Bright Spot In Texas’s Legislative Session
By Hunter Youngblood
The 87th Texas Legislature heard a few bills to change the outdated custody laws that affect families in the Lone Star State. To address this issue, Texas House Bill 803 was introduced to the state legislature on April 26th, 2021. This bill has been called the “equal parenting bill” or “shared parenting bill” because it proposes 50/50 custody as a part of family law reform. Parents all over the state were lending full support to this piece of legislation because they want more time with their children. After many hours of testimony from parents all over the state, the bill died in committee. Even though HB 803 didn’t pass, we did see a huge bright spot in family law reform. One such bright spot was Senate Bill 1936.
Senator Bryan Hughes (Tyler, TX) authored SB 1936 which allows for changes to the much-antiquated Standard Possession Order. It allows Expanded Possession Order to be the default when certain criteria are met. In SPOs, one parent has possession on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month (usually from 6:00 PM on Friday to 6:00 PM on Sunday) along with Thursday evenings for two hours during the school year, and for a thirty-day block in the summer. The SPO schedule allows for the child to be with the non-custodial parent about 20-24% of the time. With the passage of SB 1936, this allows the non-custodial parent to increase possession time closer to 40%. Expanded Standard Possession Order (ESPO) should be the default when certain criteria are met. This means that, during the school year, Thursday and Sunday possession periods become overnights. On first, third, and fifth weekends, a parent’s ESPO schedule is from when school is dismissed on Thursday until Monday morning when school resumes. This is a huge win for non-custodial parents. So, what are the criteria?
Parents can elect for ESPO as long as they reside less than 50 miles apart to the alternative beginnings and endings of possession under Family Code Section 153.317 unless the possessory conservator declines in writing or through an oral statement in court that the court is limiting, denying, or restricting the possessory conservator’s possession, or the possession times are not in the best interest of the child due to the distance between the parents’ residences or lack of exercise of possession by the possessory conservator.
In Summary, the passage of SB 1936 is a step in the right direction. Even though it’s not a true equal parenting bill, it allows more possession time for the non-custodial parent. This a win-win for the children and non-custodial parents of Texas. Senator Bryan Hughes has always tried to do what is right for the families of Texas. We thank him for his efforts in passing SB 1936. We look forward to working with him in the future to help Texas bring family laws into the 21st Century.
