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.