CPS Blank Check II

SB 1440 was delivered to the governor on June 3. He has twenty days after the end of the session to take action on the bill by signing or vetoing it or allowing it to become law without his signature, which means he has until the 21st or 22nd of June to veto the bill.

We have had people from all walks of life and from across the political spectrum who have responded to this story and joined us in calling for the veto of this bill. The more we learn about the way the bill passed, the more the more ugly the story becomes. Our friends at the Parent Guidance Center were tracking this bill in its first rendition as SB 1064, registered to give testimony against the bill on May 14, and offered written testimony against the bill. The hearing was actually on Thursday, May 14, but no testimony was taken on the bill; the next day the rules were suspended on the House floor, and the 5-day posting rule was suspended so the hearing could take place on that day (Friday, May 15). Therefore, it took place at 7:09 Friday night. There was no chance for opponents to be there because of the lack of notice, but Madeline McClure of TexProtects and Jane Burstain of Center for Public Policy Priorities, supporters of the bill, were obviously given notice and were there to support the bill . The hearing lasted an hour and 13 minutes. The written testimony of the Parent Guidance Center was not entered into the record; neither was there any record of their registered opposition to the bill. Now defenders of SB 1440 are trying to claim that there was no opposition to the bill.

SB 1440 has created a firestorm of opposition from the left and right of the political spectrum because it destroys the rights of parents who are in the midst of an investigation by CPS and have refused to waive their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. It gives the court authority to force parents to give CPS access to the child and/or transport the child for "interview, examination, and investigation" without a court hearing or notice to the parent. Worst of all, the language in the current statute that requires CPS to prove "good cause shown" was stricken. SB 1440 gives the court wide and arbitrary powers to make a ruling based only on an affidavit from CPS, and one proponent of SB 1440 admits, "Some courts issue these orders ex parte, while others do not. (SB 1440) ... sets in place a uniform procedure for obtaining orders ex parte." In other words, the proponents of the bill want these hearings to happen without notice to the parent and thus without them being represented at the hearing, with a lower standard than "good cause shown," to boot.

Calls and e-mails to the governor should continue; click here for phone and e-mail information. Many have asked what else they can do to stop this ursurpation of parental rights, and I would suggest that people call their state representatives and state senators, asking them to call Governor Perry to stop this bill. In the meantime, THSC and other groups opposing SB 1440 will host a press conference in Austin tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1 p.m. on the south steps of the Capitol. (See our Press Release.) Media outlets are beginning to become aware of the issue. This bill must be killed!