CHAPTER 88. UNIFORM INTERSTATE ENFORCEMENT OF PROTECTIVE ORDERS ACT
FAMILY CODE
TITLE 4. PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND FAMILY VIOLENCE
SUBTITLE B. PROTECTIVE ORDERS
CHAPTER 88. UNIFORM INTERSTATE ENFORCEMENT OF PROTECTIVE ORDERS
ACT
Sec. 88.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the
Uniform Interstate Enforcement of Domestic Violence Protection
Orders Act.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 48, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Sec. 88.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Foreign protective order" means a protective order issued
by a tribunal of another state.
(2) "Issuing state" means the state in which a tribunal issues a
protective order.
(3) "Mutual foreign protective order" means a foreign protective
order that includes provisions issued in favor of both the
protected individual seeking enforcement of the order and the
respondent.
(4) "Protected individual" means an individual protected by a
protective order.
(5) "Protective order" means an injunction or other order,
issued by a tribunal under the domestic violence or family
violence laws or another law of the issuing state, to prevent an
individual from engaging in violent or threatening acts against,
harassing, contacting or communicating with, or being in physical
proximity to another individual.
(6) "Respondent" means the individual against whom enforcement
of a protective order is sought.
(7) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States
Virgin Islands, or a territory or insular possession subject to
the jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes a
military tribunal of the United States, an Indian tribe or band,
and an Alaskan native village that has jurisdiction to issue
protective orders.
(8) "Tribunal" means a court, agency, or other entity authorized
by law to issue or modify a protective order.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 48, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Sec. 88.003. JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER. (a) A tribunal of
this state shall enforce the terms of a foreign protective order,
including a term that provides relief that a tribunal of this
state would not have power to provide but for this section. The
tribunal shall enforce the order regardless of whether the order
was obtained by independent action or in another proceeding, if
the order is an order issued in response to a complaint,
petition, or motion filed by or on behalf of an individual
seeking protection. In a proceeding to enforce a foreign
protective order, the tribunal shall follow the procedures of
this state for the enforcement of protective orders.
(b) A tribunal of this state shall enforce the provisions of the
foreign protective order that govern the possession of and access
to a child if the provisions were issued in accordance with the
jurisdictional requirements governing the issuance of possession
and access orders in the issuing state.
(c) A tribunal of this state may enforce a provision of the
foreign protective order relating to child support if the order
was issued in accordance with the jurisdictional requirements of
Chapter 159 and the federal Full Faith and Credit for Child
Support Orders Act, 28 U.S.C. Section 1738B, as amended.
(d) A foreign protective order is valid if the order:
(1) names the protected individual and the respondent;
(2) is currently in effect;
(3) was rendered by a tribunal that had jurisdiction over the
parties and the subject matter under the law of the issuing
state; and
(4) was rendered after the respondent was given reasonable
notice and an opportunity to be heard consistent with the right
to due process, either:
(A) before the tribunal issued the order; or
(B) in the case of an ex parte order, within a reasonable time
after the order was rendered.
(e) A protected individual seeking enforcement of a foreign
protective order establishes a prima facie case for its validity
by presenting an order that is valid on its face.
(f) It is an affirmative defense in an action seeking
enforcement of a foreign protective order that the order does not
meet the requirements for a valid order under Subsection (d).
(g) A tribunal of this state may enforce the provisions of a
mutual foreign protective order that favor a respondent only if:
(1) the respondent filed a written pleading seeking a protective
order from the tribunal of the issuing state; and
(2) the tribunal of the issuing state made specific findings in
favor of the respondent.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 48, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Sec. 88.004. NONJUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER. (a) A law
enforcement officer of this state, on determining that there is
probable cause to believe that a valid foreign protective order
exists and that the order has been violated, shall enforce the
foreign protective order as if it were an order of a tribunal of
this state. A law enforcement officer has probable cause to
believe that a foreign protective order exists if the protected
individual presents a foreign protective order that identifies
both the protected individual and the respondent and on its face,
is currently in effect.
(b) For the purposes of this section, a foreign protective order
may be inscribed on a tangible medium or may be stored in an
electronic or other medium if it is retrievable in a perceivable
form. Presentation of a certified copy of a protective order is
not required for enforcement.
(c) If a protected individual does not present a foreign
protective order, a law enforcement officer may determine that
there is probable cause to believe that a valid foreign
protective order exists by relying on any relevant information.
(d) A law enforcement officer of this state who determines that
an otherwise valid foreign protective order cannot be enforced
because the respondent has not been notified or served with the
order shall inform the respondent of the order and make a
reasonable effort to serve the order on the respondent. After
informing the respondent and attempting to serve the order, the
officer shall allow the respondent a reasonable opportunity to
comply with the order before enforcing the order.
(e) The registration or filing of an order in this state is not
required for the enforcement of a valid foreign protective order
under this chapter.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 48, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Sec. 88.005. REGISTRATION OF ORDER. (a) An individual may
register a foreign protective order in this state. To register a
foreign protective order, an individual shall:
(1) present a certified copy of the order to a sheriff,
constable, or chief of police responsible for the registration of
orders in the local computer records and in the statewide law
enforcement system maintained by the Texas Department of Public
Safety; or
(2) present a certified copy of the order to the Department of
Public Safety and request that the order be registered in the
statewide law enforcement system maintained by the Department of
Public Safety.
(b) On receipt of a foreign protective order, the agency
responsible for the registration of protective orders shall
register the order in accordance with this section and furnish to
the individual registering the order a certified copy of the
registered order.
(c) The agency responsible for the registration of protective
orders shall register a foreign protective order on presentation
of a copy of a protective order that has been certified by the
issuing state. A registered foreign protective order that is
inaccurate or not currently in effect shall be corrected or
removed from the registry in accordance with the law of this
state.
(d) An individual registering a foreign protective order shall
file an affidavit made by the protected individual that, to the
best of the protected individual's knowledge, the order is in
effect.
(e) A foreign protective order registered under this section may
be entered in any existing state or federal registry of
protective orders, in accordance with state or federal law.
(f) A fee may not be charged for the registration of a foreign
protective order.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 48, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Sec. 88.006. IMMUNITY. A state or local governmental agency,
law enforcement officer, prosecuting attorney, clerk of court, or
any state or local governmental official acting in an official
capacity is immune from civil and criminal liability for an act
or omission arising from the registration or enforcement of a
foreign protective order or the detention or arrest of a person
alleged to have violated a foreign protective order if the act or
omission was done in good faith in an effort to comply with this
chapter.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 48, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Sec. 88.007. OTHER REMEDIES. A protected individual who pursues
a remedy under this chapter is not precluded from pursuing other
legal or equitable remedies against the respondent.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 48, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Sec. 88.008. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. In
applying and construing this chapter, consideration shall be
given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect
to its subject matter among the states that enact the Uniform
Interstate Enforcement of Domestic Violence Protection Orders
Act.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 48, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.