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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 source material does not provide specific details on how courts should handle multiple jurisdictions or what happens if another state makes a decision within six months.

Making Temporary Emergency Child Custody Decisions Final

This bill changes Alabama law to allow temporary emergency child custody decisions made under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) to become final if no other state court makes a decision within six months.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the requirement for courts to explicitly say that a temporary emergency custody decision becomes final.
  • Allows a temporary emergency child custody determination made under UCCJEA to automatically become final if no proceeding is started in another state with jurisdiction within six months.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Courts in Alabama
  • Parents involved in child custody disputes

Terms To Know

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)
A law that helps states work together to decide which state should make decisions about where children live and who takes care of them.
Temporary emergency jurisdiction
The power a court has to make quick decisions when there is an immediate danger to the child's safety or well-being.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify what happens if another state makes a custody decision within six months.
  • Does not address how courts should handle cases where multiple states are involved and each claims jurisdiction.
  • The bill does not change the UCCJEA itself, only Alabama's implementation of it.

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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