Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB502 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	82R20751 EES-F
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 502
3	3	(Thompson)
4	4	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 502: No.
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to determinations of paternity; creating an offense.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 160.302(a), Family Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(a) An acknowledgment of paternity must:
14	14	(1) be in a record;
15	15	(2) be signed, or otherwise authenticated, under
16	16	penalty of perjury by the mother and the man seeking to establish
17	17	paternity;
18	18	(3) state that the child whose paternity is being
19	19	acknowledged:
20	20	(A) does not have a presumed father or has a
21	21	presumed father whose full name is stated; and
22	22	(B) does not have another acknowledged or
23	23	adjudicated father;
24	24	(4) state whether there has been genetic testing and,
25	25	if so, that the acknowledging man's claim of paternity is
26	26	consistent with the results of the testing; and
27	27	(5) state that the signatories understand that the
28	28	acknowledgment is the equivalent of a judicial adjudication of the
29	29	paternity of the child and that a challenge to the acknowledgment is
30	30	permitted only under limited circumstances [and is barred after
31	31	four years].
32	32	SECTION 2. Section 160.306, Family Code, is amended to read
33	33	as follows:
34	34	Sec. 160.306. FILING FEE NOT REQUIRED. The bureau of vital
35	35	statistics may not charge a fee for filing:
36	36	(1) an acknowledgment of paternity;
37	37	(2) a [or] denial of paternity; or
38	38	(3) a rescission of an acknowledgment of paternity or
39	39	denial of paternity.
40	40	SECTION 3. Section 160.307, Family Code, is amended to read
41	41	as follows:
42	42	Sec. 160.307. PROCEDURES [PROCEEDING] FOR RESCISSION. (a)
43	43	A signatory may rescind an acknowledgment of paternity or denial of
44	44	paternity as provided by this section [by commencing a proceeding
45	45	to rescind] before the earlier of:
46	46	(1) the 60th day after the effective date of the
47	47	acknowledgment or denial, as provided by Section 160.304; or
48	48	(2) the date [of the first hearing in] a proceeding to
49	49	which the signatory is a party is initiated before a court to
50	50	adjudicate an issue relating to the child, including a proceeding
51	51	that establishes child support.
52	52	(b) A signatory seeking to rescind an acknowledgment of
53	53	paternity or denial of paternity must file with the bureau of vital
54	54	statistics a completed rescission, on the form prescribed under
55	55	Section 160.312, in which the signatory declares under penalty of
56	56	perjury that:
57	57	(1) as of the date the rescission is filed, a
58	58	proceeding has not been held affecting the child identified in the
59	59	acknowledgment of paternity or denial of paternity, including a
60	60	proceeding to establish child support;
61	61	(2) a copy of the completed rescission was sent by
62	62	certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to:
63	63	(A) if the rescission is of an acknowledgment of
64	64	paternity, the other signatory of the acknowledgment of paternity
65	65	and the signatory of any related denial of paternity; or
66	66	(B) if the rescission is of a denial of
67	67	paternity, the signatories of the related acknowledgment of
68	68	paternity; and
69	69	(3) if a signatory to the acknowledgment of paternity
70	70	or denial of paternity is receiving services from the Title IV-D
71	71	agency, a copy of the completed rescission was sent by certified or
72	72	registered mail to the Title IV-D agency.
73	73	(c) On receipt of a completed rescission, the bureau of
74	74	vital statistics shall void the acknowledgment of paternity or
75	75	denial of paternity affected by the rescission and amend the birth
76	76	record of the child, if appropriate.
77	77	(d) Any party affected by the rescission, including the
78	78	Title IV-D agency, may contest the rescission by bringing a
79	79	proceeding under Subchapter G to adjudicate the parentage of the
80	80	child.
81	81	SECTION 4. Sections 160.308(a) and (c), Family Code, are
82	82	amended to read as follows:
83	83	(a) After the period for rescission under Section 160.307
84	84	has expired, a signatory of an acknowledgment of paternity or
85	85	denial of paternity may commence a proceeding to challenge the
86	86	acknowledgment or denial only on the basis of fraud, duress, or
87	87	material mistake of fact. The proceeding may [must] be commenced
88	88	at any time before the issuance of an order affecting the child
89	89	identified in [fourth anniversary of the date] the acknowledgment
90	90	or denial, including an order relating to support of the child [is
91	91	filed with the bureau of vital statistics unless the signatory was a
92	92	minor on the date the signatory executed the acknowledgment or
93	93	denial. If the signatory was a minor on the date the signatory
94	94	executed the acknowledgment or denial, the proceeding must be
95	95	commenced before the earlier of the fourth anniversary of the date
96	96	of:
97	97	[(1) the signatory's 18th birthday; or
98	98	[(2) the removal of the signatory's disabilities of
99	99	minority by court order, marriage, or by other operation of law].
100	100	(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
101	101	collateral attack on an acknowledgment of paternity signed under
102	102	this chapter may not be maintained after the issuance of an order
103	103	affecting the child identified in the acknowledgment, including an
104	104	order relating to support of the child [fourth anniversary of the
105	105	date the acknowledgment of paternity is filed with the bureau of
106	106	vital statistics unless the signatory was a minor on the date the
107	107	signatory executed the acknowledgment. If the signatory was a
108	108	minor on the date the signatory executed the acknowledgment, a
109	109	collateral attack on the acknowledgment of paternity may not be
110	110	maintained after the earlier of the fourth anniversary of the date
111	111	of:
112	112	[(1) the signatory's 18th birthday; or
113	113	[(2) the removal of the signatory's disabilities of
114	114	minority by court order, marriage, or by other operation of law].
115	115	SECTION 5. Section 160.309, Family Code, is amended to read
116	116	as follows:
117	117	Sec. 160.309. PROCEDURE FOR [RESCISSION OR] CHALLENGE. (a)
118	118	Each signatory to an acknowledgment of paternity and any related
119	119	denial of paternity must be made a party to a proceeding to [rescind
120	120	or] challenge the acknowledgment or denial of paternity.
121	121	(b) For purposes of [the rescission of or] a challenge to an
122	122	acknowledgment of paternity or denial of paternity, a signatory
123	123	submits to the personal jurisdiction of this state by signing the
124	124	acknowledgment or denial. The jurisdiction is effective on the
125	125	filing of the document with the bureau of vital statistics.
126	126	(c) Except for good cause shown, while a proceeding is
127	127	pending to [rescind or] challenge an acknowledgment of paternity or
128	128	a denial of paternity, the court may not suspend the legal
129	129	responsibilities of a signatory arising from the acknowledgment,
130	130	including the duty to pay child support.
131	131	(d) A proceeding to [rescind or to] challenge an
132	132	acknowledgment of paternity or a denial of paternity shall be
133	133	conducted in the same manner as a proceeding to adjudicate
134	134	parentage under Subchapter G.
135	135	(e) At the conclusion of a proceeding to [rescind or]
136	136	challenge an acknowledgment of paternity or a denial of paternity,
137	137	the court shall order the bureau of vital statistics to amend the
138	138	birth record of the child, if appropriate.
139	139	SECTION 6. Section 160.312, Family Code, is amended to read
140	140	as follows:
141	141	Sec. 160.312. FORMS [FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND DENIAL OF
142	142	PATERNITY]. (a) To facilitate compliance with this subchapter,
143	143	the bureau of vital statistics shall prescribe forms for the:
144	144	(1) acknowledgment of paternity;
145	145	(2) [and the] denial of paternity; and
146	146	(3) rescission of an acknowledgment or denial of
147	147	paternity.
148	148	(b) A valid acknowledgment of paternity, [or] denial of
149	149	paternity, or rescission of an acknowledgment or denial of
150	150	paternity is not affected by a later modification of the prescribed
151	151	form.
152	152	SECTION 7. Subchapter F, Chapter 160, Family Code, is
153	153	amended by adding Section 160.512 to read as follows:
154	154	Sec. 160.512. OFFENSE: FALSIFICATION OF SPECIMEN. (a) A
155	155	person commits an offense if the person alters, destroys, conceals,
156	156	fabricates, or falsifies genetic evidence in a proceeding to
157	157	adjudicate parentage, including inducing another person to provide
158	158	a specimen with the intent to affect the outcome of the proceeding.
159	159	(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
160	160	degree.
161	161	(c) An order excluding a man as the biological father of a
162	162	child based on genetic evidence shown to be altered, fabricated, or
163	163	falsified is void and unenforceable.
164	164	SECTION 8. Section 160.607(b), Family Code, is amended to
165	165	read as follows:
166	166	(b) A proceeding seeking to adjudicate the parentage of a
167	167	child having a [disprove the father-child relationship between a
168	168	child and the child's] presumed father may be maintained at any time
169	169	if the court determines that:
170	170	(1) the presumed father and the mother of the child did
171	171	not live together or engage in sexual intercourse with each other
172	172	during the probable time of conception; or [and]
173	173	(2) the presumed father was precluded from commencing
174	174	a proceeding to adjudicate the parentage of the child before the
175	175	expiration of the time prescribed by Subsection (a) because of the
176	176	mistaken belief that he was the child's biological father based on
177	177	misrepresentations that led him to that conclusion [never
178	178	represented to others that the child was his own].
179	179	SECTION 9. Section 160.608(f), Family Code, is amended to
180	180	read as follows:
181	181	(f) This section applies to a proceeding to [rescind or]
182	182	challenge an acknowledgment of paternity or a denial of paternity
183	183	as provided by Section 160.309(d).
184	184	SECTION 10. Section 160.609(a), Family Code, is amended to
185	185	read as follows:
186	186	(a) If a child has an acknowledged father, a signatory to
187	187	the acknowledgment or denial of paternity may commence a proceeding
188	188	under this chapter [seeking to rescind the acknowledgment or denial
189	189	or] to challenge the paternity of the child only within the time
190	190	allowed under Section [160.307 or] 160.308.
191	191	SECTION 11. (a) The changes in law made by this Act with
192	192	respect to an acknowledgment or denial of paternity apply only to an
193	193	acknowledgment or denial of paternity that becomes effective on or
194	194	after the effective date of this Act. An acknowledgment or denial of
195	195	paternity that became effective before the effective date of this
196	196	Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the acknowledgment
197	197	or denial of paternity became effective, and the former law is
198	198	continued in effect for that purpose.
199	199	(b) The changes in law made by this Act with respect to a
200	200	proceeding to adjudicate parentage apply only to a proceeding that
201	201	is commenced on or after the effective date of this Act. A
202	202	proceeding to adjudicate parentage commenced before the effective
203	203	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
204	204	proceeding was commenced, and the former law is continued in effect
205	205	for that purpose.
206	206	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.