Texas lawmakers want to protect children better

By ANNA M. TINSLEY / Harte-Hanks Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Texas lawmakers want new measures to protect the state's kids from would-be molesters and guns on school grounds.

They want to make it easier to adopt and guarantee that crimes against kids are given top priority in court.

They also plan to make sure newborns and their moms get more time in the hospital and that minors getting abortions have to notify their parents.

It's part of child-friendly legislation filed by Texas lawmakers before the 1997 session. Legislators say they don't want the state's most vulnerable citizens to be overlooked in a session likely to be dominated with issues from property tax relief to utility deregulation.

And they have filed at least seven bills, other than those dealing with education and welfare, to spotlight children's needs.

"There's no higher goal that we could have as a body than to focus on children's issues," said state Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano. "There could be 5,000 bills filed and of them, only 200 exclusive of education might relate to children.

"But the impact of those bills could be phenomenal."

Advocates of children say that's reassuring news.

"If it's a child-friendly session, Texas lawmakers have to get serious about the big issues," said Eve Brooks, president of the National Association of Child Advocates. "These are popular issues that have some public recognition and will help kids here and there."

State lawmakers, who began pre-filing bills Tuesday, have until March 14 to submit plans for new legislation, other than local issues.

While thousands of bills will be filed, only about one of every five will become law, said state Sen. Carlos Truan, D-Corpus Christi.

His proposals, yet to be filed, include a bill to address increases in gang violence and drive-by shootings. Although details have yet to be hammered out, Truan's plan includes more prevention and rehabilitation measures, such as expanding drug and alcohol resistance programs.

Another plan calls for suspending driver's licenses of kids caught with guns in school.

"Every session, we need to be ever mindful of needs and assistance we can provide to children," said Truan, who has served in the Senate longer than any other lawmaker. "I like to think children's issues would always be a priority."

Parental notification

One proposal with potential to become centerstage would require physicians to notify a parent before performing an abortion on a child younger than 18.

State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, wasn't able to get enough support last session to bring this same proposal to the Senate floor for discussion.

But a recent political shift in the Senate, with leanings more Republican, could mean a better shot for Shapiro's bill this year, she said.

"I believe there's more support now," Shapiro said. "But it is bipartisan support. It's not a Republican versus Democrats issue."

While abortion opponents laud her proposal as a hurdle to clear the way for other anti-abortion bills, Shapiro said her bill is not an abortion rights bill. Instead, she said, it's about parental rights.

"Today, a 12-year-old or 14-year-old can't have her ears pierced without having her parents consent. They can't go into a tanning bed without consent," Shapiro said. "But they could go in and have an abortion without their parents' knowledge."

State Sen. Mike Moncrief, D-Fort Worth, led opposition in the Senate in 1995 - and he said he'll do it again in 1997. He said the proposal reads well on paper, but it wouldn't work in reality.

Especially for kids who are sexually abused at home. Although there is a provision for a judicial bypass where a girl can appeal directly to a judge, rather than informing her parents - Moncrief said the court system is confusing enough for adults.

"How is a 13-year-old girl who finds herself pregnant, who is being sexually abused at home by a family member, ... to know to go to the courthouse to file for a bypass?

"My fear," Moncrief said, "is that when faced with this confusing situation, many young girls who find themselves pregnant are going to opt out of health care all together and turn to seeking an illegal abortion. It has happened before and it will happen again."

Last year, about 14 percent of abortions in Texas - slightly more than 6,000 - involved girls 13- to 17-years-old, according to the Texas Department of Health.

"As we look at children's issues, need to be very careful," Moncrief said. "Children are in a very vulnerable population. It's up to us to be their voice in this process."

Other measures

Moncrief has filed a bill to ensure that offenses against children be given a higher priority on trial court dockets. This would make sure crimes against children are among the first to be prosecuted.

"More people are becoming sensitive to crimes perpetrated against our children and the ripple effect that has on the child and the family," Moncrief said. "Children in Texas have got to be a priority across the board in criminal justice."

Victim's advocates say Moncrief's plan to put kids first in court is needed.

"Children are very fragile witnesses - their attention span and retention is shorter," said Dianne Clements, president of Justice For All, a Houston-based victim's advocacy group. "It's difficult for them to cope with anything on a long-term basis. This proposal is very, very important."

McCall has filed a bill to let mothers and their newborns stay in hospitals longer after giving birth. This goes hand-in-hand with already passed federal law, but would let the measure be effective no later than September 1997 in Texas - a year before the federal measure takes effect.

"Typically, it's the child who suffers when the mom is pushed out of the hospital too soon," McCall said. "Things could be overlooked or not caught."

Shapiro has also filed a bill to shorten the adoption process for Texas kids from two years to six months.

"We need to expedite termination of parental rights so children can get on with their lives," she said. "The period is too long and we ought to make it shorter."

Gov. George W. Bush has called for tougher state and court standards to speed up the adoption process. He also has called for changes to state law that would force birth fathers to take responsibility for their children or lose their parental rights.

Shapiro also has a plan to punish adults who entice a child to a car or a building - with the intent to molest them.

"If you entice a child with the intent to molest, often there are people who see it happening but the child has only been lured and not molested," she said, adding that exact details of the plan have yet to be finalized. "We need a law in place to deal with that type of individual."

Clements, of Justice For All, said the intent of Shapiro's child enticement plan is good. But she said it's difficult to convict adults even when actual molestation has taken place.

"In this climate, a bill like this could pass," Clements said. "But getting a conviction would be immediately the biggest problem. It's very difficult to get a conviction when there has been an actual assault. Many times, it is plea bargained down.

"Obviously the intention is to be pro-active and preventative - to stop someone from sexually assaulting," she said, adding that she hasn't seen the plan. "If it's going to prevent someone from being assaulted, we would support it."