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HB281 • 2026

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act; certain temporary emergency child custody determinations authorized to become final

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act; certain temporary emergency child custody determinations authorized to become final

Children
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Hill (J)
Last action
2026-03-03
Official status
Passed by House of Origin
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text specifies an effective date of October 1, 2026.

HB281: Changes to Temporary Emergency Child Custody Rules

This bill changes the law so that temporary emergency child custody orders can automatically become final if no other state court with proper jurisdiction starts a case within six months.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the rule requiring courts to explicitly say in an order when a temporary emergency custody decision becomes final.
  • Makes certain temporary emergency custody decisions automatically final after six months if no other state with proper jurisdiction has started a custody case.
  • Keeps temporary orders in effect until another court with proper jurisdiction issues its own order or the time limit passes.
  • Requires Alabama courts to immediately talk with courts in other states when similar cases are happening elsewhere.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Alabama judges who handle child custody emergencies
  • Parents and children involved in temporary emergency custody orders where no prior valid order exists or another state has not started a case

Terms To Know

Temporary Emergency Jurisdiction
The power of a court to make quick decisions about child safety when the child is present in Alabama and has been abandoned, or needs protection from mistreatment or abuse.
Final Determination
A permanent custody decision that replaces a temporary emergency order after six months if no other state court takes over the case.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This automatic final status only applies if there is no previous child custody determination entitled to enforcement and no new proceeding has started in another state with proper jurisdiction within six months.
  • If a previous valid order exists or another state starts a case, the temporary order must specify how long it lasts until that other court makes its decision.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-03 House

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 692 (Yeas 99, Nays 0)

  2. 2026-03-03 House

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 102, Nays 0)

  3. 2026-02-05 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  4. 2026-02-04 House

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  5. 2026-01-20 House

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  6. 2026-01-20 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary

Official Summary Text

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act; certain temporary emergency child custody determinations authorized to become final

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB281 INTRODUCED
Page 0
HB281
I3JI966-1
By Representative Hill
RFD: Judiciary
First Read: 20-Jan-26
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I3JI966-1 01/20/2026 GP (L)lg 2026-255
Page 1
First Read: 20-Jan-26
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, a court exercising temporary
jurisdiction pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) is required to
explicitly provide that a child custody determination
made under temporary emergency jurisdiction becomes a
final determination.
This bill would remove that provision and
provide that, if no child custody proceeding has been
commenced in a state having jurisdiction within six
months after a child custody determination is made
pursuant to the UCCJEA under temporary emergency
jurisdiction, that child custody determination
automatically becomes final.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to child custody; to amend Section 30-3B-204,
Code of Alabama 1975; to authorize certain temporary emergency
child custody determinations made pursuant to the Uniform
Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act to become final.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
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HB281 INTRODUCED
Page 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 30-3B-204, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§30-3B-204
(a) A court of this state has temporary emergency
jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and the
child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to
protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of
the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or
abuse.
(b) If there is no previous child custody determination
that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter and a child
custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a
state having jurisdiction under Sections 30-3B-201 through
30-3B-203, a child custody determination made under this
section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a
court of a state having jurisdiction under Sections 30-3B-201
through 30-3B-203. If, six months after the date of the entry
of a child custody determination under this section, a child
custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a
state having jurisdiction under Sections 30-3B-201 through
30-3B-203, that child custody determination shall become a
final determination. If a child custody proceeding has not
been or is not commenced in a court of a state having
jurisdiction under Sections 30-3B-201 through 30-3B-203, a
child custody determination made under this section becomes a
final determination, if it so provides and this state becomes
the home state of the child.
(c) If there is a previous child custody determination
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HB281 INTRODUCED
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(c) If there is a previous child custody determination
that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter, or a child
custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state
having jurisdiction under Sections 30-3B-201 through
30-3B-203, any order issued by a court of this state under
this section must specify in the order a period that the court
considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to
obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction under
Sections 30-3B-201 through 30-3B-203. The order issued in this
state remains in effect until an order is obtained from the
other state within the period specified or the period expires.
(d) A court of this state which has been asked to make
a child custody determination under this section, upon being
informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced
in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court
of a state having jurisdiction under Sections 30-3B-201
through 30-3B-203, shall immediately communicate with the
other court. A court of this state which is exercising
jurisdiction pursuant to Sections 30-3B-201 through 30-3B-203,
upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been
commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made
by, a court of another state under a statute similar to this
section shall immediately communicate with the court of that
state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the
parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration
of the temporary order."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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