Bill Text: GA HB282 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Military Parents' Rights Act; enact
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-23 - House Second Readers [HB282 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-HB282-Introduced.html
11 LC
21 1082
House
Bill 282
By:
Representatives Yates of the
73rd,
Black of the
174th,
Coomer of the
14th,
Hatchett of the
143rd,
Parent of the
81st,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the Child Custody Intrastate Jurisdiction Act, so as to
provide a short title; to provide procedures governing parental rights in the
event one parent is subject to military deployment; to define certain terms; to
provide that a court shall not enter a final order modifying parental rights of
a deploying parent until 90 days after the deployment ends; to provide for a
temporary order modifying parental rights and responsibilities or parent-child
contact during the period of deployment or mobilization; to provide that either
parent may file a motion to modify the temporary order upon the return of the
deploying parent; to provide for testimony and evidence by electronic means; to
provide for expedited procedures when a deployment is imminent; to provide for
cooperation and disclosure of information; to provide for attorney's fees; to
provide for permanent modification of child support or visitation in certain
cases; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
2 of Chapter 9 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the Child Custody Intrastate Jurisdiction Act, is amended by adding a new
part to read as follows:
"Part
5
19-9-120.
This
part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Military Parents' Rights
Act.'
19-9-121.
As
used in this part, the term:
(1)
'Deploy' and 'deployment' mean military service in compliance with military
orders received by a member of the United States Armed Forces, including any
reserve component thereof to report for combat operations, contingency
operations, peacekeeping operations, a remote tour of duty, or other active
service for which the deploying parent is required to report unaccompanied by
any family member. Deployment includes a period during which a military parent
remains subject to deployment orders and remains deployed on account of
sickness, wounds, leave, or other lawful cause.
(2)
'Deploying parent' means a military parent who has been notified by military
leadership that he or she will deploy or mobilize with the United States Armed
Forces, including any reserve component thereof, or who is currently deployed or
mobilized with the United States Armed Forces, including any reserve component
thereof.
(3)
'Military parent' means a natural parent, adoptive parent, legal parent, or
guardian of a child under the age of 18 whose parental rights have not been
terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction, and who is a member of the
United States Armed Forces, including any reserve component
thereof.
(4)
'Mobilization' and 'mobilize' mean the call-up of National Guard or reserve
service members to extended active service. Such term shall not include
National Guard or reserve annual training, inactive duty days, drill weekends,
temporary duty, or state active duty.
(5)
'Nondeploying parent' means a parent who is either not a member of the United
States Armed Forces, including any reserve component thereof, or is a military
parent who is currently not a deploying parent.
(6)
'State active duty' means the call-up by a governor for the performance of any
military duty in state status.
(7)
'Temporary duty' means the transfer of a service member to a geographic location
outside the state for a limited period of time to accomplish training or to
assist in the performance of a noncombat mission.
19-9-122.
(a)
If a deploying parent is required to be separated from a child, a court shall
not enter a final order modifying parental rights and responsibilities and
parent-child contact in an existing order until 90 days after the deployment
ends, unless such modification is agreed to by the deploying
parent.
(b)
Absence created by deployment or mobilization or the potential for future
deployment or mobilization shall not be the sole factor supporting a real,
substantial, and unanticipated change in circumstances pursuant to Code Section
19-9-123 or grounds sufficient to support a permanent modification of the
parental rights and responsibilities or parent-child contact established in an
existing order.
19-9-123.
(a)
Upon motion of a deploying or nondeploying parent, the court shall enter a
temporary order modifying parental rights and responsibilities or parent-child
contact during the period of deployment or mobilization when:
(1)
A military parent who has shared, sole, or primary legal or physical parental
rights and responsibilities for a child or who has parent-child contact pursuant
to an existing court order has received notice from military leadership that he
or she will deploy or mobilize in the near future; and
(2)
The deployment or mobilization would have a material effect upon his or her
ability to exercise such parental rights and responsibilities or parent-child
contact.
(b)
Motions for modification because of deployment shall be heard by the court as
expeditiously as possible and shall be a priority for this purpose.
(c)(1)
All temporary modification orders shall include a specific transition schedule
to facilitate a return to the preemployment order over the shortest reasonable
time period after the deployment ends, taking into consideration the child's
best interests.
(2)
The temporary order shall set a date certain for the end of deployment and the
start of the transition period. If deployment is extended, the temporary order
shall remain in effect during the extended deployment, and the transition
schedule shall take effect at the end of the extended deployment. In that case,
the nondeployed parent shall notify the court of the extended deployment.
Failure of the nondeployed parent to notify the court in accordance with this
paragraph shall not prejudice the deployed parent's right to return to the prior
order once the temporary order expires as provided in paragraph (3) of this
subsection.
(3)
The temporary order shall expire upon the completion of the transition, and the
prior order for parental rights and responsibilities and parent-child contact
shall be in effect.
(d)
Upon motion of the deploying parent, the court may delegate his or her
parent-child contact rights, or a portion of them, to a family member, a person
with whom the deploying parent cohabits, or another person with a close and
substantial relationship to the minor child or children for the duration of the
deployment, upon a finding that it is in the child's best interests. Such
delegated contact does not create separate rights to parent-child contact for a
person other than a parent once the temporary order is no longer in
effect.
(e)
A temporary modification order issued pursuant to this Code section shall
designate the deploying parent's parental rights and responsibilities for and
parent-child contact with a child during a period of leave granted to the
deploying parent, in the best interests of the child.
(f)
A temporary order issued under this Code section may require any of the
following if the court finds that it is in the best interests of the
child:
(1)
The nondeploying parent shall make the child reasonably available to the
deploying parent when the deploying parent has leave;
(2)
The nondeploying parent shall facilitate opportunities for telephonic, e-mail,
and other such contact between the deploying parent and the child during
deployment; and
(3)
The deploying parent shall provide timely information regarding his or her leave
schedule to the nondeploying parent. Actual leave dates are subject to change
with little notice due to military necessity and shall not be used by the
nondeploying parent to prevent parent-child contact.
(g)
A court order modifying a previous order for parental rights and
responsibilities or parent-child contact because of deployment shall specify
that the deployment is the basis for the order, and it shall be entered by the
court as a temporary order. The order shall further require the nondeploying
parent to provide the court and the deploying parent with 30 days' advance
written notice of any change of address and any change of telephone
number.
19-9-124.
(a)
Upon the return of the deploying parent, either parent may file a motion to
modify the temporary order on the grounds that compliance with the order will
result in immediate danger of irreparable harm to the child, and may request
that the court issue an ex parte order. The deploying parent may file such a
motion prior to his or her return. The motion shall be accompanied by an
affidavit in support of the requested order. Upon a finding of irreparable harm
based on the facts set forth in the affidavit, the court may issue an ex parte
order modifying parental rights and responsibilities and parent-child contact.
If the court issues an ex parte order, the court shall set the matter for
hearing within ten days from the issuance of the order.
(b)
Nothing in this part shall preclude the court from hearing a motion for
permanent modification of parental rights and responsibilities or parent-child
contact prior to or upon return of the deploying parent. The moving party shall
bear the burden of showing a real, substantial, and unanticipated change in
circumstances and that resumption of the parental rights and responsibilities or
parent-child order in effect before the deployment is no longer in the child's
best interests. The absence created by deployment or mobilization and any
resulting temporary disruption to the child shall not be considered the sole
factors in determining whether there has been a real, substantial, and
unanticipated change of circumstances in regard to the motion to
modify.
19-9-125.
Upon
motion of a deploying parent, provided reasonable advance notice is given and
good cause shown, the court shall allow such parent to present testimony and
evidence by electronic means with respect to parental rights and
responsibilities or parent-child contact matters instituted under this Code
section when the deployment of that parent has a material effect on his or her
ability to appear in person at a regularly scheduled hearing. The phrase
'electronic means' includes communication by telephone or video
teleconference.
19-9-126.
If
there is no existing order establishing the terms of parental rights and
responsibilities or parent-child contact and it appears that deployment or
mobilization is imminent, upon motion by either parent, the court shall expedite
a hearing to establish temporary parental rights and responsibilities and
parent-child contact to ensure the deploying parent has access to the child, to
ensure disclosure of information, to grant other rights and duties set forth
herein, and to provide other appropriate relief. Any initial pleading filed to
establish parental rights and responsibilities for or parent-child contact with
a child of a deploying parent shall be so identified at the time of filing by
stating in the text of the pleading the specific facts related to
deployment.
19-9-127.
Where
an impending deployment may preclude court adjudication before deployment, the
parties shall cooperate with each other in an effort to reach a mutually
agreeable resolution of parental rights and responsibilities, parent-child
contact, and child support. Each party shall provide information to one another
in an effort to facilitate agreement on these issues. Within 14 days of
receiving notification of deployment or mobilization in the near future from his
or her military leadership, the military parent shall provide written notice to
the nondeploying parent of the same. If less than 14 days' notice is received
by the military parent, then notice must be given immediately upon receipt of
notice to the nondeploying parent.
19-9-128.
In
determining whether a parent has failed to exercise parent-child contact, the
court shall not consider any time periods during which the parent did not
exercise such contact due to the material effect of that parent's military
duties on the contact schedule.
19-9-129.
In
making determinations pursuant to this part, the court may award attorney's fees
and costs based on the court's consideration of:
(1)
Unreasonable failure of either party to accommodate the other party in parental
rights and responsibilities or parent-child contact matters related to a
deploying parent;
(2)
Unreasonable delay caused by either party in resolving parental rights and
responsibilities or parent-child contact related to a deploying
parent;
(3)
Failure of either party to provide timely information about income and earnings
information to the other party; and
(4)
Other factors as the court may consider appropriate and as may be required by
law.
19-9-130.
Nothing
in this part shall prevent the court from permanently modifying a decree of
child custody or visitation in those cases where a military parent repeatedly
volunteers for successive or frequent duties that removes him or her from the
state and that makes him or her unavailable to supervise and care for a child
effectively."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.