Bill Text: TX SB1702 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to orders providing for the conservatorship of or possession of and access to a child by the child's parents in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-16 - Referred to State Affairs [SB1702 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB1702-Introduced.html
88R9423 AMF-D | ||
By: Middleton | S.B. No. 1702 |
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relating to orders providing for the conservatorship of or | ||
possession of and access to a child by the child's parents in a suit | ||
affecting the parent-child relationship. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by adding | ||
Section 101.0122 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 101.0122. EQUAL PARENTING ORDER. "Equal parenting | ||
order" means an order that provides both parents of a child who are | ||
joint managing conservators with rights of equal or nearly equal | ||
periods of physical possession of and access to the child in | ||
accordance with Section 153.135. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 153.001(a), Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) The public policy of this state is to: | ||
(1) assure that children will have frequent and | ||
continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in | ||
the best interest of the child; | ||
(2) provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment | ||
for the child; and | ||
(3) encourage parents to share equally in the rights | ||
and duties of raising their child after the parents have separated | ||
or dissolved their marriage. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 153.007(a), Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) To promote the amicable settlement of disputes between | ||
the parties to a suit, the parties may enter into a written agreed | ||
parenting plan containing provisions for conservatorship and | ||
possession of the child and for modification of the parenting plan, | ||
including variations from equal or nearly equal periods of physical | ||
possession as provided by an equal parenting order under Section | ||
153.135 or from the standard possession order under Subchapter F. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 153.072, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 153.072. WRITTEN FINDING REQUIRED TO LIMIT PARENTAL | ||
RIGHTS AND DUTIES. The court may limit the rights and duties of a | ||
parent appointed as a conservator only if the court makes a written | ||
finding that the limitation is in the best interest of the child. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 153.131(b), Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(b) It is a rebuttable presumption that the appointment of | ||
the parents of a child as joint managing conservators with equal | ||
rights to possession of and access to the child is in the best | ||
interest of the child. A finding of a history of family violence | ||
involving the parents of a child removes the presumption under this | ||
subsection. | ||
SECTION 6. Section 153.135, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 153.135. EQUAL PARENTING ORDER FOR JOINT MANAGING | ||
CONSERVATORS [ |
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other provision of this chapter and except as otherwise provided by | ||
this section, if the court renders an order under Section 153.134 | ||
appointing both parents of a child as joint [ |
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conservators, the court shall render an equal parenting order | ||
providing for [ |
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or nearly equal periods of physical possession of and access to the | ||
child to each of the managing [ |
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determines and enters findings of fact on the record specifying | ||
that: | ||
(1) an equal parenting order is unworkable or | ||
inappropriate due to the work schedule or other special | ||
circumstances of a managing conservator or the child, or the school | ||
schedule of the child; or | ||
(2) equal or nearly equal periods of physical | ||
possession and access are not in the best interest of the child. | ||
(b) If the court determines under Subsection (a) that the | ||
equal parenting order is unworkable or inappropriate or not in the | ||
best interest of the child, the court may enter a standard | ||
possession order under Subchapter F, including an expanded standard | ||
possession order under Section 153.3171, if applicable. If the | ||
court finds that the standard possession order is unworkable or | ||
inappropriate, the court may modify the standard possession order | ||
as provided by Section 153.253. If the court finds that the | ||
standard possession order is not in the best interest of the child, | ||
the court may render an order that the court finds to be in the best | ||
interest of the child as provided by Section 153.256. | ||
(c) The court shall render an order appropriate under the | ||
circumstances for the possession of a child less than three years of | ||
age, as provided by Section 153.254(a), which does not need to | ||
provide equal or nearly equal periods of possession of or access to | ||
a child to both joint managing conservators. The court shall render | ||
a prospective order to take effect on the child's third birthday, | ||
which presumptively will be an equal parenting order. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 153.251(a), Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) The guidelines established in the standard possession | ||
order are intended to guide the courts in ordering the terms and | ||
conditions for possession of a child by a parent named as a | ||
possessory conservator, or as the minimum possession for a joint | ||
managing conservator if the court does not render an equal | ||
parenting order under Section 153.135. | ||
SECTION 8. Section 153.252, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 153.252. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION. In a suit, there is a | ||
rebuttable presumption that the standard possession order in | ||
Subchapter F[ |
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[ |
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child for a parent named as a: | ||
(1) possessory conservator; or | ||
(2) joint managing conservator, if the court does not | ||
render an equal parenting order under Section 153.135[ |
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[ |
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SECTION 9. The enactment of this Act does not constitute a | ||
material and substantial change of circumstances sufficient to | ||
warrant modification of a court order or portion of a decree that | ||
provides for the possession of or access to a child rendered before | ||
the effective date of this Act. | ||
SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act applies to a | ||
suit affecting the parent-child relationship that is pending in a | ||
trial court on the effective date of this Act or that is filed on or | ||
after the effective date of this Act. | ||
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |