HBA-JRA H.B. 1080 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1080
By: Turner, Sylvester
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
3/5/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the Texas Family Code does not allow men who voluntarily accept
responsibility for biological parentage of a child to have the parental
relationship terminated if biological parentage is later disproved by DNA
testing.  This may create a situation where a man who has subsequently been
proven not to be the child's biological father is required to continue
paying child support.  H.B. 1080 authorizes either parent to petition a
court for termination of the parental relationship if the man who
voluntarily accepted parental responsibility is proven not to be the
biological father. 

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 161.005, Family Code, to authorize either parent
to file a suit for termination of the parent-child relationship of a father
who executed a voluntary statement of paternity under Subchapter C, Chapter
160 (Voluntary Paternity).  Requires the court to order termination in a
suit filed under this subsection only if the court finds that the father
executed a statement of paternity under Section 160.202 (Statement of
Paternity) and is the subject of a final order declaring him to be a parent
of the child on the basis of that statement and has been excluded as the
father of the child through scientifically accepted parentage testing that
meets the requirements of Section 160.103 (Requirements of Testing) after
executing the statement of paternity. Redesignates existing Subsection (b)
to Subsection (c). 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.