04/28/1994 04:20 PM Senate JUD

 SENATOR TAYLOR brought  CSSSHB 128(FIN)  (EARLY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF            
 PATERNITY) before the committee as the next order of business.                
                                                                               
 RENEE CHATMAN, staff to Representative Bettye Davis, stated non               
 support of children has become a national epidemic, with one-fourth           
 of the children in the United States now living with a single                 
 parent, and an estimated 60 percent spending at least part of their           
 childhood in a single parent home.  In almost half of these cases,            
 the absent parent does not pay child support.  Many of these                  
 children are born out of wedlock and paternity is established in              
 only 30 percent of such cases.                                                
                                                                               
 HB 128 requires that the state prepare a paternity acknowledgement            
 form to be used at the time of birth.  The form is signed by both             
 parents; it will list the father's name and social security number;           
 and it will have to be notarized by a notary public.  The bill also           
 lays out specific responsibilities of hospitals or midwives should            
 the birth occur outside a hospital setting.  In addition, the State           
 of Alaska is required to give full faith and credit to a                      
 determination of paternity made by another state regardless of the            
 method in which the paternity is established.  Another component of           
 the bill provides for procedures to allow a default order to be               
 entered in contested paternity cases upon showing that process was            
 served on the defendant in accordance with state law.                         
                                                                               
 Ms. Chatman pointed out that as of December 1993, there were 39,969           
 cases pending in the Alaska Child Support Enforcement Division, and           
 7,192 of those cases are directly related to paternity                        
 verification.                                                                 
                                                                               
 SENATOR HALFORD asked if there is an acknowledgement of paternity,            
 is there any way that later on this person can get a blood test.              
 PHIL PETRI, Operations Manager, Child Support Enforcement Division,           
 clarified that the presumptive evidence provided for in the bill              
 brings it in line with current state statute, AS 25.020.050, which            
 states that the punitive father acknowledges in writing being a               
 parent of a child.  He added that they still have the right to go             
 into court, they still have the right to get blood tests, and the             
 judge can overturn it.                                                        
                                                                               
 There was general discussion on the use of the terms "conclusive              
 evidence" and "presumptive evidence."  SENATOR TAYLOR stated he               
 thought that "presumptive" was more than a sufficient standard to             
 accomplish the purpose.                                                       
                                                                               
 SENATOR LITTLE moved that CSSSHB 128(FIN) be passed out of                    
 committee with individual recommendations.  Hearing no objection,             
 it was so ordered.