Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1734 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R4520 MLH-D
2	2	By: Leach H.B. No. 1734
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of parentage and the duty to pay child
8	8	support.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 154, Family Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Section 154.0091 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 154.0091. RETROACTIVE CHILD SUPPORT ON ADJUDICATION OR
13	13	ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PATERNITY. (a) Notwithstanding any other
14	14	provision of this chapter or other law, in any order rendered under
15	15	Chapter 160, establishing a man's paternity of a child, or in any
16	16	suit to establish the child support obligation of a man whose
17	17	paternity has been established by the execution of a valid
18	18	acknowledgment of paternity in regard to the child under Subchapter
19	19	D, Chapter 160, the court shall order the man to pay retroactive
20	20	child support for the child beginning on the earliest possible date
21	21	of the child's conception, as determined by a physician.
22	22	(b) In ordering retroactive child support under this
23	23	section, the court shall apply the child support guidelines
24	24	provided by this chapter and, on a proper showing, order the man to
25	25	pay an equitable portion of all of the prenatal and postnatal health
26	26	care expenses of the mother and the child.
27	27	(c) Notwithstanding Section 157.261 or any other law,
28	28	interest does not begin to accrue on a retroactive child support
29	29	payment due under this section until the first anniversary of the
30	30	date the judge renders the order establishing the obligation.
31	31	SECTION 2. Section 160.304(c), Family Code, is amended to
32	32	read as follows:
33	33	(c) Subject to Subsection (a), an acknowledgment of
34	34	paternity or denial of paternity takes effect on [the date of the
35	35	birth of the child or] the filing of the document with the vital
36	36	statistics unit[, whichever occurs later].
37	37	SECTION 3. Section 160.502(b), Family Code, is amended to
38	38	read as follows:
39	39	(b) If a request for genetic testing of a child is made
40	40	before the birth of the child, the court or support enforcement
41	41	agency may [not] order in utero testing only if:
42	42	(1) the request is made by the pregnant mother; and
43	43	(2) the physician to perform the genetic testing
44	44	determines and certifies to the court that the testing would pose no
45	45	risk of harm to the pregnant mother or the child.
46	46	SECTION 4. Section 160.611, Family Code, is amended to read
47	47	as follows:
48	48	Sec. 160.611. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE BIRTH. (a) A proceeding
49	49	to determine parentage commenced before the birth of the child may
50	50	not be concluded until after the birth of the child unless the
51	51	pregnant mother commences the proceeding.
52	52	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), in any [In a]
53	53	proceeding to determine parentage commenced before the birth of the
54	54	child [described by Subsection (a)], the following actions may be
55	55	taken before the birth of the child:
56	56	(1) service of process;
57	57	(2) discovery; and
58	58	(3) except as prohibited by Section 160.502,
59	59	collection of specimens for genetic testing.
60	60	SECTION 5. Sections 160.636(b) and (g), Family Code, are
61	61	amended to read as follows:
62	62	(b) An order adjudicating parentage must identify the child
63	63	by name and date of birth, except that if the order is rendered
64	64	before the date of the child's birth:
65	65	(1) the order must identify the mother and father of
66	66	the unborn child and the child's expected date of birth; and
67	67	(2) as soon as practicable after the date of the
68	68	child's birth, the order must be amended to identify the child by
69	69	name and date of birth.
70	70	(g) On a finding of parentage, the court shall [may] order
71	71	retroactive child support as provided by Section 154.0091 [Chapter
72	72	154 and, on a proper showing, order a party to pay an equitable
73	73	portion of all of the prenatal and postnatal health care expenses of
74	74	the mother and the child].
75	75	SECTION 6. Section 160.636(h), Family Code, is repealed.
76	76	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act with respect
77	77	to an order adjudicating paternity apply only to an order rendered
78	78	on or after the effective date of this Act. An order adjudicating
79	79	paternity rendered before the effective date of this Act is
80	80	governed by the law in effect on the date the order is rendered, and
81	81	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
82	82	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act with respect
83	83	to an acknowledgment of paternity or denial of paternity apply only
84	84	to an acknowledgment of paternity or denial of paternity executed
85	85	on or after the effective date of this Act. An acknowledgment of
86	86	paternity or denial of paternity executed before the effective date
87	87	of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
88	88	acknowledgment or denial is executed, and the former law is
89	89	continued in effect for that purpose.
90	90	SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
91	91	160.611, Family Code, apply to a proceeding to determine parentage
92	92	that is pending on the effective date of this Act or filed on or
93	93	after that date.
94	94	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect February 1, 2024.