HBA-SEB H.B. 1338 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1338 By: Uresti Juvenile Justice and Family Issues 3/28/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a grandparent is authorized to have access to a grandchild, but specific conditions must be met in order for a court to order a grandparent's access to a grandchild. H.B. 1338 deletes most of those conditions, requiring the court to order access to a grandchild by a grandparent if at least one parent of the child has not had that parent's parental rights terminated and if access is in the best interest of the child. 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 153.433, Family Code, to delete an existing list of facts, at least one of which a grandparent filing a petition for access to a grandchild must satisfy in order for a court to be required to order reasonable access to the grandchild by the grandparent. The deleted circumstances under which the court is required to order access to the child include incarceration of the child's parent, separation or divorce of the child's parents, child abuse or neglect by the child's parent, the child's delinquent behavior, termination of the parent-child relationship, or the child's residence within the past two years with the grandparent. SECTION 2. Amends Section 153.434, Family Code, to create Paragraphs (A) and (B) from existing text. Redesignates Subdivision (3) to (2). Makes a conforming change. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.