| 1 | 1 | | By: West S.B. No. 233 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the time limitation for certain proceedings to |
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| 7 | 7 | | adjudicate paternity. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Subsection (b), Section 160.607, Family Code, is |
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| 10 | 10 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (b) A proceeding seeking to disprove the father-child |
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| 12 | 12 | | relationship between a child and the child's presumed father may be |
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| 13 | 13 | | maintained at any time if the court determines that: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) the presumed father and the mother of the child did |
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| 15 | 15 | | not live together or engage in sexual intercourse with each other |
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| 16 | 16 | | during the probable time of conception[;] and |
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| 17 | 17 | | [(2)] the presumed father never represented to others |
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| 18 | 18 | | that the child was his own; or |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) the presumed father was precluded from commencing |
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| 20 | 20 | | a proceeding to adjudicate the parentage of the child before the |
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| 21 | 21 | | expiration of the time prescribed by Subsection (a) because another |
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| 22 | 22 | | person fraudulently led him to believe he was the father of the |
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| 23 | 23 | | child. |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 25 | 25 | | to a proceeding to adjudicate parentage that is commenced on or |
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| 26 | 26 | | after the effective date of this Act. A proceeding to adjudicate |
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| 27 | 27 | | parentage commenced before that date is governed by the law in |
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| 28 | 28 | | effect on the date the proceeding was commenced, and the former law |
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| 29 | 29 | | is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 31 | 31 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 32 | 32 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 33 | 33 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 34 | 34 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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