House Amendment 8160
PAG LIN
1 1 Amend House File 2465 as follows:
1 2 #1. Page 11, after line 3 by inserting:
1 3 <Sec. ___. Section 252F.3, subsection 5, Code
1 4 Supplement 2009, is amended to read as follows:
1 5 5. If a timely written response and request for a
1 6 court hearing is not received by the unit and a party
1 7 does not deny paternity, the administrator shall enter
1 8 an order in accordance with section 252F.4.
1 9 6. a. If a party contests the establishment of
1 10 paternity, the party shall submit, within twenty
1 11 days of service of the notice on the party under
1 12 subsection 1, a written statement contesting paternity
1 13 establishment to the unit. Upon receipt of a written
1 14 challenge of paternity establishment, or upon
1 15 initiation by the unit, the administrator shall enter
1 16 ex parte administrative orders requiring the mother,
1 17 child or children involved, and the putative father
1 18 to submit to paternity testing. Either the mother
1 19 or putative father may contest paternity under this
1 20 chapter.
1 21 b. The orders shall be filed with the clerk of the
1 22 district court in the county where the notice was filed
1 23 and have the same force and effect as a court order for
1 24 paternity testing.
1 25 c. The unit shall issue copies of the respective
1 26 administrative orders for paternity testing to the
1 27 mother and putative father in person, or by regular
1 28 mail to the last known address of each, or if
1 29 applicable, to the last known address of the attorney
1 30 for each.
1 31 d. If a paternity test is ordered under this
1 32 section, the administrator shall direct that inherited
1 33 characteristics be analyzed and interpreted, and shall
1 34 appoint an expert qualified as an examiner of genetic
1 35 markers to analyze and interpret the results. The
1 36 test shall be of a type generally acknowledged as
1 37 reliable by accreditation entities designated by the
1 38 secretary of the United States department of health and
1 39 human services and shall be performed by a laboratory
1 40 approved by an accreditation entity.
1 41 e. The party contesting paternity shall be provided
1 42 one opportunity to reschedule the paternity testing
1 43 appointment if the testing is rescheduled prior to the
1 44 date of the originally scheduled appointment.
1 45 f. An original copy of the test results shall
1 46 be filed with the clerk of the district court in the
1 47 county where the notice was filed. The child support
1 48 recovery unit shall issue a copy of the filed test
1 49 results to each party in person, or by regular mail
1 50 to the last known address of each, or if applicable,
2 1 to the last known address of the attorney for each.
2 2 However, if the action is the result of a request from
2 3 a foreign jurisdiction, the unit shall issue a copy of
2 4 the results to the initiating agency in that foreign
2 5 jurisdiction.
2 6 g. Verified documentation of the chain of custody
2 7 of the blood or genetic specimens is competent evidence
2 8 to establish the chain of custody. The testimony of
2 9 the appointed expert is not required. A verified
2 10 expert's report of test results which indicate a
2 11 statistical probability of paternity is sufficient
2 12 authenticity of the expert's conclusion.
2 13 h. A verified expert's report shall be admitted as
2 14 evidence to establish administrative paternity, and,
2 15 if a court hearing is scheduled to resolve the issue
2 16 of paternity, shall be admitted as evidence and is
2 17 admissible at trial.
2 18 i. If the verified expert concludes that the test
2 19 results show that the putative father is not excluded
2 20 and that the probability of the putative father's
2 21 paternity is ninety=five percent or higher, there shall
2 22 be a rebuttable presumption that the putative father
2 23 is the biological father, and the evidence shall be
2 24 sufficient as a basis for administrative establishment
2 25 of paternity.
2 26 (1) In order to challenge the presumption of
2 27 paternity, a party shall file a written notice of the
2 28 challenge with the district court within twenty days
2 29 from the date the paternity test results are issued or
2 30 mailed to all parties by the unit. Any challenge to
2 31 a presumption of paternity resulting from paternity
2 32 tests, or to paternity test results filed after
2 33 the lapse of the twenty=day time frame shall not be
2 34 accepted or admissible by the unit or the court.
2 35 (2) A copy of the notice challenging the
2 36 presumption of paternity shall be provided to any other
2 37 party in person, or by mailing the notice to the last
2 38 known address of each party, or if applicable, to the
2 39 last known address of each party's attorney.
2 40 (3) The party challenging the presumption of
2 41 paternity has the burden of proving that the putative
2 42 father is not the father of the child.
2 43 (4) The presumption of paternity may be rebutted
2 44 only by clear and convincing evidence.
2 45 j. If the verified expert concludes that the
2 46 test results indicate that the putative father
2 47 is not excluded and that the probability of the
2 48 putative father's paternity is less than ninety=five
2 49 percent, the administrator shall order a subsequent
2 50 administrative paternity test or certify the case to
3 1 the district court for resolution in accordance with
3 2 the procedures and time frames specified in paragraph
3 3 "i" and section 252F.5.
3 4 k. If the results of the test or the verified
3 5 expert's analysis are timely challenged as provided in
3 6 this subsection, the administrator, upon the request
3 7 of a party and advance payment by the contestant or
3 8 upon the unit's own initiative, shall order that an
3 9 additional test be performed by the same laboratory or
3 10 an independent laboratory. If the party requesting
3 11 additional testing does not advance payment, the
3 12 administrator shall certify the case to the district
3 13 court in accordance with paragraph "i" and section
3 14 252F.5.
3 15 l. When a subsequent paternity test is conducted,
3 16 the time frames in this chapter associated with
3 17 paternity tests shall apply to the most recently
3 18 completed test.
3 19 m. If the paternity test results exclude the
3 20 putative father as a potential biological father of
3 21 the child or children, and additional tests are not
3 22 requested by either party or conducted on the unit's
3 23 initiative, or if additional tests exclude the putative
3 24 father as a potential biological father, the unit shall
3 25 withdraw its action against the putative father and
3 26 shall file a notice of the withdrawal with the clerk
3 27 of the district court, and shall provide a copy of the
3 28 notice to each party in person, or by regular mail sent
3 29 to each party's last known address, or if applicable,
3 30 the last known address of the party's attorney.
3 31 n. Except as provided in paragraph "k", the unit
3 32 shall advance the costs of genetic testing. If
3 33 paternity is established and paternity testing was
3 34 conducted, the unit shall enter an order or, if the
3 35 action proceeded to a court hearing, request that the
3 36 court enter a judgment for the costs of the paternity
3 37 tests consistent with applicable federal law. In a
3 38 proceeding under this chapter, a copy of a bill for
3 39 genetic testing shall be admitted as evidence without
3 40 requiring third=party foundation testimony and shall
3 41 constitute prima facie evidence of the amount incurred
3 42 for genetic testing.>
3 43 #2. By renumbering as necessary.
COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARYSWAIM of Davis, Chairperson
HF2465.1225 (2) 83
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