Introduced
by
To establish conditions which permit a child's grandparent to seek a grandparenting time order from a court in a child custody dispute. Among others, these include cases where the grandparent has provided a custodial environment for the grandchild at any time during the child’s life; the child's parent has withheld visiting opportunities to retaliate against the grandparent for reporting child abuse or neglect; or the child's parent lives separate and away from the other parent and grandchild for more than one year. The bill revises the law to comply with a recent ruling from the state Supreme Court. The court ruled that the previous law excessively limited the authority of parents. The bill would place the burden of proof on a grandparent to show that a parent's decision to not approve grandparenting time is not in the child's best interest. This bill amends the state child custody, and House Bill 4104 makes the same changes to the state adoption code.
Referred to the Committee on Judiciary
Reported without amendment
With the recommendation that the substitute (H-4) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
Substitute offered
To replace the previous version of the bill with one which more sharply defines the circumstances in which grandparents have standing to petition a court for grandparenting time.
The substitute passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To correct a drafting error in the language of the bill.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Passed in the House 97 to 0 (details)
To establish conditions which permit a child's grandparent to seek a grandparenting time order from a court in a child custody dispute. Among others, these include cases where the grandparent has provided a custodial environment for the grandchild at any time during the child’s life; the child's parent has withheld visiting opportunities to retaliate against the grandparent for reporting child abuse or neglect; or the child's parent lives separate and away from the other parent and grandchild for more than one year. A father would have to acknowledge paternity or his parents could not petition for visitation. The bill revises the law to comply with a recent ruling from the state Supreme Court. The court ruled that the previous law excessively limited the authority of parents. The bill would place the burden of proof on a grandparent to show that a parent's decision to not approve grandparenting time is not in the child's best interest. This bill amends the state child custody, and House Bill 4104 makes the same changes to the state adoption code.
Referred to the Committee on Senior Citizens and Veterans Affairs
