78R833 MCK-D

By:  Flores                                                       H.B. No. 162



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the requirements for a petition to change the name of an 
adult. 
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 45.102(a), Family Code, is amended to 
read as follows:   
	(a)  A petition to change the name of an adult must be 
verified and include: 
		(1)  the present name and place of residence of the 
petitioner;             
		(2)  the full name requested for the petitioner;                              
		(3)  the reason the change in name is requested;  [and]      
		(4)  whether the petitioner has been the subject of a 
final felony conviction; and
		(5)  a legible and complete set of the petitioner's 
fingerprints on a fingerprint card format acceptable to the 
Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and 
applies only to a petition requesting a change of name filed on or 
after that date.  A petition requesting a change of name filed 
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in 
effect on the date the petition is filed, and the former law is 
continued in effect for that purpose.