88R1832 MLH-F     By: Cook H.B. No. 980       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the privilege against disclosure of certain   collaborative family law communications.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 15.115(a), Family Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (a)  The privilege prescribed by Section 15.114 does not   apply to a collaborative family law communication that is:                (1)  in an agreement resulting from the collaborative   family law process, evidenced in a record signed by all parties to   the agreement;                (2)  subject to an express waiver of the privilege in a   record or orally during a proceeding if the waiver is made by all   parties and nonparty participants;                (3)  available to the public under Chapter 552,   Government Code, or made during a session of a collaborative family   law process that is open, or is required by law to be open, to the   public;                (4)  a threat or statement of a plan to inflict bodily   injury or commit a crime of violence;                (5)  a disclosure of a plan to commit or attempt to   commit a crime, or conceal an ongoing crime or ongoing criminal   activity;                (6)  a disclosure in a report of:                      (A)  suspected abuse or neglect of a child to an   appropriate agency under Subchapter B, Chapter 261, or in a   proceeding regarding the abuse or neglect of a child, except that   evidence may be excluded in the case of communications between an   attorney and client under Subchapter C, Chapter 261; or                      (B)  abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an elderly   or disabled person to an appropriate agency under Subchapter B,   Chapter 48, Human Resources Code; or                (7)  sought or offered to prove or disprove:                      (A)  a claim or complaint of professional   misconduct or malpractice arising from or related to a   collaborative family law process;                      (B)  an allegation that the settlement agreement   was procured by fraud, duress, coercion, or other dishonest means   or that terms of the settlement agreement are illegal; or                      (C)  the necessity and reasonableness of   attorney's fees and related expenses incurred during a   collaborative family law process or to challenge or defend the   enforceability of the collaborative family law settlement   agreement[; or                      [(D)  a claim against a third person who did not   participate in the collaborative family law process].          SECTION 2.  Section 15.115, Family Code, as amended by this   Act, applies to a disclosure made on or after the effective date of   this Act, regardless of whether the communication that is the   subject of the disclosure was made before, on, or after that date.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.