HBA-GUM, JRA C.S.H.B. 819 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 819 By: Naishtat Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 4/1/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, victims of family violence may be required by a court to participate in mediation for a suit to dissolve a marriage or a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. This may cause the victim additional trauma and place the victim at a disadvantage in negotiating resolution of the suit. C.S.H.B. 819 authorizes a victim of family violence to object to the referral of such a suit to mediation and, if such objection is filed, prohibits the suit from being referred to mediation unless the other party requests a hearing on the issue and the court overrules the objection to mediation. 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 6.602, Family Code, by adding Subsection (d), as follows: (d) Authorizes a party to file with the court at any time written objection to the referral of a suit to mediation under this section if the party has been a victim of family violence committed by the other party to the suit within the two years preceding the date of filing the suit or during the pendency of the suit. Prohibits the suit from being referred to mediation, if such objection is filed, unless a party or the court, requests a hearing and the court finds that there is not credible evidence to believe the family violence occurred. SECTION 2. Amends Chapter 101, Family Code, to add Section 101.0125, as follows: Sec. 101.0125. FAMILY VIOLENCE. Defines "family violence." SECTION 3. Amends Section 153.0071, Family Code, by adding Subsections (f) and (g), as follows: (f) Authorizes a party to file with the court at any time written objection to the referral of a suit to mediation under Subsection (c) if the party has been a victim of family violence committed by another party to the suit within a time period prescribed by Section 6.602, as amended by this bill. Prohibits the suit from being referred to mediation unless the party or the court requests a hearing and the court finds that there is not credible evidence to believe the family violence occurred. (g) Establishes that Subsection (f) does not apply to a suit commenced under Chapter 262 (Emergency Procedures in Suit by Governmental Entity). SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes this Act applicable to a suit for dissolution of a marriage, a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, or another proceeding commenced before, on, or after that date. SECTION 5. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 1 in proposed Section 6.602(d), to establish a time frame in which the family violence on which the petition is based must have occurred. The substitute also modifies the proposed Subsection (d) to provide that if an objection is filed, the suit may not be referred to mediation unless a hearing is held regarding the objection at the request of a party or on the court's own motion, rather at the request of the party alleged to have committed family violence, and the court finds no credible evidence, rather than no reasonable basis to believe, that family violence has occurred. The substitute deletes proposed text requiring the court to render orders for the protection of the parties if the suit is referred to mediation. The substitute transfers the definition of family violence from proposed Section 6.602(d) to proposed Section 101.0125, Chapter 101, Family Code, under new SECTION 2. SECTION 2 in the original bill is redesignated to SECTION 3 in the substitute. The substitute modifies proposed Section 153.0071(f) in SECTION 3 to delete the proposed language "or a child who is the subject of the suit" in reference to basing an objection to mediation on the commission of family violence against certain persons. The substitute also adds language and deletes proposed text to make this section conform to Section 6.602, Family Code, as proposed by this bill. The substitute modifies proposed Section 153.0071(g) to delete the restriction that the suit commenced under Chapter 62 be a proceeding to terminate the parent-child relationship. Finally, the substitute deletes proposed SECTION 3 in the original bill which added a new Subsection (d) to Section 154.022, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, to establish evidence which constitutes a reasonable basis for an objection and to define "family violence."