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To enact section 3109.054 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
require a court that becomes aware that there is a | 2 |
risk of abduction of a child by one parent during | 3 |
a custody or domestic relations proceeding to | 4 |
consider certain specified factors to determine | 5 |
whether preventative measures are necessary and to | 6 |
permit a court to take certain actions if the | 7 |
court determines preventative measures are | 8 |
necessary to prevent the abduction of the child. | 9 |
Section 1. That section 3109.054 of the Revised Code be | 10 |
enacted to read as follows: | 11 |
Sec. 3109.054. (A) In any divorce, legal separation, or | 12 |
annulment proceeding and in any proceeding pertaining to the | 13 |
allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of | 14 |
a child in which the court becomes aware of facts that may | 15 |
indicate that there is a risk of abduction of a child by one | 16 |
parent, the court shall, on its own motion or upon the motion of | 17 |
either parent, determine whether measures are needed to prevent | 18 |
the abduction of the child by one parent. To make that | 19 |
determination, the court shall consider the following: | 20 |
(1) The risk of abduction of the child; | 21 |
(2) Obstacles to the location, recovery, and return of the | 22 |
child if the child is abducted; | 23 |
(3) Potential harm to the child if the child is abducted. | 24 |
(B) To determine whether there is a risk of abduction under | 25 |
division (A)(1) of this section, the court shall consider the | 26 |
following factors: | 27 |
(1) Whether a parent has previously taken, enticed away, | 28 |
kept, withheld, or concealed a child in violation of the right of | 29 |
custody or of visitation of a person; | 30 |
(2) Whether a parent has previously threatened to take, | 31 |
entice away, keep, withhold, or conceal a child in violation of | 32 |
the right of custody or of visitation of a person; | 33 |
(3) Whether a parent lacks strong ties to this country; | 34 |
(4) Whether a parent has strong familial, emotional, or | 35 |
cultural ties to another country, including foreign citizenship. | 36 |
This factor shall be considered only if evidence exists in support | 37 |
of another factor specified in division (B) of this section; | 38 |
(5) Whether a parent has no financial reason to stay in this | 39 |
country, including whether the parent is unemployed, is able to | 40 |
work anywhere, or is financially independent; | 41 |
(6) Whether a parent has engaged in planning activities that | 42 |
would facilitate the removal of a child from this country, | 43 |
including quitting a job, selling the parent's primary residence, | 44 |
terminating a lease, closing a bank account, liquidating other | 45 |
assets, hiding or destroying documents, applying for a passport, | 46 |
applying to obtain a birth certificate or school or medical | 47 |
records, or purchasing tickets for passenger air transportation or | 48 |
other travel tickets, with consideration given to whether a parent | 49 |
is carrying out a safety plan to flee from domestic violence; | 50 |
(7) Whether a parent has a history of a lack of parental | 51 |
cooperation or child abuse and whether there is substantiated | 52 |
evidence that a parent has perpetrated domestic violence; | 53 |
(8) Whether a parent has a criminal record. | 54 |
(C) If the court makes a finding that there is a need for | 55 |
preventative measures after considering the factors listed in | 56 |
divisions (A) and (B) of this section, the court shall consider | 57 |
taking one or more of the following measures to prevent the | 58 |
abduction of the child: | 59 |
(1) Ordering supervised visitation; | 60 |
(2) Requiring a parent to post a bond in an amount sufficient | 61 |
to serve as a financial deterrent to abduction, the proceeds of | 62 |
which may be used to offset the cost of recovery of the child in | 63 |
the event there is an abduction; | 64 |
(3) Restricting the right of the custodial or noncustodial | 65 |
parent to remove the child from the country; | 66 |
(4) Requiring the surrender of passports and other travel | 67 |
documents; | 68 |
(5) Prohibiting a parent from applying for a new or | 69 |
replacement passport for the child; | 70 |
(6) Requiring a parent to notify a relevant foreign consulate | 71 |
or embassy of passport restrictions and to provide the court with | 72 |
proof of that notification; | 73 |
(7) Obtaining assurances that a parent will return from | 74 |
foreign visits by requiring the traveling parent to provide the | 75 |
court or the other parent or guardian with any of the following: | 76 |
(a) The travel itinerary of the child; | 77 |
(b) Copies of round trip tickets for passenger air | 78 |
transportation or other travel tickets; | 79 |
(c) A list of addresses and telephone numbers where the child | 80 |
can be reached at all times; | 81 |
(d) An open ticket for passenger air transportation or other | 82 |
open travel ticket for the parent that remains in the United | 83 |
States in case the child is not returned. | 84 |
(8) Including provisions in the order allocating the parental | 85 |
rights and responsibilities for the care of the child to | 86 |
facilitate the use of sections 3127.01 to 3127.53 of the Revised | 87 |
Code and the Hague convention on the civil aspects of | 88 |
international child abduction, such as identifying Ohio as the | 89 |
home state of the child or otherwise defining the basis for the | 90 |
Ohio court's exercise of jurisdiction under sections 3127.01 to | 91 |
3127.53 of the Revised Code, identifying the United States as the | 92 |
country of habitual residence of the child pursuant to the Hague | 93 |
convention, defining custody rights pursuant to the Hague | 94 |
convention, and obtaining the express agreement of the parents | 95 |
that the United States is the country of habitual residence of the | 96 |
child or that Ohio or the United States is the most appropriate | 97 |
forum for addressing custody and visitation orders; | 98 |
(9) Authorizing the assistance of law enforcement. | 99 |
(D) If the court imposes any or all of the conditions listed | 100 |
in division (C) of this section, the court shall specifically note | 101 |
those conditions on the order allocating the parental rights and | 102 |
responsibilities for the care of the child. | 103 |
(E) If the court determines there is a risk of abduction that | 104 |
is sufficient to warrant the application of one or more of the | 105 |
preventative measures authorized by division (C) of this section, | 106 |
the court shall inform the parties of the telephone number of the | 107 |
state highway patrol. | 108 |