85R6094 MM-F
	By: Schofield	H.B. No. 2927

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to certain powers of an associate judge under the Family
	Code.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Sections 201.007(a) and (c), Family Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Except as limited by an order of referral, an associate
	judge may:
	(1)  conduct a hearing;
	(2)  hear evidence;
	(3)  compel production of relevant evidence;
	(4)  rule on the admissibility of evidence;
	(5)  issue a summons for:
	(A)  the appearance of witnesses; and
	(B)  the appearance of a parent who has failed to
	appear before an agency authorized to conduct an investigation of
	an allegation of abuse or neglect of a child after receiving proper
	notice;
	(6)  examine a witness;
	(7)  swear a witness for a hearing;
	(8)  make findings of fact on evidence;
	(9)  formulate conclusions of law;
	(10)  recommend an order to be rendered in a case;
	(11)  regulate all proceedings in a hearing before the
	associate judge;
	(12)  order the attachment of a witness or party who
	fails to obey a subpoena;
	(13)  order the detention of a witness or party found
	guilty of contempt, pending approval by the referring court as
	provided by Section 201.013;
	(14)  without prejudice to the right to a de novo
	hearing before the referring court [of appeal] under Section
	201.015, render and sign:
	(A)  a final order agreed to in writing as to both
	form and substance by all parties;
	(B)  a final default order;
	(C)  a temporary order; or
	(D)  a final order in a case in which a party files
	an unrevoked waiver made in accordance with Rule 119, Texas Rules of
	Civil Procedure, that waives notice to the party of the final
	hearing or waives the party's appearance at the final hearing;
	(15)  take action as necessary and proper for the
	efficient performance of the associate judge's duties; and
	(16)  render and sign a final order that includes a
	waiver of the right to a de novo hearing before the referring court
	under [of appeal pursuant to] Section 201.015.
	(c)  An order described by Subsection (a)(14) or (16) that is
	rendered and signed by an associate judge constitutes an order of
	the referring court.
	SECTION 2.  Section 201.013(b), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  Except as provided by Section 201.007(c), if a request
	for a de novo hearing before the referring court is not timely filed
	[or the right to a de novo hearing before the referring court is
	waived], the proposed order or judgment of the associate judge
	becomes the order or judgment of the referring court only on the
	referring court's signing the proposed order or judgment.
	SECTION 3.  Section 201.014(a), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, unless
	[Unless] a party files a written request for a de novo hearing
	before the referring court, the referring court may:
	(1)  adopt, modify, or reject the associate judge's
	proposed order or judgment;
	(2)  hear further evidence; or
	(3)  recommit the matter to the associate judge for
	further proceedings.
	SECTION 4.  Section 201.016(c), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(c)  The date an agreed order, [or] a default order, or a
	final order that includes a waiver of the right to a de novo hearing
	before the referring court under Section 201.015 is signed by an
	associate judge is the controlling date for the purpose of an appeal
	to, or a request for other relief relating to the order from, a
	court of appeals or the supreme court.
	SECTION 5.  The changes in law made by this Act apply to a
	final order signed by an associate judge before, on, or after the
	effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.