HBA-SEB H.B. 1263 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1263
By: Dukes
Juvenile Justice and Family Issues
3/8/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, a protective order that is issued by a court in order to protect
a person from an abuser expires one year after issuance and does not
specifically prohibit the abuser from going to or near any place where the
person knows or has reason to know that the person protected by the order
will be.  Furthermore, a temporary ex parte order issued in a situation
involving family violence expires after 20 days, and an extension to the
temporary ex parte order may not exceed 20 days.  H.B. 1263 heightens
restrictions on a person who is found to have committed family violence and
who is the subject of a protective order by prohibiting that person from
going to or near any place where the person knows or has reason to know
that the protected person will be present.  It extends the maximum duration
of a protective order from one year to five years and increases the term of
a temporary ex parte order to 60 days with extensions of 30 days.    

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 81.001, Family Code, to provide that the
issuance of a protective order under this title (Protective Orders and
Family Violence) constitutes a finding that family violence has occurred
and is likely to occur in the future.  Creates Subsection (a) from existing
text. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 83.002, Family Code, to provide that a temporary
ex parte order issued because of a clear and present danger of family
violence is valid for the period specified in the order, not to exceed 60
days, rather than 20 days.  According to Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth
Edition, an ex parte order is an order that is "taken or granted at the
instance and for the benefit of one party only, and without notice to, or
contestation by, any person adversely affected." Authorizes a temporary ex
parte order to be extended for additional periods, not to exceed 30, rather
than 20, days each. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 85.022(b), Family Code, to authorize a court
issuing a protective order to prohibit a person found to have committed
family violence from going to or near any place where the defendant knows,
or has reason to know, the person protected by the order will be.  Makes
conforming changes. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Section 85.025, Family Code, to provide that an order
under this subtitle (Protective Orders) is effective for the period stated
in the order, not to exceed five years, rather than one year.  Establishes
that an order that does not specify an expiration date expires on the
fifth, rather than the first, anniversary of the date the order was issued. 

SECTION 5.  Effective date:  September 1, 1999.
            Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 6.  Emergency clause.