HB 485 -- Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act

Sponsor:  Hollingsworth

This bill adopts the current version of the Uniform Child
Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which revises,
rewords, and reorders the former Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction Act and includes new enforcement provisions.

This bill:

(1)  Does not govern adoption proceedings, proceedings
pertaining to the authorization of emergency medical care for a
child, or proceedings governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act;

(2)  Requires a court to treat a foreign country as a state of
the United States for purposes of applying the Uniform Child
Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, except where the child
custody law of the foreign country violates fundamental human
rights principles;

(3)  Gives limited immunity from service of process to parties
participating in proceedings under the Act who otherwise are not
subject to personal jurisdiction in this state;

(4)  Grants a court of this state that has made a child custody
determination pursuant to the Act exclusive continuing
jurisdiction over the determination under certain conditions;

(5)  Grants a court of this state temporary emergency
jurisdiction to make a child custody determination regarding a
child present in this state when such a determination is
necessary due to abandonment or abuse; and,

(6)  Itemizes relevant factors a court may consider before
making a determination whether it is an inconvenient forum.

In its enforcement provisions, this bill:

(1)  Enforces child custody determinations and orders for the
return of a child pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction;

(2)  Authorizes a court of this state without modification
jurisdiction to temporarily enforce visitation ordered by a
court in another state;

(3)  Authorizes registration of a child custody determination
issued by a court in another state in the same manner as foreign
judgments are registered;

(4)  Itemizes the information which must be included in a
petition for enforcement of a child custody determination;

(5)  Specifies the procedure for proceeding on the child custody
determination enforcement petition;

(6)  Authorizes the issuance of a warrant to take physical
custody of a child likely to suffer serious imminent physical
harm or removal from this state;

(7)  Requires payment of the prevailing party's costs and
expenses by the nonprevailing party; and,

(8)  Does not apply retroactively to motions or other requests
for relief initiated before August 28, 1999.