00HOUSE BILL NO. 432                                                                                                      
01 "An Act establishing a cause of action for damages for failure to exercise                                              
02 visitation rights with a child."                                                                                        
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  AS 25.24 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                   
05  Sec. 25.20.150.  ACTION FOR FAILURE TO EXERCISE VISITATION                                                            
06 WITH A MINOR CHILD.  (a) When a court order is specific as to when a person is                                          
07 entitled to have visitation with a minor child, and the person fails, wilfully and without                              
08 just excuse, to exercise visitation with the child in substantial conformance with the                                  
09 court order, the child's custodian has a cause of action against the person for damages.                                
10  (b)  The amount of damages recoverable under this section is $200 for each                                            
11 failure of the person with visitation rights, wilfully and without just excuse, to exercise                             
12 visitation with the child for substantially the length of time and substantially in the                                 
13 same manner as specified in the court order.  This amount may not be increased or                                       
14 decreased once liability has been established.  The person with visitation rights is not                                

01 liable for more than one failure in respect to what is, under the court order, a single                                 
02 continuous period of visitation.  The prevailing party in an action commenced under                                     
03 this section is entitled to recover a reasonable attorney fee.                                                          
04  (c)  In this section,                                                                                                 
05   (1)  "court order" means a decree, judgment, or order issued by a court                                              
06 of competent jurisdiction;                                                                                              
07   (2)  "custodian" means a natural person who has been awarded physical                                                
08 custody, either temporary or permanent, of a minor child;                                                               
09   (3)  "just excuse" includes illness of the adult or the child that makes                                             
10 it dangerous to the health of the child for visitation to take place in conformance with                                
11 the court order; "just excuse" does not include the wish of the child not to have                                       
12 visitation with the person entitled to it;                                                                              
13   (4)  "visitation rights" means the right to temporary physical custody or                                            
14 contact with a child, including the right to shared physical custody rather than                                        
15 visitation.                                                                                                             
16   * Sec. 2.   This Act applies to a failure to exercise visitation rights that occurs on or after                       
17 the effective date of this Act.