HB 1892

89R1107 MLH-D
		By: Cook, Spiller
  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.