HBA-LJP C.S.H.B. 638 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 638 By: Turner, Sylvester Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 4/20/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, if a man voluntarily accepts parental responsibility and is later proven not to be the biological father of the child, it is possible that the man may have to continue to pay child support. C.S.H.B. 638 provides for the authorization of certain men who have executed a voluntary statement of paternity and are subject to a final order declaring paternity to petition a court for the termination of a parent-child relationship on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 638 amends the Family Code to authorize a man who executed a voluntary statement of paternity before September 1, 1999, and who on the basis of that statement, is the subject of a final order declaring him to be a parent of the child to file a suit affecting the parent-child relationship to contest the statement on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. The bill provides that evidence that a man is excluded as the father of a child based on scientifically accepted parentage testing constitutes a material mistake of fact. The bill also provides that a suit filed to contest a voluntary statement of paternity is not affected by an order rendered on the basis of that statement. If the court, on a preliminary finding in a suit, finds that there is credible evidence of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact regarding the execution of the voluntary statement of paternity, the bill requires the court to order scientifically accepted parentage testing paid for by the person contesting the voluntary statement of paternity. If the court finds that at least 99 percent of the male population is excluded from the possibility of paternity by testing and the man who executed the voluntary statement of paternity is excluded from paternity, the bill requires the court to set aside the final order declaring paternity of the child and other orders rendered on the basis of the voluntary statement of paternity. The bill prohibits the court from setting aside a final order declaring a man to be a parent of a child if the man executed the voluntary statement knowing that he was not the father of the child or subsequently adopted the child. The bill requires the court to order the bureau of vital statistics of the Texas Department of Health to amend the birth record of a child if the court sets aside the final order declaring the man to be the parent of the child. The bill prohibits the court from requiring an obligee to repay child support paid by the man who executed the voluntary statement of paternity or from awarding damages to the man who executed the voluntary statement of paternity. The above provisions apply to suits commenced on or after September 1, 2001 and before September 1, 2003 and suits commenced before September 1, 2003 that are pending on or after September 1, 2004. These provisions expire on September 1, 2004. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 638 amends the original to remove provisions relating to the authorization of either parent to contest an acknowledgment of paternity by filing a suit affecting the parent-child relationship if a signed acknowledgment of paternity is filed with the bureau of vital statistics of the Texas Department of Health and after this filing the child's father has been excluded as the father of the child through scientifically accepted parentage testing. The substitute reinstates the provision providing that the party challenging the acknowledgment of paternity or the denial of paternity has the burden of proof. The substitute provides that regarding suits to contest acknowledgment or denial of paternity evidence that a man is excluded as the father of a child based on scientifically accepted parentage testing constitutes a material mistake of fact. The substitute authorizes a man who executed a voluntary statement of paternity before September 1, 1999, and who on the basis of that statement, is the subject of a final order declaring him to be a parent of the child to file a suit affecting the parent-child relationship to contest the statement on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. The bill sets forth provisions regarding court procedures in a suit filed by a man to contest a voluntary statement of paternity, and the setting aside of final orders declaring paternity of the man and related orders of the court.