PRINTER'S NO. 132
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
155
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY TALLMAN, WATSON, MURT, KORTZ, BAKER AND TOOHIL,
JANUARY 21, 2015
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JANUARY 21, 2015
AN ACT
Amending Titles 23 (Domestic Relations) and 42 (Judiciary and
Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes, in proceedings prior to petition to adopt, further
providing for grounds for involuntary termination; and, in
juvenile matters, further providing for disposition of
dependent child.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 2511(a) of Title 23 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a paragraph to read:
§ 2511. Grounds for involuntary termination.
(a) General rule.--The rights of a parent in regard to a
child may be terminated after a petition filed on any of the
following grounds:
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(10) The repeated and continued abuse of alcohol or a
controlled substance by the parent has placed the health,
safety or welfare of the child at risk and the abuse of
alcohol or a controlled substance cannot or will not be
remedied by the parent.
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Section 2. Section 6351(f.2) of Title 42 is amended and
subsection (f) is amended by adding a paragraph to read:
§ 6351. Disposition of dependent child.
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(f) Matters to be determined at permanency hearing.--At each
permanency hearing, a court shall determine all of the
following:
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(6.1) Whether the use of alcohol or a controlled
substance by the parent places the health, safety or welfare
of the child at risk.
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(f.2) Evidence.--
(1) Evidence of conduct by the parent that places the
health, safety or welfare of the child at risk, including
evidence of the use of alcohol or a controlled substance that
places the health, safety or welfare of the child at risk,
shall be presented to the court by the county agency or any
other party at any disposition or permanency hearing whether
or not the conduct was the basis for the determination of
dependency. The failure of a drug test requested by the
county agency or the refusal to participate in a drug test
requested by the county agency shall constitute prima facie
evidence of the use of alcohol or a controlled substance that
places the health, safety or welfare of the child at risk.
(2) When used in this subsection, the term "drug test"
shall mean a urinalysis, blood test or another scientific
study of an individual's body which has been conclusively
found to detect the presence of alcohol or the presence or
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prior use of an illegal drug or substance and for which the
accuracy has been accepted in the scientific community.
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Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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