82R5859 EES-D
	By: West	S.B. No. 502

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to determinations of paternity; creating an offense.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 160.302(a), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  An acknowledgment of paternity must:
	(1)  be in a record;
	(2)  be signed, or otherwise authenticated, under
	penalty of perjury by the mother and the man seeking to establish
	paternity;
	(3)  state that the child whose paternity is being
	acknowledged:
	(A)  does not have a presumed father or has a
	presumed father whose full name is stated; and
	(B)  does not have another acknowledged or
	adjudicated father;
	(4)  state whether there has been genetic testing and,
	if so, that the acknowledging man's claim of paternity is
	consistent with the results of the testing; and
	(5)  state that the signatories understand that the
	acknowledgment is the equivalent of a judicial adjudication of the
	paternity of the child and that a challenge to the acknowledgment is
	permitted only under limited circumstances [and is barred after
	four years].
	SECTION 2.  Section 160.305(b), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  Except as provided by Section [Sections 160.307 and]
	160.308, a valid denial of paternity filed with the bureau of vital
	statistics in conjunction with a valid acknowledgment of paternity
	is the equivalent of an adjudication of the nonpaternity of the
	presumed father and discharges the presumed father from all rights
	and duties of a parent.
	SECTION 3.  Section 160.306, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 160.306.  FILING FEE NOT REQUIRED. The bureau of vital
	statistics may not charge a fee for filing:
	(1)  an acknowledgment of paternity;
	(2)  a [or] denial of paternity; or
	(3)  a rescission of an acknowledgment of paternity.
	SECTION 4.  Section 160.307, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 160.307.  PROCEDURES [PROCEEDING] FOR RESCISSION.  (a)
	A signatory may rescind an acknowledgment of paternity as provided
	by this section [or denial of paternity by commencing a proceeding
	to rescind] before the earlier of:
	(1)  the 60th day after the effective date of the
	acknowledgment [or denial], as provided by Section 160.304; or
	(2)  the date an administrative or judicial [of the
	first hearing in a] proceeding relating to the child to which the
	signatory is a party is initiated [before a court to adjudicate an
	issue relating to the child], including a proceeding that
	establishes child support.
	(b)  A signatory seeking to rescind an acknowledgment of
	paternity must file with the bureau of vital statistics a completed
	rescission, on the form prescribed under Section 160.312, in which
	the signatory declares under penalty of perjury that:
	(1)  as of the date the rescission is filed, an
	administrative or judicial proceeding has not been held affecting
	the child identified in the acknowledgment of paternity, including
	a proceeding to establish child support;
	(2)  a copy of the completed rescission was sent by
	certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the
	other signatory of the acknowledgment of paternity and the
	signatory of any related denial of paternity; and
	(3)  if the acknowledgment of paternity to be rescinded
	is filed in connection with a Title IV-D case, a copy of the
	completed rescission was sent by certified or registered mail to
	the Title IV-D agency.
	(c)  On receipt of a completed rescission, the bureau of
	vital statistics shall void the acknowledgment of paternity
	affected by the rescission and amend the birth record of the child,
	if appropriate.
	(d)  Any party affected by the rescission, including the
	Title IV-D agency, may contest the rescission by bringing a
	proceeding under Subchapter G to adjudicate the parentage of the
	child.
	SECTION 5.  The heading to Section 160.308, Family Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 160.308.  CHALLENGE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OR DENIAL OF
	PATERNITY [AFTER EXPIRATION OF PERIOD FOR RESCISSION].
	SECTION 6.  Section 160.308, Family Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
	read as follows:
	(a)  After the period for rescission under Section 160.307
	has expired, a signatory of an acknowledgment of paternity [or
	denial of paternity] may commence a proceeding to challenge the
	acknowledgment [or denial] only on the basis of fraud, duress, or
	material mistake of fact.  The proceeding may [must] be commenced
	at any time before the issuance of an administrative or judicial
	order affecting the child identified in [fourth anniversary of the
	date] the acknowledgment, including an order relating to support of
	the child [or denial is filed with the bureau of vital statistics
	unless the signatory was a minor on the date the signatory executed
	the acknowledgment or denial. If the signatory was a minor on the
	date the signatory executed the acknowledgment or denial, the
	proceeding must be commenced before the earlier of the fourth
	anniversary of the date of:
	[(1)  the signatory's 18th birthday; or
	[(2)     the removal of the signatory's disabilities of
	minority by court order, marriage, or by other operation of law].
	(a-1)  A signatory of a denial of paternity may commence a
	proceeding to challenge the denial only on the basis of fraud,
	duress, or material mistake of fact. The proceeding may be
	commenced at any time before the issuance of an administrative or
	judicial order affecting the child identified in the denial,
	including an order relating to support of the child.
	(c)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
	collateral attack on an acknowledgment of paternity signed under
	this chapter may not be maintained after the issuance of an
	administrative or judicial order affecting the child identified in
	the acknowledgment, including an order relating to support of the
	child [fourth anniversary of the date the acknowledgment of
	paternity is filed with the bureau of vital statistics unless the
	signatory was a minor on the date the signatory executed the
	acknowledgment.     If the signatory was a minor on the date the
	signatory executed the acknowledgment, a collateral attack on the
	acknowledgment of paternity may not be maintained after the earlier
	of the fourth anniversary of the date of:
	[(1)  the signatory's 18th birthday; or
	[(2)     the removal of the signatory's disabilities of
	minority by court order, marriage, or by other operation of law].
	SECTION 7.  Section 160.309, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 160.309.  PROCEDURE FOR [RESCISSION OR] CHALLENGE.  (a)
	Each signatory to an acknowledgment of paternity and any related
	denial of paternity must be made a party to a proceeding to [rescind
	or] challenge the acknowledgment or denial of paternity.
	(b)  For purposes of [the rescission of or] a challenge to an
	acknowledgment of paternity or denial of paternity, a signatory
	submits to the personal jurisdiction of this state by signing the
	acknowledgment or denial. The jurisdiction is effective on the
	filing of the document with the bureau of vital statistics.
	(c)  Except for good cause shown, while a proceeding is
	pending to [rescind or] challenge an acknowledgment of paternity or
	a denial of paternity, the court may not suspend the legal
	responsibilities of a signatory arising from the acknowledgment,
	including the duty to pay child support.
	(d)  A proceeding to [rescind or to] challenge an
	acknowledgment of paternity or a denial of paternity shall be
	conducted in the same manner as a proceeding to adjudicate
	parentage under Subchapter G.
	(e)  At the conclusion of a proceeding to [rescind or]
	challenge an acknowledgment of paternity or a denial of paternity,
	the court shall order the bureau of vital statistics to amend the
	birth record of the child, if appropriate.
	SECTION 8.  Section 160.312, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 160.312.  FORMS [FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND DENIAL OF
	PATERNITY].  (a)  To facilitate compliance with this subchapter,
	the bureau of vital statistics shall prescribe forms for the:
	(1)  acknowledgment of paternity;
	(2)  [and the] denial of paternity; and
	(3)  rescission of an acknowledgment of paternity.
	(b)  A valid acknowledgment of paternity, [or] denial of
	paternity, or rescission of an acknowledgment of paternity is not
	affected by a later modification of the prescribed form.
	SECTION 9.  Section 160.313, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 160.313.  RELEASE OF INFORMATION. The bureau of vital
	statistics may release information relating to the acknowledgment
	or denial of paternity or rescission of the acknowledgment [or
	denial] of paternity to a signatory of the acknowledgment, [or]
	denial, or rescission and to the courts and Title IV-D agency of
	this or another state.
	SECTION 10.  Subchapter F, Chapter 160, Family Code, is
	amended by adding Section 160.512 to read as follows:
	Sec. 160.512.  OFFENSE: FALSIFICATION OF SPECIMEN.  (a)  A
	person commits an offense if the person alters, destroys, conceals,
	fabricates, or falsifies genetic evidence in a proceeding to
	adjudicate parentage, including inducing another person to provide
	a specimen with the intent to affect the outcome of the proceeding.
	(b)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third
	degree.
	(c)  An order excluding a man as the biological father of a
	child based on genetic evidence shown to be altered, fabricated, or
	falsified is void and unenforceable.
	SECTION 11.  Section 160.607(b), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  A proceeding seeking to adjudicate the parentage of a
	child having a [disprove the father-child relationship between a
	child and the child's] presumed father may be maintained at any time
	if the court determines that:
	(1)  the presumed father and the mother of the child did
	not live together or engage in sexual intercourse with each other
	during the probable time of conception; or [and]
	(2)  the presumed father was precluded from commencing
	a proceeding to adjudicate the parentage of the child before the
	expiration of the time prescribed by Subsection (a) because of the
	mistaken belief that he was the child's biological father based on
	misrepresentations that led him to that conclusion [never
	represented to others that the child was his own].
	SECTION 12.  Section 160.608(f), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(f)  This section applies to a proceeding to [rescind or]
	challenge an acknowledgment of paternity or a denial of paternity
	as provided by Section 160.309(d).
	SECTION 13.  Section 160.609(a), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  If a child has an acknowledged father, a signatory to
	the acknowledgment or denial of paternity may commence a proceeding
	[seeking to rescind the acknowledgment or denial or] to challenge
	the paternity of the child only within the time allowed under
	Section [160.307 or] 160.308.
	SECTION 14.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act with
	respect to an acknowledgment or denial of paternity apply only to an
	acknowledgment or denial of paternity that becomes effective on or
	after the effective date of this Act. An acknowledgment or denial of
	paternity that became effective before the effective date of this
	Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the acknowledgment
	or denial of paternity became effective, and the former law is
	continued in effect for that purpose.
	(b)  The changes in law made by this Act with respect to a
	proceeding to adjudicate parentage apply only to a proceeding that
	is commenced on or after the effective date of this Act. A
	proceeding to adjudicate parentage commenced before the effective
	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
	proceeding was commenced, and the former law is continued in effect
	for that purpose.
	SECTION 15.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.