House Bill 499 Summary

• Allows paternity proceedings to be instituted at any time after a child's birth and before the child reaches the age of majority, applicable retroactively to all dependent children regardless of parental marital status.

• Requires unmarried biological fathers to demonstrate timely and full commitment to parental responsibilities, including financial support and establishing legal paternity, to acquire constitutional protection of their parental interests.

• Mandates unmarried mothers disclose the biological father's name and address when possible to enable him to protect his rights, while preserving the mother's privacy regarding her pregnancy and adoption plan vis-à-vis the general public.

• Establishes procedures requiring actual notice of birth and intended adoption proceedings to unmarried biological fathers, with thirty-day deadlines to file paternity claims, establish a substantial relationship with the child, or provide financial support depending on the child's age at adoption placement.

• Creates a putative father registry allowing unmarried biological fathers to file notice of commencement of paternity proceedings online or with the vital statistics unit, with good faith effort deemed sufficient compliance if the mother or adoption entity engaged in conduct or misrepresentation that prevented compliance.