule of the child, make the alternative
154	154	possession [standard] order unworkable or inappropriate.
155	155	SECTION 13. Section 153.254(d), Family Code, is amended to
156	156	read as follows:
157	157	(d) The court shall render a prospective order to take
158	158	effect on the child's third birthday, which presumptively will be:
159	159	(1) if both parents are appointed as joint managing
160	160	conservators of the child, the equal parenting order; or
161	161	(2) in circumstances other than those described by
162	162	Subdivision (1), the alternative [standard] possession order.
163	163	SECTION 14. Section 153.255, Family Code, is amended to
164	164	read as follows:
165	165	Sec. 153.255. AGREEMENT. The court may render an order for
166	166	periods of possession of a child that vary from the equal parenting
167	167	order or the alternative [standard] possession order based on the
168	168	agreement of the parties.
169	169	SECTION 15. Section 153.256, Family Code, is amended to
170	170	read as follows:
171	171	Sec. 153.256. FACTORS FOR COURT TO CONSIDER. In ordering
172	172	the terms of possession of a child under an order other than an
173	173	equal parenting order or an alternative [a standard] possession
174	174	order, the court shall be guided by the guidelines established by
175	175	the equal parenting order or the alternative [standard] possession
176	176	order, as applicable, and may consider:
177	177	(1) the age, developmental status, circumstances,
178	178	needs, and best interest of the child;
179	179	(2) the circumstances of the joint managing
180	180	conservators or of the managing conservator and of the parent named
181	181	as a possessory conservator; and
182	182	(3) any other relevant factor.
183	183	SECTION 16. The heading to Section 153.258, Family Code, is
184	184	amended to read as follows:
185	185	Sec. 153.258. REQUEST FOR FINDINGS WHEN ORDER VARIES FROM
186	186	EQUAL PARENTING [STANDARD] ORDER.
187	187	SECTION 17. Section 153.258(a), Family Code, is amended to
188	188	read as follows:
189	189	(a) In all cases in which possession of a child by a parent
190	190	is contested and the possession of the child varies from the equal
191	191	parenting [standard possession] order, including a possession
192	192	order for a child under three years of age, on request by a party,
193	193	the court shall state in writing the specific reasons for the
194	194	variance from the equal parenting [standard] order.
195	195	SECTION 18. The heading to Subchapter F, Chapter 153,
196	196	Family Code, is amended to read as follows:
197	197	SUBCHAPTER F. ALTERNATIVE [STANDARD] POSSESSION ORDER
198	198	SECTION 19. Section 153.3101, Family Code, is amended to
199	199	read as follows:
200	200	Sec. 153.3101. REFERENCE TO "SCHOOL" IN ALTERNATIVE
201	201	[STANDARD] POSSESSION ORDER. In an alternative [a standard]
202	202	possession order, "school" means the elementary or secondary school
203	203	in which the child is enrolled or, if the child is not enrolled in an
204	204	elementary or secondary school, the public school district in which
205	205	the child primarily resides.
206	206	SECTION 20. Section 153.311, Family Code, is amended to
207	207	read as follows:
208	208	Sec. 153.311. MUTUAL AGREEMENT OR SPECIFIED TERMS FOR
209	209	POSSESSION. The court shall specify in an alternative [a standard]
210	210	possession order that the parties may have possession of the child
211	211	at times mutually agreed to in advance by the parties and, in the
212	212	absence of mutual agreement, shall have possession of the child
213	213	under the specified terms set out in the alternative [standard]
214	214	possession order.
215	215	SECTION 21. Section 153.314, Family Code, is amended to
216	216	read as follows:
217	217	Sec. 153.314. HOLIDAY POSSESSION UNAFFECTED BY DISTANCE
218	218	PARENTS RESIDE APART. The following provisions govern possession
219	219	of the child for certain specific holidays and supersede
220	220	conflicting weekend or Thursday periods of possession without
221	221	regard to the distance the parents reside apart. The possessory
222	222	conservator and the managing conservator shall have rights of
223	223	possession of the child as follows:
224	224	(1) the possessory conservator shall have possession
225	225	of the child in even-numbered years beginning at 6 p.m. on the day
226	226	the child is dismissed from school for the Christmas school
227	227	vacation and ending at noon on December 28, and the managing
228	228	conservator shall have possession for the same period in
229	229	odd-numbered years;
230	230	(2) the possessory conservator shall have possession
231	231	of the child in odd-numbered years beginning at noon on December 28
232	232	and ending at 6 p.m. on the day before school resumes after that
233	233	vacation, and the managing conservator shall have possession for
234	234	the same period in even-numbered years;
235	235	(3) the possessory conservator shall have possession
236	236	of the child in odd-numbered years, beginning at 6 p.m. on the day
237	237	the child is dismissed from school before Thanksgiving and ending
238	238	at 6 p.m. on the following Sunday, and the managing conservator
239	239	shall have possession for the same period in even-numbered years;
240	240	(4) the parent not otherwise entitled under this
241	241	alternative [standard] possession order to present possession of a
242	242	child on the child's birthday shall have possession of the child
243	243	beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at 8 p.m. on that day, provided that
244	244	the parent picks up the child from the residence of the conservator
245	245	entitled to possession and returns the child to that same place;
246	246	(5) if a conservator, the father shall have possession
247	247	of the child beginning at 6 p.m. on the Friday preceding Father's
248	248	Day and ending on Father's Day at 6 p.m., provided that, if he is not
249	249	otherwise entitled under this alternative [standard] possession
250	250	order to present possession of the child, he picks up the child from
251	251	the residence of the conservator entitled to possession and returns
252	252	the child to that same place; and
253	253	(6) if a conservator, the mother shall have possession
254	254	of the child beginning at 6 p.m. on the Friday preceding Mother's
255	255	Day and ending on Mother's Day at 6 p.m., provided that, if she is
256	256	not otherwise entitled under this alternative [standard]
257	257	possession order to present possession of the child, she picks up
258	258	the child from the residence of the conservator entitled to
259	259	possession and returns the child to that same place.
260	260	SECTION 22. Section 153.317(a), Family Code, is amended to
261	261	read as follows:
262	262	(a) If elected by a conservator, the court shall alter the
263	263	alternative [standard] possession order under Sections 153.312,
264	264	153.314, and 153.315 to provide for one or more of the following
265	265	alternative beginning and ending possession times for the described
266	266	periods of possession, unless the court finds that the election is
267	267	not in the best interest of the child:
268	268	(1) for weekend periods of possession under Section
269	269	153.312(a)(1) during the regular school term:
270	270	(A) beginning at the time the child's school is
271	271	regularly dismissed;
272	272	(B) ending at the time the child's school resumes
273	273	after the weekend; or
274	274	(C) beginning at the time described by Paragraph
275	275	(A) and ending at the time described by Paragraph (B);
276	276	(2) for Thursday periods of possession under Section
277	277	153.312(a)(2):
278	278	(A) beginning at the time the child's school is
279	279	regularly dismissed;
280	280	(B) ending at the time the child's school resumes
281	281	on Friday; or
282	282	(C) beginning at the time described by Paragraph
283	283	(A) and ending at the time described by Paragraph (B);
284	284	(3) for spring vacation periods of possession under
285	285	Section 153.312(b)(1), beginning at the time the child's school is
286	286	dismissed for those vacations;
287	287	(4) for Christmas school vacation periods of
288	288	possession under Section 153.314(1), beginning at the time the
289	289	child's school is dismissed for the vacation;
290	290	(5) for Thanksgiving holiday periods of possession
291	291	under Section 153.314(3), beginning at the time the child's school
292	292	is dismissed for the holiday;
293	293	(6) for Father's Day periods of possession under
294	294	Section 153.314(5), ending at 8 a.m. on the Monday after Father's
295	295	Day weekend;
296	296	(7) for Mother's Day periods of possession under
297	297	Section 153.314(6):
298	298	(A) beginning at the time the child's school is
299	299	regularly dismissed on the Friday preceding Mother's Day;
300	300	(B) ending at the time the child's school resumes
301	301	after Mother's Day; or
302	302	(C) beginning at the time described by Paragraph
303	303	(A) and ending at the time described by Paragraph (B);
304	304	(8) for weekend periods of possession that are
305	305	extended under Section 153.315(b) by a student holiday or teacher
306	306	in-service day that falls on a Friday, beginning at the time the
307	307	child's school is regularly dismissed on Thursday; or
308	308	(9) for weekend periods of possession that are
309	309	extended under Section 153.315(a) by a student holiday or teacher
310	310	in-service day that falls on a Monday, ending at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
311	311	SECTION 23. Section 153.3171(a), Family Code, as amended by
312	312	Chapters 896 (H.B. 3203) and 967 (S.B. 1936), Acts of the 87th
313	313	Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to
314	314	read as follows:
315	315	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), if the possessory
316	316	conservator resides not more than 50 miles from the primary
317	317	residence of the child, the court shall alter the alternative
318	318	[standard] possession order under Sections 153.312, 153.314, and
319	319	153.315 to provide that the conservator has the right to possession
320	320	of the child as if the conservator had made the elections for
321	321	alternative beginning and ending possession times under Sections
322	322	153.317(a)(1)(C), (2)(C), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7)(C), (8), and (9).
323	323	SECTION 24. Section 153.601(4), Family Code, is amended to
324	324	read as follows:
325	325	(4) "Parenting plan" means the provisions of a final
326	326	court order that:
327	327	(A) set out rights and duties of a parent or a
328	328	person acting as a parent in relation to the child;
329	329	(B) provide for periods of possession of and
330	330	access to the child, which may be the terms set out in the equal
331	331	parenting order under Section 153.135 or the alternative [standard]
332	332	possession order under Subchapter F, and any amendments to the
333	333	[standard possession] order agreed to by the parties or found by the
334	334	court to be in the best interest of the child;
335	335	(C) provide for child support; and
336	336	(D) optimize the development of a close and
337	337	continuing relationship between each parent and the child.
338	338	SECTION 25. The heading to Section 231.1211, Family Code,
339	339	is amended to read as follows:
340	340	Sec. 231.1211. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS ON EQUAL PARENTING
341	341	ORDER AND ALTERNATIVE [STANDARD] POSSESSION ORDER.
342	342	SECTION 26. Section 231.1211(a), Family Code, is amended to
343	343	read as follows:
344	344	(a) The Title IV-D agency shall create informational
345	345	materials that describe the equal parenting order under Section
346	346	153.135 and the possession schedule under the alternative
347	347	[standard] possession order under Subchapter F, Chapter 153,
348	348	including any modified [alternate] schedules or elections
349	349	available to conservators.
350	350	SECTION 27. The enactment of this Act does not constitute a
351	351	material and substantial change of circumstances sufficient to
352	352	warrant modification of a court order or portion of a decree that
353	353	provides for the possession of or access to a child rendered before
354	354	the effective date of this Act.
355	355	SECTION 28. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
356	356	suit affecting the parent-child relationship that is pending in a
357	357	trial court on the effective date of this Act or that is filed on or
358	358	after the effective date of this Act.
359	359	SECTION 29. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.