Bill Text: IA HF134 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the required provision of informed consent by both parents prior to the provision of nonemergency medical services to a minor child under a custody decree.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-05 - Subcommittee, Kaufmann, Jones, and Wolfe. H.J. 275. [HF134 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF134-Introduced.html

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House File 134 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  FRY

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the required provision of informed consent
  2    by both parents prior to the provision of nonemergency
  3    medical services to a minor child under a custody decree.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 2045YH (4) 86
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 598.1, subsections 3 and 5, Code 2015,
  1  2 are amended to read as follows:
  1  3    3.  "Joint custody" or "joint legal custody" means an award
  1  4 of legal custody of a minor child to both parents jointly
  1  5 under which both parents have legal custodial rights and
  1  6 responsibilities toward the child and under which neither
  1  7 parent has legal custodial rights superior to those of the
  1  8 other parent. Rights and responsibilities of joint legal
  1  9 custody include but are not limited to equal participation
  1 10 in decisions affecting the child's legal status, medical
  1 11 care, education, extracurricular activities, and religious
  1 12 instruction.  Such equal participation shall include that both
  1 13 parents are required to provide informed consent prior to the
  1 14 provision to a minor child of nonemergency medical services for
  1 15 which  informed consent of a parent is otherwise required, if
  1 16 ordered in the custody decree.
  1 17    5.  "Legal custody" or "custody" means an award of the
  1 18 rights of legal custody of a minor child to a parent under
  1 19 which a parent has legal custodial rights and responsibilities
  1 20 toward the child. Rights and responsibilities of legal custody
  1 21 include but are not limited to decision making affecting the
  1 22 child's legal status, medical care, education, extracurricular
  1 23 activities, and religious instruction.  Such decision making
  1 24 shall include that both parents are required to provide
  1 25 informed consent prior to the provision to a minor child of
  1 26 nonemergency medical services for which informed consent of a
  1 27 parent is otherwise required, if ordered in the custody decree.
  1 28    Sec. 2.  Section 598.41, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code
  1 29 2015, is amended to read as follows:
  1 30    e.  Unless otherwise ordered by the court in the custody
  1 31 decree, both parents shall have legal access to information
  1 32 concerning the child, including but not limited to medical,
  1 33 educational and law enforcement records.  The custody decree
  1 34 shall also address whether both parents are required to provide
  1 35 informed consent prior to the provision to a minor child of
  2  1 nonemergency medical services for which informed consent of a
  2  2 parent is otherwise required.
  2  3    Sec. 3.  Section 598.41, subsection 5, paragraph b, Code
  2  4 2015, is amended to read as follows:
  2  5    b.  If joint physical care is not awarded under paragraph
  2  6 "a", and only one joint custodial parent is awarded physical
  2  7 care, the parent responsible for providing physical care
  2  8 shall support the other parent's relationship with the child.
  2  9 Physical care awarded to one parent does not affect the other
  2 10 parent's rights and responsibilities as a joint legal custodian
  2 11 of the child. Rights and responsibilities as joint legal
  2 12 custodian of the child include but are not limited to equal
  2 13 participation in decisions affecting the child's legal status,
  2 14 medical care, education, extracurricular activities, and
  2 15 religious instruction.  Such equal participation shall include
  2 16 that both parents are required to provide informed consent
  2 17 prior to the provision to the minor child of nonemergency
  2 18 medical services for which informed consent of a parent is
  2 19 otherwise required, if provided in the custody decree.
  2 20                           EXPLANATION
  2 21 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 22 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 23    This bill provides that as part of a custody decree the
  2 24 court is to address whether both parents who are awarded legal
  2 25 custody are required to provide informed consent prior to the
  2 26 provision to a minor child of nonemergency medical services
  2 27 for which informed consent of a parent is otherwise required.
  2 28 The bill makes conforming changes in the definitions of "joint
  2 29 legal custody" or "joint custody" and "legal custody" or
  2 30 "custody" under Code chapter 598 (dissolution of marriage and
  2 31 domestic relations).
       LSB 2045YH (4) 86
       pf/nh