| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
Relating to the criminal offense of interference with child custody and a peace officer's duties with respect to that offense; increasing a criminal penalty.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
SB 2011 would make changes to the criminal offense of interfering with a child custody order. It would require a peace officer, upon receiving a report that someone has committed such an offense, to determine the whereabouts of the child. If the child is with the alleged offender, the officer would have to return the child to the person entitled to possession under the custody order. If the child's whereabouts are unknown, the officer would have to file a missing persons report for the child. Peace officers would also have to make a written report detailing these kinds of incidents. If enacted, interference with a child custody order would be raised from a state jail felony to a third-degree felony if the defendant has previously been convicted of the offense three or more times.
SB 2011 would limit a defense to prosecution for interfering with a child custody order by removing a child from the jurisdiction of a court. Instead of permitting a defense to prosecution if the offender returns the child to the court's jurisdiction within three days, they would have to return the child within one day. Conversely, SB 2011 would also create a new defense to prosecution stating that a person is not prosecutable if they took the child in violation of a custody order due to circumstances beyond their control, promptly took reasonable attempts to provide notice to the person entitled to possession, returned the child once the circumstances no longer applied, and the circumstances were not foreseeable or regular.
Texas Action is neutral on SB 2011 as, on balance, it does not significantly affect any of our Liberty Principles. Creating guidelines for a police officer's response to interference with a custody order would help protect the liberty of children and hold potential offenders accountable. SB 2011's new repeat offender enhancement, however, would punish defendants disproportionately to their crime.