Assigned to JUD & FS AS
VETOED
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Forty-seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
VETOED
FINAL AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2559
juvenile hearings; jury trials
Purpose
Continues the jury trial option for termination of parental rights (TPR) and prohibits bringing another TPR action after a court decision not to terminate the parent’s rights, unless the action relates to new information.
Background
Any person or agency with a legitimate interest in the welfare of a child, including relatives, foster parents, the Department of Economic Security (DES) or a private child welfare agency, may file a petition for TPR with the juvenile court. Grounds for TPR include abuse or neglect, abandonment, inability to discharge parental responsibilities due to mental illness or chronic substance abuse, conviction of a felony proving the unfitness of that parent to have custody of a child, proof that the parent has had parental rights to another child terminated within the past two years for the same cause or demonstration that the child has been in out-of-home placement for longer than nine months and the parent neglected or refused to remedy the problems. The court must also consider the best interests of the child when considering grounds for TPR.
An order terminating parental rights removes all legal rights, privileges, duties and obligations the parent and the child have with respect to each other, except the right of the child to inherit and receive support from the parent. Rights of inheritance and support are only terminated by a final order of adoption. If a petition for TPR is contested, the court holds a termination adjudication hearing to determine whether there is clear and convincing evidence of grounds for TPR. Laws 2003, Second Special Session, Chapter 6 allowed a parent, guardian or custodian to request a jury trial for a TPR hearing. The jury trial option sunsets on January 1, 2007.
Laws 2003, Second Special Session, Chapter 6 also enacted two versions of A.R.S. § 8-537 and A.R.S. § 8-863, which contain procedures for TPR hearings. Version two of each of these statutes has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2007, and eliminates references to TPR by jury trial. H.B. 2559 continues the jury trial option for TPR for three years and changes the delayed effective date for version two of each statute to January 1, 2010.
There may be a fiscal impact to the juvenile courts associated with impaneling a jury and to DES associated with the additional cost of preparing for jury trials instead of bench trials.
Provisions
TPR Proceedings
1. Continues the option for a parent, guardian or custodian to request a jury trial for TPR for three years, and sunsets the jury trial option on January 1, 2010.
2. Allows a parent, guardian or custodian in Maricopa or Pima County to request a change of judge for a TPR proceeding, if the person did not request a jury trial and if the judge assigned to the case is the same judge who heard the dependency case for the child involved.
3. Prohibits the court from granting more than one request for a change of judge for TPR.
4. Requires the court to issue a TPR decision within 30 days after it holds a TPR hearing.
5. Prohibits another action for TPR from being brought if, at the conclusion of a trial, the judge or jury does not terminate the parent’s rights, unless the action relates to a new allegation or new information.
6. Allows any evidence that was considered or introduced or could have been considered or introduced at a prior proceeding to be admitted in a subsequent TPR proceeding.
Permanency Mediation Program (PMP)
7. Requires, subject to legislative appropriation, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to establish the PMP in the juvenile court to provide nonadversarial dispute resolution alternatives and to promote permanency for dependent children.
8. Requires the PMP to employ mediators or to contract for mediation services to facilitate alternative dispute resolution activities.
9. Requires AOC to prescribe a formula for distributing monies appropriated for the PMP to each county juvenile court, based on the number of dependency petitions filed in each court in the previous year.
Miscellaneous
10. Changes the delayed effective date to January 1, 2010, for TPR statutes that remove references to the jury trial option.
11. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Judiciary Committee
1. Establishes the PMP, specifies AOC responsibilities for the PMP and appropriates $525,000 to AOC for the PMP.
2. Removes the $500 jury bond requirement.
3. Modifies the prohibition against another TPR action, from prohibiting another action within 12 months to prohibiting another action unless there is a new allegation or new information.
4. Allows evidence considered at a prior proceeding to be considered in a subsequent TPR proceeding.
Amendments Adopted by Family Services Committee
1. Establishes the PMP, specifies AOC responsibilities for the PMP and appropriates $525,000 to AOC for the PMP.
2. Removes the $500 jury bond requirement.
3. Modifies the prohibition against another TPR action, from prohibiting another action within 12 months to prohibiting another action unless there is a new allegation or new information.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Removes the $525,000 appropriation to AOC for the PMP.
2. Specifies that the prohibition against another action to TPR applies only to cases where parental rights are not terminated at the conclusion of a trial.
Governor’s Veto Message
The Governor states in her veto message that jury trials for TPR cause disruptions in court, such as increased costs and delays. She also indicates that requiring new information before a party can refile a termination case could cause children to linger in foster care.
House Action Senate Action
HS 2/2/06 DPA 5-1-1-1 JUD 3/27/06 DPA 5-3-0
JUD 2/23/06 DPA 8-0-1-0 FS 3/27/06 DPA 3-2-0
3rd Read 3/15/06 31-25-4 3rd Read 6/20/06 17-11-2
Final Read 6/20/06 45-7-8-0
Vetoed by the Governor 6/28/06
Prepared by Senate Research
June 29, 2006
KM/jas