bill shrinking the paternity registry window to 14 days

The text as introduced · 628 words

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.