S.B. 189 Summary

• Eliminates acknowledgments of paternity as a legal mechanism for establishing parent-child relationships; removes all statutory provisions authorizing voluntary acknowledgment of paternity procedures.

• Restructures paternity establishment to occur exclusively through court proceedings under Chapter 3111 or administrative determinations, removing the alternative pathway of signed acknowledgments.

• Renumbers and reorganizes adoption law sections (3111.21, 3111.22, 3111.23), consolidating and clarifying consent requirements and procedures for child adoption.

• Updates references throughout the Revised Code to reflect elimination of acknowledgment-based paternity determinations, affecting child support, custody, birth certificate, and retirement benefit withholding provisions.

• Repeals multiple outdated sections related to acknowledgment of paternity procedures (sections 3111.21-3111.31, 3111.34, 3111.44, 3111.74, 2151.232, and 3705.091).