ID H0214

Establishes that paternity proceedings must be filed before a child reaches the age of majority and prohibits courts from considering whether parents consented to adoption when determining the child's best interest.

Requires unmarried biological fathers to file paternity proceedings and register notice with the vital statistics unit prior to child placement for adoption or termination of the birth mother's parental rights, with limited exceptions for out-of-state fathers who made diligent efforts to locate the mother.

Allows putative fathers to revoke notice of intent to claim paternity and establishes a $10.00 filing fee for registration, with additional fees to cover search and certification costs.

Requires the Department of Health and Welfare to produce and distribute pamphlets and maintain public notices about the putative father registry in English and Spanish, including information on procedures and consequences of paternity acknowledgment.

Creates a misdemeanor offense for knowingly or intentionally falsely registering as a putative father and clarifies that failure to post registry notices does not relieve putative fathers of their obligations to timely file.