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.