HB 787

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to child abduction prevention; providing a
3short title; amending s. 61.45, F.S.; authorizing
4additional persons to move to have certain restrictions
5placed in parenting plans upon showing of a risk that one
6party may violate the court's parenting plan by removing a
7child from this state or country or by concealing the
8child's whereabouts; authorizing courts to impose certain
9restrictions in parenting plans upon a specified finding;
10authorizing a court to impose certain restrictions in
11addition to or in lieu of a requirement that a child's
12passport be surrendered; authorizing a court to impose
13specified restrictions upon entry of an order to prevent
14removal of a child from this state or country; providing
15additional factors that may be considered in assessing the
16risk that a party may violate a parenting plan by removing
17a child from this state or country or by concealing the
18child's whereabouts; providing that violations may subject
19a violator to specified penalties or other consequences;
20providing an effective date.
21
22Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24     Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Child Abduction
25Prevention Act."
26     Section 2.  Section 61.45, Florida Statutes, is amended to
27read:
28     61.45  Court-ordered parenting plan; risk of violation;
29bond.-
30     (1)  In any proceeding in which the court enters a
31parenting plan, including a time-sharing schedule, including in
32a modification proceeding, upon the presentation of competent
33substantial evidence that there is a risk that one party may
34violate the court's parenting plan by removing a child from this
35state or country or by concealing the whereabouts of a child, or
36upon stipulation of the parties, upon the motion of another
37individual or entity having a right under the law of this state,
38or if the court finds evidence that establishes credible risk of
39removal of the child, the court may:
40     (a)  Order that a parent may not remove the child from this
41state without the notarized written permission of both parents
42or further court order;
43     (b)  Order that a parent may not remove the child from this
44country without the notarized written permission of both parents
45or further court order;
46     (c)  Order that a parent may not take the child to a
47country that has not ratified or acceded to the Hague Convention
48on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction unless the
49other parent agrees in writing that the child may be taken to
50the country;
51     (d)  Require a parent to surrender the passport of the
52child or require that:
53     1.  The petitioner place the child's name in the Children's
54Passport Issuance Alert Program of the United States Department
55of State;
56     2.  The respondent surrender to the court or the
57petitioner's attorney any United States or foreign passport
58issued in the child's name, including a passport issued in the
59name of both the parent and the child; and
60     3.  The respondent not apply on behalf of the child for a
61new or replacement passport or visa; or
62     (e)  Require that party to post bond or other security in
63an amount sufficient to serve as a financial deterrent to
64abduction, the proceeds of which may be used to pay for the
65reasonable expenses of recovery of the child, including
66reasonable attorney's fees and costs, if the child is abducted.
67     (2)  If the court enters a parenting plan, including a
68time-sharing schedule, including in a modification proceeding,
69that includes a provision entered under paragraph (1)(b) or
70paragraph (1)(c), a certified copy of the order should be sent
71by the parent who requested the restriction to the Passport
72Services Office of the United States Department of State
73requesting that they not issue a passport to the child without
74their signature or further court order.
75     (3)  If the court enters an order under paragraph (1)(a) or
76paragraph (1)(b) to prevent the removal of the child from this
77state or country, the order may include one or more of the
78following:
79     (a)  An imposition of travel restrictions that require that
80a party traveling with the child outside a designated geographic
81area provide the other party with the following:
82     1.  The travel itinerary of the child.
83     2.  A list of physical addresses and telephone numbers at
84which the child can be reached at specified times.
85     3.  Copies of all travel documents.
86     (b)  A prohibition of the respondent directly or
87indirectly:
88     1.  Removing the child from this state or country or
89another specified geographic area without permission of the
90court or the petitioner's written consent;
91     2.  Removing or retaining the child in violation of a child
92custody determination;
93     3.  Removing the child from school or a child care or
94similar facility; or
95     4.  Approaching the child at any location other than a site
96designated for supervised visitation.
97     (c)  A requirement that a party register the order in
98another state as a prerequisite to allowing the child to travel
99to that state.
100     (d)  As a prerequisite to exercising custody or visitation,
101a requirement that the respondent provide the following:
102     1.  An authenticated copy of the order detailing passport
103and travel restrictions for the child to the Office of
104Children's Issues within the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the
105United States Department of State and the relevant foreign
106consulate or embassy.
107     2.  Proof to the court that the respondent has provided the
108information in subparagraph 1.
109     3.  An acknowledgment to the court in a record from the
110relevant foreign consulate or embassy that no passport
111application has been made, or passport issued, on behalf of the
112child.
113     4.  Proof to the petitioner and court of registration with
114the United States embassy or other United States diplomatic
115presence in the destination country and with the destination
116country's central authority for the Hague Convention on the
117Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, if that
118convention is in effect between this country and the destination
119country, unless one of the parties objects.
120     5.  A written waiver under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. s.
121552a, as amended, with respect to any document, application, or
122other information pertaining to the child or the respondent
123authorizing its disclosure to the court and the petitioner.
124     6.  A written waiver with respect to any document,
125application, or other information pertaining to the child or the
126respondent in records held by the United States Bureau of
127Citizenship and Immigration Services authorizing its disclosure
128to the court and the petitioner.
129     7.  Upon the court's request, a requirement that the
130respondent obtain an order from the relevant foreign country
131containing terms identical to the child custody determination
132issued in this country.
133     8.  Upon the court's request, a requirement that the
134respondent be entered in the Prevent Departure Program of the
135United States Department of State or a similar federal program
136designed to prevent unauthorized departures to foreign
137countries.
138     (e)  The court may impose conditions on the exercise of
139custody or visitation that limit visitation or require that
140visitation with the child by the respondent be supervised until
141the court finds that supervision is no longer necessary and
142orders the respondent to pay the costs of supervision.
143     (4)(3)  In assessing the need for a bond or other security,
144the court may consider any reasonable factor bearing upon the
145risk that a party may violate a parenting plan by removing a
146child from this state or country or by concealing the
147whereabouts of a child, including but not limited to whether:
148     (a)  A court has previously found that a party previously
149removed a child from Florida or another state in violation of a
150parenting plan, or whether a court had found that a party has
151threatened to take a child out of Florida or another state in
152violation of a parenting plan;
153     (b)  The party has strong family and community ties to
154Florida or to other states or countries, including whether the
155party or child is a citizen of another country;
156     (c)  The party has strong financial reasons to remain in
157Florida or to relocate to another state or country;
158     (d)  The party has engaged in activities that suggest plans
159to leave Florida, such as quitting employment; sale of a
160residence or termination of a lease on a residence, without
161efforts to acquire an alternative residence in the state;
162closing bank accounts or otherwise liquidating assets; or
163applying for a passport or visa or obtaining travel documents
164for the respondent, a family member, or the child;
165     (e)  The party has sought to obtain the child's birth
166certificate or school or medical records;
167     (f)(e)  Either party has had a history of domestic violence
168as either a victim or perpetrator, child abuse or child neglect
169evidenced by criminal history, including but not limited to,
170arrest, an injunction for protection against domestic violence
171issued after notice and hearing under s. 741.30, medical
172records, affidavits, or any other relevant information; or
173     (g)(f)  The party has a criminal record;.
174     (h)  The party is likely to take the child to a country
175that:
176     1.  Is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil
177Aspects of International Child Abduction and does not provide
178for the extradition of an abducting parent or for the return of
179an abducted child;
180     2.  Is a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects
181of International Child Abduction, but:
182     a.  The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
183International Child Abduction is not in force between this
184country and that country;
185     b.  Is noncompliant or demonstrating patterns of
186noncompliance according to the most recent compliance report
187issued by the United States Department of State; or
188     c.  Lacks legal mechanisms for immediately and effectively
189enforcing a return order under the Hague Convention on the Civil
190Aspects of International Child Abduction;
191     3.  Poses a risk that the child's physical or emotional
192health or safety would be endangered in the country because of
193specific circumstances relating to the child or because of human
194rights violations committed against children;
195     4.  Has laws or practices that would:
196     a.  Enable the respondent, without due cause, to prevent
197the petitioner from contacting the child;
198     b.  Restrict the petitioner from freely traveling to or
199exiting from the country because of the petitioner's gender,
200nationality, marital status, or religion; or
201     c.  Restrict the child's ability legally to leave the
202country after the child reaches the age of majority because of a
203child's gender, nationality, or religion;
204     5.  Is included by the United States Department of State on
205a current list of state sponsors of terrorism;
206     6.  Does not have an official United States diplomatic
207presence in the country; or
208     7.  Is engaged in active military action or war, including
209a civil war, to which the child may be exposed;
210     (i)  The party is undergoing a change in immigration or
211citizenship status that would adversely affect the respondent's
212ability to remain in this country legally;
213     (j)  The party has had an application for United States
214citizenship denied;
215     (k)  The party has forged or presented misleading or false
216evidence on government forms or supporting documents to obtain
217or attempt to obtain a passport, a visa, travel documents, a
218social security card, a driver's license, or other government-
219issued identification card or has made a misrepresentation to
220the United States government;
221     (l)  The party has used multiple names to attempt to
222mislead or defraud;
223     (m)  The party is a delusional paranoiac;
224     (n)  The party is severely sociopathic; or
225     (o)  The party has engaged in any other conduct the court
226considers relevant to the risk of abduction.
227     (5)(4)  The court must consider the party's financial
228resources prior to setting the bond amount under this section.
229Under no circumstances may the court set a bond that is
230unreasonable.
231     (6)(5)  Any deficiency of bond or security shall not
232absolve the violating party of responsibility to pay the full
233amount of damages determined by the court.
234     (7)(6)(a)  Upon a material violation of any parenting plan
235by removing a child from this state or this country or by
236concealing the whereabouts of a child, the court may order the
237bond or other security forfeited in whole or in part.
238     (b)  This section, including the requirement to post a bond
239or other security, does not apply to a parent who, in a
240proceeding to order or modify a parenting plan or time-sharing
241schedule, is determined by the court to be a victim of an act of
242domestic violence or provides the court with reasonable cause to
243believe that he or she is about to become the victim of an act
244of domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28. An injunction for
245protection against domestic violence issued pursuant to s.
246741.30 for a parent as the petitioner which is in effect at the
247time of the court proceeding shall be one means of demonstrating
248sufficient evidence that the parent is a victim of domestic
249violence or is about to become the victim of an act of domestic
250violence, as defined in s. 741.28, and shall exempt the parent
251from this section, including the requirement to post a bond or
252other security. A parent who is determined by the court to be
253exempt from the requirements of this section must meet the
254requirements of s. 787.03(6) if an offense of interference with
255the parenting plan or time-sharing schedule is committed.
256     (8)(7)(a)  Upon an order of forfeiture, the proceeds of any
257bond or other security posted pursuant to this subsection may
258only be used to:
259     1.  Reimburse the nonviolating party for actual costs or
260damages incurred in upholding the court's parenting plan.
261     2.  Locate and return the child to the residence as set
262forth in the parenting plan.
263     3.  Reimburse reasonable fees and costs as determined by
264the court.
265     (b)  Any remaining proceeds shall be held as further
266security if deemed necessary by the court, and if further
267security is not found to be necessary; applied to any child
268support arrears owed by the parent against whom the bond was
269required, and if no arrears exists; all remaining proceeds will
270be allocated by the court in the best interest of the child.
271     (9)(8)  At any time after the forfeiture of the bond or
272other security, the party who posted the bond or other security,
273or the court on its own motion may request that the party
274provide documentation substantiating that the proceeds received
275as a result of the forfeiture have been used solely in
276accordance with this subsection. Any party using such proceeds
277for purposes not in accordance with this section may be found in
278contempt of court.
279     (10)  A violation may subject the party committing the
280violation to civil or criminal penalties or a federal or state
281warrant under federal or state laws, including the International
282Parental Kidnapping Crime Act, and may subject the violating
283parent to apprehension by law enforcement.
284     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.