Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2301 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R6250 AMF-D
2	2	By: Campos H.B. No. 2301
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to registration with and searches of the state registry of
10	10	paternity.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 160.402(a), Family Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b), a man
15	15	who desires to be notified of a proceeding for the adoption of or
16	16	the termination of parental rights regarding a child that he may
17	17	have fathered may register with the registry of paternity:
18	18	(1) before the birth of the child; or
19	19	(2) not later than the 14th [31st] day after the date
20	20	of the birth of the child.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 160.415, Family Code, is amended to read
22	22	as follows:
23	23	Sec. 160.415. UNTIMELY REGISTRATION. If a man registers
24	24	later than the 14th [31st] day after the date of the birth of the
25	25	child, the vital statistics unit shall notify the registrant that
26	26	the registration was not timely filed.
27	27	SECTION 3. Section 160.421(a), Family Code, is amended to
28	28	read as follows:
29	29	(a) If a father-child relationship has not been established
30	30	under this chapter, a petitioner for the adoption of or the
31	31	termination of parental rights regarding the child must obtain a
32	32	certificate of the results of a search of the registry. The
33	33	petitioner may request a search of the registry on or after the 15th
34	34	[32nd] day after the date of the birth of the child, and the
35	35	executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
36	36	may not by rule impose a waiting period that must elapse before the
37	37	vital statistics unit will conduct the requested search.
38	38	SECTION 4. Section 160.422(a), Family Code, is amended to
39	39	read as follows:
40	40	(a) The vital statistics unit shall furnish a certificate of
41	41	the results of a search of the registry not later than the 10th day
42	42	after the date of the receipt of a [on] request by an individual, a
43	43	court, or an agency listed in Section 160.412(b).
44	44	SECTION 5. (a) Sections 160.402 and 160.415, Family Code,
45	45	as amended by this Act, apply only to the time requirements for
46	46	registering with the state registry of paternity as the putative
47	47	father of a child born on or after the effective date of this Act.
48	48	The time requirements for registering with the state registry of
49	49	paternity as the putative father of a child born before the
50	50	effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect on the
51	51	date the child was born, and the former law is continued in effect
52	52	for that purpose.
53	53	(b) Section 160.421, Family Code, as amended by this Act,
54	54	applies only to a request for a search of the state registry of
55	55	paternity by a petitioner for the adoption of or the termination of
56	56	parental rights regarding a child in relation to a child born on or
57	57	after the effective date of this Act. A request for a search of the
58	58	state registry of paternity by a petitioner in relation to a child
59	59	born before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date
60	60	the child was born, and the former law is continued in effect for
61	61	that purpose.
62	62	(c) Section 160.422, Family Code, as amended by this Act,
63	63	applies only to a request for a search of the state registry of
64	64	paternity made on or after the effective date of this Act. A
65	65	request for a search of the state registry of paternity made before
66	66	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
67	67	the date the request was made, and the former law is continued in
68	68	effect for that purpose.
69	69	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.