Cook Bill Bans Handing Off A Child Outside Adoption Or Court

The text as introduced · 1,369 words

89R1107 MLH-D

By: Cook
H.B. No. 1892

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act;

creating criminal offenses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Family Code, is amended by

adding Chapter 163 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 163. UNIFORM UNREGULATED CHILD CUSTODY TRANSFER ACT

SUBCHAPTER A. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION

Sec. 163.001. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. This chapter

shall be applied and construed to promote the uniformity of the law

among the states that enact the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody

Transfer Act.

Sec. 163.002. CONFLICTS BETWEEN PROVISIONS. If a provision

of this chapter conflicts with another provision of this title or

another state statute or rule and the conflict cannot be

reconciled, this chapter prevails.

SUBCHAPTER B. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 163.101. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the

Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act.

Sec. 163.102. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Child" means an individual under 18 years of age

who has not been granted by this state or another state a court

order removing the disabilities of minority of the individual for

general purposes.

(2) "Child-placing agency" means a person with

authority under other law of this state to identify or place a child

for adoption. The term does not include a parent of the child.

(3) "Custody" means the exercise of physical care and

supervision of a child.

(4) "Department" means the Department of Family and

Protective Services.

(5) "Intercountry adoption" means an adoption or

placement for adoption of a child who resides in a foreign country

at the time of adoption or placement. The term includes an adoption

finalized in the child's country of residence or in a state.

(6) "Person" means an individual, estate, business, or

nonprofit entity, public corporation, government, or governmental

subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other legal entity.

(7) "Record" means information:

(A) inscribed on a tangible medium; or

(B) stored in an electronic or other medium and

retrievable in perceivable form.

(8) "State" means a state of the United States, the

District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin

Islands, or any other territory or possession subject to the

jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes a federally

recognized Indian tribe.

Sec. 163.103. LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY. This chapter

does not apply to custody of an Indian child, as defined in the

Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1901 et seq.),

to the extent custody is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act.

SUBCHAPTER C. PROHIBITION OF UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFER

Sec. 163.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Conservator" means a person recognized as a

conservator under other law of this state.

(2) "Intermediary" means a person that assists or

facilitates a transfer of custody of a child, whether or not for

compensation.

Sec. 163.202. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not

apply to a transfer of custody of a child by a parent or conservator

of the child to:

(1) a parent of the child;

(2) a stepparent of the child;

(3) an adult who is related to the child by

consanguinity or affinity;

(4) an adult who, at the time of the transfer, had a

close relationship with the child or the parent or conservator of

the child for a substantial period, and whom the parent or

conservator reasonably believes, at the time of the transfer, to be

a fit custodian of the child;

(5) an Indian custodian of the child, as defined by the

Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1901 et seq.);

or

(6) a member of the child's customary family unit

recognized by the child's indigenous group under other law of this

state.

Sec. 163.203. PROHIBITED CUSTODY TRANSFER. (a) Except as

provided in Subsection (b), a parent or conservator of a child or an

individual with whom a child has been placed for adoption may not

transfer custody of the child to another person with the intent, at

the time of the transfer, to abandon the rights and

responsibilities concerning the child.

(b) A parent or conservator of a child or an individual with

whom a child has been placed for adoption may transfer custody of

the child to another person with the intent, at the time of the

transfer, to abandon the rights and responsibilities concerning the

child only through:

(1) adoption or conservatorship;

(2) judicial award of custody;

(3) placement by or through a child-placing agency;

(4) other judicial or tribal action; or

(5) voluntary delivery of the child to a designated

emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302.

(c) A person may not receive custody of a child, or act as an

intermediary in a transfer of custody of a child, if the person

knows or reasonably should know the transfer violates Subsection

(a). This prohibition does not apply if the person, as soon as

practicable after the transfer, notifies the department of the

transfer or takes appropriate action to establish custody under

Subsection (b).

(d) A person commits an offense if a person violates this

section. An offense under this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor,

except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the child

who is the subject of the offense has been previously adopted.

(e) A violation of Subsection (a) is not established solely

because a parent or conservator that transfers custody of a child

does not regain custody.

(f) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this

section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor

may be prosecuted under this section or the other law, but not both.

Sec. 163.204. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF DEPARTMENT.

(a) If the department has a reasonable basis to believe that a

person has transferred or will transfer custody of a child in

violation of Section 163.203(a), the department may conduct a home

visit as provided by other law of this state and take appropriate

action to protect the welfare of the child.

(b) If the department conducts a home visit for a child

adopted or placed through an intercountry adoption, the department

shall:

(1) prepare a report on the welfare and plan for

permanent placement of the child; and

(2) provide a copy to the United States Department of

State.

(c) This chapter does not prevent the department from taking

appropriate action under another law of this state.

Sec. 163.205. PROHIBITED SOLICITING OR ADVERTISING. (a) A

person may not solicit or advertise to:

(1) identify a person to which to make a transfer of

custody in violation of Section 163.203(a);

(2) identify a child for a transfer of custody in

violation of Section 163.203(c); or

(3) act as an intermediary in a transfer of custody in

violation of Section 163.203(c).

(b) A person commits an offense if the person violates this

section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor,

except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the actor

has been previously convicted of an offense under this section.

Sec. 163.206. ENFORCEMENT. The department may investigate

a possible violation of this subchapter and take legal action as

provided by law of this state.

SUBCHAPTER D. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 163.301. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.

In applying and construing this uniform act, a court shall consider

the promotion of uniformity of the law among jurisdictions that

enact it.

Sec. 163.302. RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL

AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT. This chapter modifies, limits, and

supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National

Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001 et seq.), but does not modify,

limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that Act (15 U.S.C. Section

7001(c)), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices

described in Section 103(b) of that Act (15 U.S.C. Section

7003(b)).

SECTION 2. Chapter 163, Family Code, as added by this Act,

applies only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective date

of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this

Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct

occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that

purpose.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.