By Jackson                                            S.B. No. 1000
         77R8197 MCK-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the recognition of foreign adoptions and the issuance
 1-3     of a certificate of foreign birth.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 162, Family Code, is
 1-6     amended by adding Section 162.023 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 162.023.  ADOPTION ORDER FROM FOREIGN COUNTRY.  (a)
 1-8     Except as otherwise provided by federal law, an adoption order
 1-9     rendered under due process of law by a court of a foreign country
1-10     shall be accorded full faith and credit by the courts of this state
1-11     and enforced as if the order were rendered by a court in this
1-12     state.
1-13           (b)  A Texas resident who adopts a child in a foreign country
1-14     must register the order in this state.  A petition for registration
1-15     of a foreign adoption order may be combined with a petition for a
1-16     name change under Chapter 45.  If the court finds that the foreign
1-17     adoption order meets the requirements of Subsection (a), the court
1-18     shall order the state registrar to:
1-19                 (1)  register the order under Chapter 192, Health and
1-20     Safety Code; and
1-21                 (2)  issue a certificate of foreign birth for the child
1-22     under Section 192.0095, Health and Safety Code.
1-23           SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Health and Safety
1-24     Code, is amended by adding Section 192.0095 to read as follows:
 2-1           Sec. 192.0095.  CERTIFICATE OF FOREIGN BIRTH.  (a)  On order
 2-2     of a court, the state registrar shall prepare and register a
 2-3     certificate of foreign birth for an adoptee born in a foreign
 2-4     country who is not a citizen of the United States and whose
 2-5     judgment of adoption was entered by a court of this state.
 2-6           (b)  The certificate shall be based on the report or
 2-7     certified copy of the adoption decree and evidence of the date and
 2-8     place of the adoptee's birth.
 2-9           (c)  The certificate must be labeled "Certificate of Foreign
2-10     Birth" and show the country and date of birth of the adoptee.   The
2-11     certificate must include a statement that the certificate is not
2-12     evidence of United States citizenship.
2-13           (d)  If the adoptee was born in a foreign country but was a
2-14     citizen of the United States at the time of birth, the department
2-15     may not prepare a certificate of foreign birth for the child.  The
2-16     department shall notify the adoptive parents, or the adoptee if of
2-17     legal age, of the procedure for obtaining a revised birth
2-18     certificate through the United States Department of State.
2-19           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.