BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 274
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Date of Hearing: July 3, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 274 (Leno) - As Amended: May 14, 2013
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:7 -
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill allows the courts, in appropriate cases, to find that
a child has more than two legal parents. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Provides that where two or more claims or presumptions of
parentage have been established, a court may find that a child
has more than two natural or adoptive parents if such a
finding serves the best interests of the child.
2)Provides that in any case where a child has more than two
legal parents, the court shall allocate custody and visitation
among the parents based on the best interest of the child,
including, but not limited to stability for the child.
3)Provides that child support obligations based on more than two
parents shall not be construed to require reprogramming of the
California Child Support Automation System, a change in the
guideline, or a revision in any Department of Child Support
Services' (DCSS) regulation, policy, procedure, form or
training material.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor costs to DCSS.
Because it is likely that there will be few cases where a
court finds that a child has more than two parents, DCSS
should not need to reprogram the statewide child support
automation system or make any changes to its uniform
guidelines.
SB 274
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2)Minor costs to the courts to the extent that this change
results in an increase in court time related to determining
child support obligations.
3)To the extent a court establishes more than two parents and
this bill allows a third parent to take custody of child who
would otherwise be placed in foster care, it would result in
minor savings to the child welfare system.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . This bill expands current law to allow that where
more than two people have established claims or presumptions
of parentage under existing California law, the court may
recognize more than two parents, but only if doing so is
required to protect the best interests of the child.
Courts already have to recognize more than two legal parents
in at least two situations. First, other states have
recognized that a child may have more than two legal parents.
Under the Full Faith and Credit Clause, California is required
to honor the acts and judicial proceedings of the courts of
these other states. Additionally, courts currently recognize
tribal customary adoption. Tribal customary adoption, in an
aim to protect both Native American children and their
interests in having tribal membership and legal connections to
the tribal community, provides that a parent's rights need not
be terminated upon adoption of the child. Accordingly, a
Native American child may have up to four legal parents - two
natural parents and two adoptive.
2)Paternity Presumption . Legal parenthood can be established in
a number of different ways. A man is conclusively presumed to
be the father of a child if he was married to, or in a
registered domestic partnership with, and cohabitating with
the child's mother, except as specified. A man who receives a
child into his home and holds the child out as his own is also
presumed a father of the child. A man who signs a voluntary
declaration of paternity is presumed to be the legal father of
a child. While the statutory scheme uses the word father, the
presumptions must be applied gender neutrally, so they apply
to mothers as well. (See, e.g., Elisa B. V. Superior Court
(2005) 37 Cal.4th 108.)
SB 274
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Because of the presumptions of paternity available under law,
it is possible in limited situations for more than two people
to claim parentage of a child. The Family Code provides that
where two or more presumptions arise that are in conflict with
each other, the presumption which on the facts is founded on
the weightier considerations of policy and logic controls. In
2011 a Court of Appeal held that when two or more people meet
the legal definition of a parent, a court may recognize only
two of them as legal parents. (In re M.C. (2011) 195
Cal.App.4th 197.)
3)Related Legislation . SB 1476 (Leno) 2012 was substantially
similar to this bill. SB 1476 was vetoed by Governor Brown,
with the following veto message:
"I am sympathetic to the author's interest in protecting
children. But I am troubled by the fact that some family law
specialists believe the bill's ambiguities may have unintended
consequences. I would like to take more time to consider all
of the implications of this change."
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081