78R1644 MCK-D

By:  Wilson                                                       H.B. No. 993



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a proceeding to vacate an order of paternity or child 
support.  
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 160, Family Code, is amended  by adding 
Subchapter I to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER I.  PROCEEDINGS TO VACATE COURT ORDER
	Sec. 160.751.  MOTION TO VACATE COURT ORDER.  (a)  A person 
may file a motion requesting the court to vacate a court order that 
states that the person is the father of a child identified in the 
motion or that requires the person to pay child support for the 
child.  The motion may be filed at any time.
	(b)  The motion to vacate a court order must be accompanied 
by a certified copy of the court order to be vacated.
	Sec. 160.752.  GENETIC TESTING.  (a)  In a proceeding under 
this subchapter, the court, on application by or on behalf of either 
party, or on its own motion, shall order the child, the child's 
mother, and the person filing the motion to submit to genetic 
testing not later than the 30th day after the date the order 
requiring genetic testing is issued.
	(b)  Genetic testing under this section is subject to the 
same procedures as genetic testing ordered under Subchapter F.
	Sec. 160.753.  GROUNDS FOR VACATING ORDER.  (a)  Except as 
otherwise provided by this section, the court shall vacate an order 
described by Section 160.751 if the court finds that the person who 
filed the motion to vacate:
		(1)  is not the child's adoptive parent;                               
		(2)  did not consent to assisted reproduction by his 
wife under Subchapter H; and
		(3)  based on genetic testing, is not rebuttably 
identified as the father of the child in accordance with Section 
160.505.
	(b)  The court may not grant a motion under this section if 
the court finds that:
		(1)  the person who filed the motion knew, more than six 
months before the date the person filed the motion, of genetic 
testing results that excluded the person as the child's parent 
unless the person shows good cause for the delay; or
		(2)  at any time, the person knew that he was not the 
child's biological parent, and the person:
			(A)  acknowledged paternity of the child in 
writing;                
			(B)  consented to his name being entered as the 
child's biological father on the child's birth certificate;
			(C)  was determined to be the child's father in a 
proceeding to determine parentage;
			(D)  filed an acknowledgment of paternity with the 
bureau of vital statistics; or
			(E)  otherwise admitted that he is, or 
acknowledges himself as, the child's biological father.
	Sec. 160.754.  POSSESSION ORDER; CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGE.  
(a) If the court vacates a parentage or support order in a 
proceeding under this subchapter and the moving party is also 
entitled under an order to the possession of or access to the child 
who is the subject of the vacated order, the court shall determine 
whether the possession order should be terminated, modified, or 
continued based on the best interest of the child.
	(b)  If the court vacates a child support order under this 
subchapter and an arrearage exists under that child support order, 
the court may retroactively reduce the amount of the arrearage to 
zero.  If the court eliminates an arrearage under this subsection, 
the court shall issue an order stating that the child support 
obligation including any arrearage is terminated.
	Sec. 160.755.  COURT COSTS.  If the court does not grant the 
motion to vacate a court order under this subchapter, the court 
shall order the moving party to pay the costs of the action and each 
opposing party's reasonable attorney's fees.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.