PRINTER'S NO. 4002
No. 2701 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY HENNESSEY, GEIST, WILT, STERN, BELFANTI, CAPPELLI,
CREIGHTON, CRUZ, DeLUCA, FAIRCHILD, GRUCELA, HERSHEY, JAMES,
KIRKLAND, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER, MAHER, MANN, McCALL, R. MILLER,
NAILOR, NICKOL, PETRARCA, PICKETT, PISTELLA, READSHAW,
RUBLEY, SCHRODER, SCRIMENTI, SOLOBAY, TIGUE, WATSON,
E. Z. TAYLOR, FEESE, SAYLOR, HARHAI AND SURRA, JUNE 11, 2002
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 11, 2002
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, further providing for tests to
3 determine paternity.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 5104 heading and (a), (b), (c), (d) and
7 (g) of Title 23 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are
8 amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to
9 read:
10 § 5104. [Blood tests] Tests to determine paternity.
11 (a) [Short title of section.--This section shall be known
12 and may be cited as the Uniform Act on Blood Tests to Determine
13 Paternity.] Testing.--A test to determine paternity shall be
14 conducted in accordance with this section. The test shall be
15 conducted upon blood, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or both.
16 (b) Scope of section.--
1 (1) Civil matters.--This section shall apply to all
2 civil matters.
3 (2) Criminal proceedings.--This section shall apply to
4 all criminal proceedings subject to the following limitations
5 and provisions:
6 (i) An order for the tests shall be made only upon
7 application of a party or on the initiative of the court.
8 (ii) The compensation of the experts shall be paid
9 by the party requesting the [blood test] tests or by the
10 county, as the court shall direct.
11 (iii) The court may direct a verdict of acquittal
12 upon the conclusions of all the experts under subsection
13 (f). Otherwise, the case shall be submitted for
14 determination upon all the evidence.
15 (iv) The refusal of a defendant to submit to the
16 tests may not be used in evidence against the defendant.
17 (c) Authority for test.--In any matter subject to this
18 section in which paternity, parentage or identity of a child is
19 a relevant fact, the court, upon its own initiative or upon
20 suggestion made by or on behalf of any person whose blood or DNA
21 is involved, may or, upon motion of any party to the action made
22 at a time so as not to delay the proceedings unduly, shall order
23 the mother, child and alleged father to submit to blood tests,
24 DNA tests or both. If any party refuses to submit to the tests,
25 the court may resolve the question of paternity, parentage or
26 identity of a child against the party or enforce its order if
27 the rights of others and the interests of justice so require.
28 (d) Selection of experts.--The tests shall be made by
29 experts qualified as examiners of blood types or DNA
30 identification, who shall be appointed by the court. The experts
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1 shall be called by the court as witnesses to testify to their
2 findings and shall be subject to cross-examination by the
3 parties. Any party or person at whose suggestion the tests have
4 been ordered may demand that other experts qualified as
5 examiners of blood types or DNA identification perform
6 independent tests under order of court, the results of which may
7 be offered in evidence. The number and qualifications of experts
8 shall be determined by the court.
9 * * *
10 [(g) Effect on presumption of legitimacy.--The presumption
11 of legitimacy of a child born during wedlock is overcome if the
12 court finds that the conclusions of all the experts as disclosed
13 by the evidence based upon the tests show that the husband is
14 not the father of the child.]
15 (h) Effect on presumption of paternity.--The presumption of
16 paternity of a child born during wedlock as recognized prior to
17 the effective date of this subsection in this Commonwealth is
18 reaffirmed and made subject to the following provisions:
19 (1) Upon petition for testing in an action in which
20 paternity of a child is an issue filed not later than five
21 years after the child's birth, the court shall permit testing
22 to rebut the presumption of paternity provided that the
23 overall interests of justice, including the best interests of
24 the child, would not be unreasonably harmed and:
25 (i) the parties subject to the presumption are
26 divorced or irreconcilably separated, and one or both
27 assert reasonable grounds to believe that application of
28 the presumption is likely to result in an incorrect
29 paternity determination;
30 (ii) the parties subject to the presumption mutually
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1 agree to submit to and be bound by the testing; or
2 (iii) if either party subject to the presumption has
3 voluntarily submitted to testing or permitted the child
4 to be subject to testing, including prenatal testing, the
5 court may allow the test results to be reviewed by
6 experts and the experts' conclusions reported to the
7 court or order the parties to submit to testing pursuant
8 to subsection (c).
9 (2) No party who requests testing under this section
10 shall be required to show clear and convincing evidence of
11 the husband's inability to procreate or lack of access to the
12 mother.
13 (3) A party requesting testing under this section shall
14 be required to bear all testing and court costs if the court
15 finds that the conclusions of all the experts as disclosed by
16 the evidence based upon the tests show that the husband is
17 the father of the child.
18 (4) The presumption of paternity is overcome if the
19 court finds that the conclusions of all the experts as
20 disclosed by the evidence based upon the tests show that the
21 husband is not the father of the child.
22 (5) The principle of paternity by estoppel shall not be
23 applied where testing is sought under this section and the
24 court finds that not applying the principle of paternity by
25 estoppel is in the best interests of the child.
26 Section 2. The amendment of 23 Pa.C.S. § 5104 shall apply
27 retroactively to June 1, 1999.
28 Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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