Senate Bill sb0408c1

    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 408

    By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Campbell





    590-2478-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to adoption; amending s.

  3         63.054, F.S.; requiring a petitioner in a

  4         proceeding for termination of parental rights

  5         to provide notice to the Office of Vital

  6         Statistics of the Department of Health;

  7         prohibiting the office from recording a claim

  8         of paternity after the date that a termination

  9         of parental rights is filed; requiring the

10         department to remove a registrant's name from

11         the Florida Putative Father Registry upon a

12         finding that the registrant has no parental

13         rights; amending s. 63.062, F.S.; modifying

14         consent required for adoption; amending s.

15         63.182, F.S.; providing that the interest that

16         entitles a person to notice of an adoption must

17         be direct, financial, and immediate; providing

18         an exception; providing that a showing of an

19         indirect, inconsequential, or contingent

20         interest is wholly inadequate; providing

21         construction and applicability; providing an

22         effective date.

23  

24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

25  

26         Section 1.  Subsections (1) and (5) of section 63.054,

27  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

28         63.054  Actions required by an unmarried biological

29  father to establish parental rights; Florida Putative Father

30  Registry.--

31  

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 408
    590-2478-06




 1         (1)  In order to preserve the right to notice and

 2  consent to an adoption under this chapter, an unmarried

 3  biological father must, as the "registrant," file a notarized

 4  claim of paternity form with the Florida Putative Father

 5  Registry maintained by the Office of Vital Statistics of the

 6  Department of Health and shall include therein confirmation of

 7  his willingness and intent to support the child for whom

 8  paternity is claimed in accordance with state law. The claim

 9  of paternity may be filed at any time prior to the child's

10  birth, but a claim of paternity may not be filed after the

11  date a petition is filed for termination of parental rights.

12  In each proceeding for termination of parental rights, the

13  petitioner shall submit to the Office of Vital Statistics of

14  the Department of Health a copy of the petition for

15  termination of parental rights. The Office of Vital Statistics

16  of the Department of Health shall not record a claim of

17  paternity after the date that a petition for termination of

18  parental rights is filed.

19         (5)  The registrant may, at any time prior to the birth

20  of the child for whom paternity is claimed, execute a

21  notarized written revocation of the claim of paternity

22  previously filed with the Florida Putative Father Registry,

23  and upon receipt of such revocation, the claim of paternity

24  shall be deemed null and void. If a court determines that a

25  registrant is not the father of the minor or has no parental

26  rights, the court shall order the Department of Health to

27  remove the registrant's name from the registry.

28         Section 2.  Subsection (4) of section 63.062, Florida

29  Statutes, is amended to read:

30         63.062  Persons required to consent to adoption;

31  affidavit of nonpaternity; waiver of venue.--

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 408
    590-2478-06




 1         (4)  Any person whose consent is required under

 2  paragraph (1)(b), or any other man, paragraphs (1)(c)-(e) may

 3  execute an irrevocable affidavit of nonpaternity in lieu of a

 4  consent under this section and by doing so waives notice to

 5  all court proceedings after the date of execution. An

 6  affidavit of nonpaternity must be executed as provided in s.

 7  63.082. The affidavit of nonpaternity may be executed prior to

 8  the birth of the child. The person executing the affidavit

 9  must receive disclosure under s. 63.085 prior to signing the

10  affidavit.

11         Section 3.  Section 63.182, Florida Statutes, is

12  amended to read:

13         63.182  Statute of repose.--

14         (1)  Notwithstanding s. 95.031 or s. 95.11 or any other

15  statute, an action or proceeding of any kind to vacate, set

16  aside, or otherwise nullify a judgment of adoption or an

17  underlying judgment terminating parental rights on any ground

18  may not be filed more than 1 year after entry of the judgment

19  terminating parental rights.

20         (2)(a)  Except for the specific persons expressly

21  entitled to be given notice of an adoption in accordance with

22  this chapter, the interest that entitles a person to notice of

23  an adoption must be direct, financial, and immediate and the

24  person must show that he or she will gain or lose by the

25  direct legal operation and effect of the judgment. A showing

26  of an indirect, inconsequential, or contingent interest is

27  wholly inadequate and a person with this indirect interest

28  lacks standing to set aside a judgment of adoption.

29         (b)  This subsection is remedial and shall apply to all

30  adoptions, including those in which a judgment of adoption has

31  already been entered.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 408
    590-2478-06




 1         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 2  law.

 3  

 4          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 5                         Senate Bill 408

 6                                 

 7  The committee substitute makes the following changes to the
    underlying bill:
 8  
    --   Removes almost all proposed revisions to the adoption
 9       code except for revisions relating to putative fathers
         and intervention in adoption proceedings;
10  
    --   Provides that the petitioner--rather than the adoption
11       entity, specifically--shall provide a copy of the
         petition for termination of parental rights to the
12       Department of Health when an action is filed;

13  --   Prohibits the Department of Health from recording a claim
         of paternity in the Florida Putative Father Registry
14       after the filing date of a submitted petition for
         termination of parental rights;
15  
    --   Provides that if a court determines that a registrant has
16       no parental rights, the court must order the Department
         of Health to remove the registrant's name from the
17       registry;

18  --   Retains provision in the bill that clarifies that a
         father under s. 63.062(1)(b), F.S., or any other man, may
19       execute an irrevocable affidavit of nonpaternity in lieu
         of providing consent for adoption;
20  
    --   Retains provision providing that, for a person to be
21       entitled to notice and to have the ability to intervene
         in an adoption proceeding, that person must have an
22       interest which is direct, financial, and immediate; and

23  --   Changes the effective date of the bill to upon becoming a
         law.
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