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HOUSE BILL NO. 411

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H0411........................................................by MR. SPEAKER
              Requested by: Department of Health and Welfare
PATERNITY - Amends existing law to clarify the procedures for
acknowledgment of paternity and to shorten the time within which an
acknowledgment may be rescinded.

01/12    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/12    Rpt prt - to Health/Wel

Bill Text

H0411

                                                                        
 ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
Fifty-fourth Legislature                 Second Regular Session - 1998
                                                                        

                             IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 411

                                      BY MR. SPEAKER
                      Requested by: Department of Health and Welfare

 1                                        AN ACT
 2    RELATING TO PATERNITY; AMENDING SECTION 7-1106, IDAHO CODE, TO  GOVERN  PROCE-
 3        DURE  FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PATERNITY AND RESCISSION OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND
 4        TO AUTHORIZE RULES, FORMS AND FEES; AMENDING SECTION 39-250,  IDAHO  CODE,
 5        TO  GOVERN  ISSUANCE  OF  A CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH WHEN AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF
 6        PATERNITY BY A PUTATIVE  FATHER  WHO  IS  NOT  THE  HUSBAND  IS  FILED  OR
 7        RESCINDED AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION; AND AMENDING SECTION 39-255,
 8        IDAHO CODE, TO CLARIFY PROCEDURES GOVERNING ESTABLISHMENT OF PATERNITY AND
 9        ENTERING THE NAME OF THE FATHER ON THE CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH.

10    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

11        SECTION  1.  That  Section  7-1106, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
12    amended to read as follows:

13        7-1106.   VOLUNTARY  ACKNOWLEDGMENT S -- APPROVAL BY COURT
14    -- EFFECT   OF PATERNITY . (1)   In  lieu  of  contested
15    paternity  proceedings,  a verified voluntary acknowledgment of parentage exe-
16    cuted jointly by the father and the mother of a child  may  be  filed  with  a
17    court  of  competent jurisdiction and proper venue. A voluntary acknowledgment
18    executed after July 1, 1994, shall be admissible as evidence of paternity  and
19    shall  create a rebuttable presumption of paternity. After filing, either par-
20    ent may, upon notice to the other parent, move the court for entry of an order
21    of filiation. Upon notice to both parents, the department of health  and  wel-
22    fare  may  move  the  court  for entry of an order of filiation on behalf of a
23    child for whom services are being provided under  Title  IV-D  of  the  social
24    security act. 
25          (2)    A voluntary acknowledgment of paternity  executed
26    after July 1, 1996,   for an Idaho birth  shall be admissible
27    as evidence of paternity and shall constitute a  legal  finding  of  paternity
28      subject  to      upon  the  filing of a signed and notarized
29    acknowledgment with the vital statistics unit of the department of health  and
30    welfare.  The  husband  of the mother of the child may execute an affidavit of
31    nonpaternity if it is accompanied by a voluntary acknowledgment  of  paternity
32    and  it  must  be  filed  with  the acknowledgment. Any party who executed the
33    acknowledgment or the affidavit of nonpaternity has  the right   of
34    any party executing the acknowledgment  to  rescind the acknowledg-
35    ment     file a notarized rescission with the vital statistics unit
36     within the earlier of:
37        (a)   Six (6) months, or less if so prescribed by federal law or reg-
38        ulation, of execution   Sixty (60) days after  the  acknowledg-
39        ment is filed ; or
40        (b)  The  date of an administrative or judicial proceeding relating to the
41        child, including a proceeding to establish a support order, in  which  the
42        signatory is a party.
43     Such rescission shall be effective upon filing with the vital statistics


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 1    unit. The vital statistics unit shall notify the other party or parties of the
 2    rescission by certified mail. 
 3        ( 3  2 )  After the period for  recision 
 4      rescission , an executed acknowledgment of paternity may be chal-
 5    lenged  only  in court ,   only  on the basis
 6    of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, with the burden of  proof  upon
 7    the  party challenging the acknowledgment. The legal responsibilities, includ-
 8    ing the obligation to pay child support,  or   of    any
 9    party to the acknowledgment shall not be stayed except for good cause shown.
10         (4)  Judicial or administrative proceedings are not required or per-
11    mitted to ratify an unchallenged acknowledgment of paternity.
12        (5)  An  executed  acknowledgment  of  paternity  shall  be filed with the
13    department  of health and welfare, bureau of vital statistics, however,  fail-
14    ure  to  file the acknowledgment shall not affect the validity or legal effect
15    of the acknowledgment.
16        (6)  The voluntary acknowledgment of parentage may also contain agreements
17    regarding custody, support and visitation. Such agreements, if approved by the
18    court, shall have the same force and effect as a judgment of the  court.  How-
19    ever,  the  court shall have the same power to investigate the facts regarding
20    custody, support and visitation prior to entering an order relative  to  those
21    issues  as it would have if no agreement had been filed; and provided further,
22    that an agreement regarding the issues of child support, custody,  or  visita-
23    tion  shall  be approved only if the court finds it to be in the best interest
24    of the child. 
25         (3)   The court may enter an order for the support of a  child
26    upon  execution  of  a voluntary acknowledgment without further proceedings to
27    establish paternity.
28         (4)  The director  shall  prescribe  forms  for  acknowledgment  and
29    rescission,  and  the  board  of health and welfare shall promulgate rules and
30    establish filing fees. 

31        SECTION 2.  That Section 39-250, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
32    amended to read as follows:

33        39-250.  COMPLETION  AND  CORRECTION OF CERTIFICATES -- PROCEDURE -- OTHER
34    ALTERATIONS PROHIBITED. A certificate of any event shall  be  completed,  cor-
35    rected,  amended or otherwise altered after being filed with the vital statis-
36    tics unit only in accordance with this chapter and regulations promulgated  by
37    the board.
38        (a)  A  certificate  that  is amended under the provisions of this section
39    shall be marked "amended," except as otherwise provided in this  section.  The
40    date  of amendment and a summary description of the evidence submitted in sup-
41    port of the amendment shall be filed with or made a part of  the  record.  The
42    department  shall  prescribe  by  regulation   rule  the
43    conditions under which additions or minor corrections may be made to  certifi-
44    cates  or  records within one (1) year after the date of the event without the
45    certificate being marked "amended."
46        (b)  Upon  written notarized  request  of  both  parents  and  
47    receipt of a notarized  voluntary  acknowledgment of paternity
48    ,     signed by both parents of a child born out of wedlock, 
49    the state registrar shall amend the certificate of birth to show  such  pater-
50    nity if paternity is not already shown on the certificate of birth, and change
51    the  child's  surname  to that of the father, if both parents so request. Such
52    certificate shall not be marked "amended."
53        (c)   Upon receipt of a notarized affidavit of nonpaternity signed by


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 1    the husband attesting that he is not the father, and a  notarized  acknowledg-
 2    ment  of paternity signed by both the mother and the putative father attesting
 3    that the putative father is the father, the state registrar  shall  amend  the
 4    certificate of birth to show such paternity, and change the child's surname to
 5    that of the putative father, if so requested by both parents. Such certificate
 6    shall not be marked "amended." 
 7          (d)   Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a court
 8    of competent jurisdiction changing the name of a person born in this state and
 9    upon request of such person or the parent(s), guardian, or  legal  representa-
10    tive, the state registrar shall amend the certificate of birth to show the new
11    name.
12        ( d  e )  When an applicant does not submit the min-
13    imum documentation required in the  regulations   rules 
14    for  amending  a vital record or when the state registrar has reasonable cause
15    to question the validity or adequacy of the applicant's  sworn  statements  or
16    the documentary evidence, and if the deficiencies are not corrected, the state
17    registrar  shall  not amend the vital record and shall advise the applicant of
18    the reason for this action and shall further advise the applicant of the right
19    to appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction.
20         (f)  If an acknowledgment of paternity or affidavit of  nonpaternity
21    is  rescinded  pursuant  to section 7-1106, Idaho Code, and the certificate of
22    birth had been prepared or amended in accordance with the acknowledgment,  the
23    state  registrar  shall  not  release  any  copies of the certificate of birth
24    except as required for a legal proceeding  until  a  court  order  determining
25    paternity  has been provided to the state registrar. If the mother was married
26    at the time of either conception or birth, or between  conception  and  birth,
27    the  court  shall  also  determine  if the husband is the father of the child.
28    

29        SECTION 3.  That Section 39-255, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
30    amended to read as follows:

31        39-255.  REGISTRATION  OF BIRTHS. A certificate of each birth which occurs
32    in this state shall be filed with the local registrar of the district in which
33    the birth occurs, or as otherwise directed by the state registrar, within fif-
34    teen (15) days of the date of birth. No certificate shall be  deemed  complete
35    until every item of information required shall have been provided or its omis-
36    sion satisfactorily accounted for.
37        (a)  When a birth occurs in an institution or en route thereto, the person
38    in  charge  of the institution or a designated representative shall obtain the
39    personal data, prepare the certificate, secure the  signatures  required,  and
40    file the certificate within fifteen (15) days of the date of birth. The physi-
41    cian  or  other  person  in  attendance  shall provide the medical information
42    required by the certificate and certify to the facts of birth. When the physi-
43    cian, or other person in attendance, is physically unable to  certify  to  the
44    facts  of  birth  within  the  time  prescribed in this section, the person in
45    charge of the institution may complete and sign the certificate.
46        (b)  When a birth occurs outside an institution, the certificate shall  be
47    prepared and filed by:
48        (1)  The  physician  or other person in attendance at or immediately after
49        such birth; or
50        (2)  When no physician or other person is present at or immediately  after
51        such  birth:  the  father,  or  in  the  event of the death, disability or
52        absence of the father, the mother; or in the event of the  death  or  dis-
53        ability  of the mother, the householder or owner of the premises where the


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 1        birth occurred.
 2        (c)  The father, mother or guardian shall verify the facts entered on  the
 3    certificate by their signature.
 4        (d)  When  a  birth occurs on a moving conveyance within the United States
 5    and the child is first removed from the conveyance in this  state,  the  birth
 6    shall  be  registered  in  this  state  and the place where the child is first
 7    removed shall be considered the place of birth.  When  a  birth  occurs  on  a
 8    moving  conveyance while in international air space or in a foreign country or
 9    its air space and the child is first  removed  from  the  conveyance  in  this
10    state,  the birth shall be registered in this state, but the certificate shall
11    show the actual place of birth insofar as can be determined.
12        (e) (1)  If the mother was married at the time  of  either  conception  or
13        birth,  or  between conception and birth, the name of the husband shall be
14        entered on the certificate as the father of the child, unless:
15             (i)   Paternity has been determined otherwise by a court of competent
16             jurisdiction; or
17             (ii)  The  husband executes an affidavit of nonpaternity attest-
18             ing that he is not the father, the  mother  executes  an  
19             affidavit     acknowledgment of paternity  attesting
20             that the  husband is not the father and that the  putative
21             father is the father, and the putative father executes an  affi-
22             davit   acknowledgment of paternity  attesting  that
23             he is the father , and the husband executes an affidavit attest-
24             ing  that  he  is  not  the father . Affidavits may be joint or
25             individual or a combination thereof,  and  each  signature  shall  be
26             individually  notarized.  In such event, the putative father shall be
27             shown as the father on the certificate.
28        (2)  If the mother was not married at the time  of  either  conception  or
29        birth,  or  between conception and birth, the name of the father shall not
30        be entered on the certificate without  the written notarized  consent
31        of  the  mother  and  the  person to be named as the father   a
32        notarized voluntary acknowledgment of paternity  ,  in  which  case,
33        upon    written notarized request of both parents   filing
34        of the acknowledgment of paternity , the surname of the child  
35        shall   may  be entered on the certificate as that of the
36        father.
37        (3)  In any case in which paternity of a child is determined by a court of
38        competent  jurisdiction,  the  name of the father and surname of the child
39        shall be entered on the certificate of birth in accordance with the  find-
40        ing and order of the court.
41        (4)  If  the  father  is  not  named on the certificate of birth, no other
42        information about the father shall be entered on the certificate.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact

    





                            STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
    
                                  RS07329
    
    To clarify the paternity acknowledgment procedures and shorten the time for filing a
    
    rescission.
    
    FISCAL IMPACT
    
    .
    
    None. Vital Statistics will charge a fee to file the rescission and provide notice to the other
    
    parties.
    
    CONTACT
    Name: JoAn Silva
    Agency: Department of Health and Welfare
    Phone: 334-6535
    
    Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Impact
    
    H 411