HBA-SEB C.S.H.B. 1006 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1006
By: West, George
Juvenile Justice and Family Issues
3/28/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the Family Code provides for a father's waiver of interest in a
child and voluntary relinquishment of parental rights.  Courts have used
waivers of interest as a basis for terminating fathers' parental rights.
Some courts may see the statute regarding the waiver of interest to be an
authorization to use it as a basis for termination of parental rights,
rather than a requirement, and therefore revert to a separate statute
(Section 161.103, Family Code) regarding voluntary relinquishment of
parental rights.  Section 161.103 applies to either parent and states that
a person's parental rights may be relinquished only if an affidavit to that
effect is signed no sooner than 48 hours after the child's birth.
Obtaining a parent's signature 48 hours after the child's birth may prove
difficult.  C.S.H.B. 1006 requires a court to terminate a fathers's
parental rights based on either a waiver of interest in the child or a
voluntary relinquishment of parental rights.        

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 161.105(b), Family Code, to delete from the
content requirements of an affidavit under this section (Affidavit of
Status of Child), a statement that an alleged father has executed a
statement of paternity and an affidavit of relinquishment of parental
rights and that both affidavits have been filed with the court.  Makes
conforming changes.   

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 161.106, Family Code, by adding Subsection (k)
to authorize an affidavit of waiver of interest in a child to be filed in a
suit for termination of the parent-child relationship between a child and
the man who has signed the affidavit.  Authorizes the waiver of interest
affidavit to be the basis for terminating the parental rights of that man.

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 161.204, Family Code, as follows:

Sec. 161.204.  New title:  TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS BASED ON
AFFIDAVIT OF WAIVER OF INTEREST.  Authorizes the court to render an order
terminating the parent-child relationship between a child and a man who has
signed an affidavit of waiver of interest in the child if the termination
is in the child's best interest. 

SECTION 4.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.  Provides that this Act
applies to a suit for termination of the parent-child relationship
commenced before, on, or after the effective date of this Act. 

SECTION 5.  Emergency clause.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 1 by amending Section
161.105(b), Family Code, to delete from the existing content requirements
of an affidavit of a child's status, a statement that an alleged father has
executed a statement of paternity and an affidavit of relinquishment of
parental  rights and that both affidavits have been filed with the court.
Deletes, from the proposed new language in the original, a content
requirement in the affidavit that states that an alleged father has
executed an affidavit of waiver of interest in the child and that the
waiver of interest affidavit has been filed with the court.  Makes
conforming changes. 

The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 2 by modifying proposed new
Section 161.106(k), Family Code, to authorize an affidavit of waiver of
interest in a child to be filed in a suit for termination of the
parent-child relationship between a child and the man who has signed the
affidavit, rather than to authorize an alleged father to file an affidavit
of waiver of interest in a child.  

The substitute modifies the original in SECTION  3 by amending Section
161.204, Family Code, as follows: 

Sec.161.204.  New title:  TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS BASED ON AFFIDAVIT
OF WAIVER OF INTEREST.  Authorizes, rather than requires, a court to render
an order terminating the parent-child relationship, rather than all legal
relationships and rights which exist or may exist, between a child and a
man who has signed an affidavit of waiver of interest in the child, if the
termination is in the child's best interest.  Deletes proposed new language
requiring the court to terminate the relationship between a child and a man
who has signed an affidavit of voluntary relinquishment of parental rights.