Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB187 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R828 MLH-D
2	2	By: Guillen H.B. No. 187
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to requiring a man determined by adjudication or
10	10	acknowledgment to be a child's father to pay retroactive child
11	11	support beginning on the first day of the calendar month in which
12	12	the child's conception occurred.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 154, Family Code, is
15	15	amended by adding Section 154.0091 to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 154.0091. RETROACTIVE CHILD SUPPORT ON ADJUDICATION OR
17	17	ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PATERNITY. (a) Notwithstanding any other
18	18	provision of this chapter or other law, in any order rendered under
19	19	Chapter 160 establishing a man's paternity of a child, or in any
20	20	suit to establish the child support obligation of a man whose
21	21	paternity has been established by the execution of a valid
22	22	acknowledgment of paternity in regard to the child under Subchapter
23	23	D, Chapter 160, the court shall order the man to:
24	24	(1) pay retroactive child support beginning on the
25	25	first day of the calendar month of the earliest possible date of the
26	26	child's conception, as determined by acknowledgement of the child's
27	27	biological parents or standard medical practice, as defined by
28	28	Section 171.201, Health and Safety Code; and
29	29	(2) reimburse the child's mother for an equitable
30	30	portion of:
31	31	(A) the reasonable and necessary medical
32	32	expenses incurred by the mother and the child during gestation and
33	33	delivery and incurred by the mother during postpartum recovery that
34	34	are not reimbursed by medical insurance;
35	35	(B) the cost of materials purchased by the mother
36	36	in preparing for the child's birth that are necessary for the
37	37	child's health and safety, including:
38	38	(i) diapers;
39	39	(ii) a car seat;
40	40	(iii) a crib;
41	41	(iv) clothing; and
42	42	(v) infant formula; and
43	43	(C) lost wages as a result of time spent
44	44	receiving medical attention during gestation, delivery, and
45	45	postpartum recovery.
46	46	(b) In ordering retroactive child support under Subsection
47	47	(a)(1), the court shall apply the child support guidelines provided
48	48	by this chapter. In ordering reimbursement under Subsection
49	49	(a)(2), the court shall consider the specific circumstances of the
50	50	mother's gestation, delivery, and any other relevant factor in
51	51	determining the amount constituting the equitable portion owed by
52	52	the man under that provision.
53	53	(c) Notwithstanding Section 157.261 or any other law,
54	54	interest does not begin to accrue on a retroactive child support
55	55	payment due under this section until the first anniversary of the
56	56	date the judge renders the order establishing the man's paternity
57	57	or the man executes a valid acknowledgment of paternity with
58	58	respect to the child, as applicable.
59	59	SECTION 2. Section 160.636(g), Family Code, is amended to
60	60	read as follows:
61	61	(g) On a finding of parentage, the court shall [may] order
62	62	retroactive child support as provided by Section 154.0091 [Chapter
63	63	154 and, on a proper showing, order a party to pay an equitable
64	64	portion of all of the prenatal and postnatal health care expenses of
65	65	the mother and the child].
66	66	SECTION 3. Section 160.636(h), Family Code, is repealed.
67	67	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act with respect
68	68	to an order adjudicating paternity apply only to an order rendered
69	69	on or after the effective date of this Act. An order adjudicating
70	70	paternity rendered before the effective date of this Act is
71	71	governed by the law in effect on the date the order is rendered, and
72	72	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
73	73	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act with respect
74	74	to an acknowledgment of paternity apply only to an acknowledgment
75	75	of paternity executed on or after the effective date of this Act.
76	76	An acknowledgment of paternity executed before the effective date
77	77	of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
78	78	acknowledgment is executed, and the former law is continued in
79	79	effect for that purpose.
80	80	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.