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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the emergency possession of certain abandoned children |
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by designated emergency infant care providers and the termination |
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of parental rights to those children. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 262.302, Family Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as |
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follows: |
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(a) A designated emergency infant care provider shall, |
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without a court order, take possession of a child who appears to be |
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younger than one year [60 days] old [or younger] if: |
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(1) the child is voluntarily delivered to the provider |
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by the child's parent by: |
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(A) leaving the child with an employee of the |
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provider; or |
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(B) placing the child in a newborn safety device |
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located inside the provider's facilities; and |
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(2) the parent did not express an intent to return for |
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the child. |
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(a-1) A parent who voluntarily delivers the parent's child |
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to a designated emergency infant care provider under Subsection (a) |
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is considered to have voluntarily relinquished the parent's |
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parental rights to the child. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |