89R6250 AMF-D
By: Campos H.B. No. 2301
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to registration with and searches of the state registry of
paternity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 160.402(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b), a man
who desires to be notified of a proceeding for the adoption of or
the termination of parental rights regarding a child that he may
have fathered may register with the registry of paternity:
(1) before the birth of the child; or
(2) not later than the 14th [31st] day after the date
of the birth of the child.
SECTION 2. Section 160.415, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 160.415. UNTIMELY REGISTRATION. If a man registers
later than the 14th [31st] day after the date of the birth of the
child, the vital statistics unit shall notify the registrant that
the registration was not timely filed.
SECTION 3. Section 160.421(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If a father-child relationship has not been established
under this chapter, a petitioner for the adoption of or the
termination of parental rights regarding the child must obtain a
certificate of the results of a search of the registry. The
petitioner may request a search of the registry on or after the 15th
[32nd] day after the date of the birth of the child, and the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
may not by rule impose a waiting period that must elapse before the
vital statistics unit will conduct the requested search.
SECTION 4. Section 160.422(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The vital statistics unit shall furnish a certificate of
the results of a search of the registry not later than the 10th day
after the date of the receipt of a [on] request by an individual, a
court, or an agency listed in Section 160.412(b).
SECTION 5. (a) Sections 160.402 and 160.415, Family Code,
as amended by this Act, apply only to the time requirements for
registering with the state registry of paternity as the putative
father of a child born on or after the effective date of this Act.
The time requirements for registering with the state registry of
paternity as the putative father of a child born before the
effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect on the
date the child was born, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
(b) Section 160.421, Family Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a request for a search of the state registry of
paternity by a petitioner for the adoption of or the termination of
parental rights regarding a child in relation to a child born on or
after the effective date of this Act. A request for a search of the
state registry of paternity by a petitioner in relation to a child
born before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date
the child was born, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
(c) Section 160.422, Family Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a request for a search of the state registry of
paternity made on or after the effective date of this Act. A
request for a search of the state registry of paternity made before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date the request was made, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.