Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 147 (2017GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Hillyard, L.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/20/2017

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• allows the enforcement of child support obligations against all parents;
• states that a presumption of maternity shall be determined in the same manner as a presumption of paternity; and
• addresses the presumption of parentage.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

UNIFORM PARENTAGE ACT AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Lyle W. Hillyard
House Sponsor: 
V. Lowry Snow
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill allows the enforcement of child support obligations against all parents.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ allows the enforcement of child support obligations against all parents;
▸ states that a presumption of maternity shall be determined in the same manner as a
presumption of paternity; and
▸ addresses the presumption of parentage.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
62A-11-307.1
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 1997, Chapters 174 and 232
78B-6-120
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 458
78B-15-201
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3
78B-15-607
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
62A-11-307.1
 is amended to read:
62A-11-307.1.
Collection directly from responsible parent.
(1) The office may issue or modify an order under Section 
62A-11-304.2
 and collect
under this part directly from a responsible parent if the procedural requirements of applicable
law have been met and if public assistance is provided on behalf of that parent's dependent
child. The direct right to issue an order under this Subsection (1) is independent of and in
addition to the right derived from that assigned under Section 
35A-3-108
.
(2) An order issuing or modifying a support obligation under Subsection (1), issued
while public assistance was being provided for a dependent child, remains in effect and may be
enforced by the office under Section 
62A-11-306.1
 after provision of public assistance ceases.
(3) (a) The office may issue or modify an administrative order, subject to the
procedural requirements of applicable law, that requires that obligee to pay to the office
assigned support that an obligee receives and retains in violation of Subsection
62A-11-307.2
(4) and may reduce to judgment any unpaid balance due.
(b) The office may collect the judgment debt in the same manner as it collects any
judgment for past-due support owed by an obligor.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Office of Recovery Services shall
have full standing and authority to establish and enforce child support obligations against an
alleged parent currently or formerly in a same-sex marriage on the same terms as the Office of
Recovery Services' authority against other mothers and fathers.
Section 2. Section 
78B-6-120
 is amended to read:
78B-6-120.
Necessary consent to adoption or relinquishment for adoption.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), consent to adoption of a child, or
relinquishment of a child for adoption, is required from:
(a) the adoptee, if the adoptee is more than 12 years of age, unless the adoptee does not
have the mental capacity to consent;
(b) a man 
or woman
 who:
(i) by operation of law under Section 
78B-15-204
, is recognized as the father 
or mother
of the proposed adoptee, unless:
(A) the presumption is rebutted under Section 
78B-15-607
; or
(B) the man 
or woman
 was not married to the mother of the proposed adoptee until
after the mother consented to adoption, or relinquishment for adoption, of the proposed
adoptee; or
(ii) is the father of the adoptee by a previous legal adoption;
(c) the mother of the adoptee;
(d) a biological parent who has been adjudicated to be the child's biological father by a
court of competent jurisdiction prior to the mother's execution of consent to adoption or her
relinquishment of the child for adoption;
(e) consistent with Subsection (3), a biological parent who has executed and filed a
voluntary declaration of paternity with the state registrar of vital statistics within the
Department of Health in accordance with Title 78B, Chapter 15, Utah Uniform Parentage Act,
prior to the mother's execution of consent to adoption or her relinquishment of the child for
adoption;
(f) an unmarried biological father, of an adoptee, whose consent is not required under
Subsection (1)(d) or (1)(e), only if he fully and strictly complies with the requirements of
Sections 
78B-6-121
 and 
78B-6-122
; and
(g) the person or agency to whom an adoptee has been relinquished and that is placing
the child for adoption.
(2) (a) The consent of a person described in Subsections (1)(b) through (g) is not
required if the adoptee is 18 years of age or older.
(b) The consent of a person described in Subsections (1)(b) through (f) is not required
if the person's parental rights relating to the adoptee have been terminated.
(3) For purposes of Subsection (1)(e), a voluntary declaration of paternity is considered
filed when it is entered into a database that:
(a) can be accessed by the Department of Health; and
(b) is designated by the state registrar of vital statistics as the official database for
voluntary declarations of paternity.
Section 3. Section 
78B-15-201
 is amended to read:
78B-15-201.
Establishment of parent-child relationship.
(1) 
(a)
 The mother-child relationship is established between a woman and a child by:
[
(a)
] 
(i)
 the woman's having given birth to the child, except as otherwise provided in
Part 8, Gestational Agreement;
[
(b)
] 
(ii)
 an adjudication of the woman's maternity;
[
(c)
] 
(iii)
 adoption of the child by the woman; [
or
]
[
(d)
] 
(iv)
 an adjudication confirming the woman as a parent of a child born to a
gestational mother if the agreement was validated under Part 8, Gestational Agreement, or is
enforceable under other law[
.
]
; or
(v) an unrebutted presumption of maternity of the child established in the same manner
as under Section 
78B-15-204
.
(b) In this chapter, the presumption of maternity shall be treated the same as a
presumption of paternity as established in Subsection 
78B-15-201
(2)(a).
(2) The father-child relationship is established between a man and a child by:
(a) an unrebutted presumption of the man's paternity of the child under Section
78B-15-204
;
(b) an effective declaration of paternity by the man under Part 3, Voluntary Declaration
of Paternity Act, unless the declaration has been rescinded or successfully challenged;
(c) an adjudication of the man's paternity;
(d) adoption of the child by the man;
(e) the man having consented to assisted reproduction by a woman under Part 7,
Assisted Reproduction, which resulted in the birth of the child; or
(f) an adjudication confirming the man as a parent of a child born to a gestational
mother if the agreement was validated under Part 8, Gestational Agreement, or is enforceable
under other law.
Section 4. Section 
78B-15-607
 is amended to read:
78B-15-607.
Limitation -- Child having presumed father.
(1) Paternity of a child conceived or born during a marriage with a presumed father
,
 as
described in Subsection 
78B-15-204
(1)(a), (b), or (c), may be raised by the presumed father
[
or
]
,
 the mother
, or a support enforcement agency
 at any time [
prior to
] 
before
 filing an action
for divorce or in the pleadings at the time of the divorce of the parents.
(a) If the issue is raised prior to the adjudication, genetic testing may be ordered by the
tribunal in accordance with Section 
78B-15-608
. Failure of the mother of the child to appear
for testing may result in an order allowing a motherless calculation of paternity. Failure of the
mother to make the child available may not result in a determination that the presumed father is
not the father, but shall allow for appropriate proceedings to compel the cooperation of the
mother. If the question of paternity has been raised in the pleadings in a divorce and the
tribunal addresses the issue and enters an order, the parties are estopped from raising the issue
again, and the order of the tribunal may not be challenged on the basis of material mistake of
fact.
(b) If the presumed father seeks to rebut the presumption of paternity, then denial of a
motion seeking an order for genetic testing or a decision to disregard genetic test results shall
be based on a preponderance of the evidence.
(c) If the mother seeks to rebut the presumption of paternity, the mother has the burden
to show by a preponderance of the evidence that it would be in the best interests of the child to
disestablish the parent-child relationship.
(d) If a support enforcement agency seeks to rebut the presumption of parentage and
the presumptive parent opposes the rebuttal, the agency's request shall be denied. Otherwise,
the denial of the agency's motion seeking an order for genetic testing or a decision to disregard
genetic test results shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence, taking into account the
best interests of the child.
(2) For the presumption outside of marriage described in Subsection 
78B-15-204
(1)(d),
the presumption may be rebutted at any time if the tribunal determines that the presumed father
and the mother of the child neither cohabited nor engaged in sexual intercourse with each other
during the probable time of conception.
(3) The presumption may be rebutted by:
(a) genetic test results that exclude the presumed father;
(b) genetic test results that rebuttably identify another man as the father in accordance
with Section 
78B-15-505
;
(c) evidence that the presumed father and the mother of the child neither cohabited nor
engaged in sexual intercourse with each other during the probable time of conception; or
(d) an adjudication under this part.
(4) There is no presumption to rebut if the presumed father was properly served and
there has been a final adjudication of the issue.