AN ACT CONCERNING ACCESS TO BIRTH CERTIFICATES BY ADOPTED PERSONS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 45a-751b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2014):

(a) [If] Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, if parental rights were terminated on or after October 1, 1995, any information tending to identify the adult adopted or adoptable person, a biological parent, including a person claiming to be the father who was not a party to the proceedings for the termination of parental rights, or adult biological sibling shall not be disclosed unless written consent is obtained from the person whose identity is being requested.

(b) (1) [If] Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, if parental rights were terminated on or before September 30, 1995, (A) any information tending to identify the biological parents, including a person claiming to be the father who was not a party to the proceedings for the termination of parental rights, shall not be disclosed unless written consent is obtained from each biological parent who was party to such proceedings, except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, and (B) identifying information shall not be disclosed to a biological parent, including a person claiming to be the father who was not a party to the proceedings for the termination of parental rights, without the written consent of each biological parent who was a party to such proceedings and the consent of the adult adopted or adoptable person whose identity is being requested.

(2) [On] Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, on and after October 1, 2009, information tending to identify a biological parent who is subject to this subsection may be disclosed to an authorized applicant if the biological parent whose information is to be disclosed provides written consent, provided the child-placing agency or department attempts to determine the whereabouts of the other biological parent and obtain written consent from such other biological parent to permit disclosure of such information in the manner permitted under subdivision (1) of this subsection. If such other biological parent cannot be located or does not provide such written consent, information tending to identify the biological parent who has provided written consent may be disclosed to an authorized applicant, provided: (A) Information tending to identify the other biological parent shall not be disclosed without the written consent of the other biological parent, and (B) the biological parent whose information is to be disclosed signs an affidavit that such parent shall not disclose any information tending to identify the other biological parent without the written consent of the other biological parent.

(c) If the whereabouts of any person whose identity is being sought are unknown, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem pursuant to subsection (c) of section 45a-753.

(d) When the authorized applicant requesting identifying information has contact with a biological sibling who is a minor, identifying information shall not be disclosed unless consent is obtained from the adoptive parents or guardian or guardian ad litem of the sibling.

(e) Any information tending to identify any adult relative other than a biological parent shall not be disclosed unless written consent is obtained from such adult relative. The consent of any biological parents common to the person making the request and the person to be identified shall be required unless (1) the parental rights of such parents have been terminated and not reinstated, guardianship has been removed and not reinstated or custody has been removed and not reinstated with respect to such adult relative, or (2) the adoption was finalized on or after June 12, 1984. No consent shall be required if the person to be identified is deceased. If the person to be identified is deceased, the information that may be released shall be limited as provided in subsection (e) of section 45a-753.

(f) Any adult person for whom there is only removal of custody or removal of guardianship as specified in subsection (b) of section 45a-750, as amended by this act, may apply in person or in writing to the child-placing agency, the department, the court of probate or the superior court which has the information. Such information shall be made available within sixty days of receipt of such request unless the child-placing agency, department or court notifies the person requesting the information that it cannot be made available within sixty days and states the reason for the delay. If the person making such request is a resident of this state and it appears that counseling is advisable with release of the information, the child-placing agency or department may request that the person appear for an interview. If the person making such request is not a resident of this state, and if it appears that counseling is advisable with release of the information, the child-placing agency, department or court may refer the person to an out-of-state agency or appropriate governmental agency or department, approved by the department or accredited by the Child Welfare League of America, the National Conference of Catholic Charities, the Family Services Association of America or the Council on Accreditation of Services of Families and Children. If an out-of-state referral is made, the information shall be released to the out-of-state child-placing agency or department for release to the applicant, provided such information shall not be released unless the out-of-state child-placing agency or department is satisfied as to the identity of the person.

(g) Regardless of the date parental rights were terminated, any adult adopted person twenty-one years of age or older, whose adoption was finalized on or after July 1, 2014, and for whom a new certificate of birth was established pursuant to section 7-53, as amended by this act, on or after July 1, 2014, may apply for and receive (1) from the Department of Public Health or a registrar of vital statistics, a copy of the person's sealed original birth certificate or record pursuant to section 7-51, as amended by this act, and (2) from the Department of Children and Families, any contact preference form or health history form filed with the Department of Children and Families. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit such person's access to information.

(h) (1) The Commissioner of Children and Families shall make available to each birth parent, upon the birth parent's request, a contact preference form on which the birth parent may state a preference regarding contact by the person whose birth is recorded pursuant to section 7-51, as amended by this act. Upon such request, the commissioner shall also provide the birth parent with a form on which to record his or her health history pursuant to subdivision (10) of subsection (a) of section 45a-746.

(2) The contact preference form shall provide the birth parent with (A) a place to indicate whether the health history form has been completed and returned, and (B) the following options from which the birth parent shall select one:

(i) I would like to be contacted.

(ii) I would like to be contacted, but only through an intermediary.

(iii) I do not want to be contacted.

(3) All completed contact preference forms and health history forms shall be filed with the Department of Children and Families. The department shall maintain all completed contact preference forms and health history forms and shall create an index for such forms.

(4) The Department of Children and Families shall maintain the following statistics concerning such forms, which shall be made available to the public not less than biannually: (A) The number of completed contact preference forms filed with the department; (B) the number of birth parents that selected each option described in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (2) of this subsection; and (C) the number of completed medical history forms filed with the department.

Sec. 2. Section 7-51 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2014):

(a) (1) The [department] Department of Public Health and registrars of vital statistics shall restrict access to and issuance of a certified copy of birth and fetal death records and certificates less than one hundred years old, to eligible parties described in subdivision (2) of this subsection and the following eligible parties: [(1)] (A) The person whose birth is recorded, if over eighteen years of age; [(2)] (B) such person's children, grandchildren, spouse, parent, guardian or grandparent; [(3)] (C) the chief executive officer of the municipality where the birth or fetal death occurred, or the chief executive officer's authorized agent; [(4)] (D) the local director of health for the town or city where the birth or fetal death occurred or where the mother was a resident at the time of the birth or fetal death, or the director's authorized agent; [(5)] (E) attorneys-at-law representing such person or such person's parent, guardian, child or surviving spouse; [(6)] (F) a conservator of the person appointed for such person; [(7)] (G) members of genealogical societies incorporated or authorized by the Secretary of the State to do business or conduct affairs in this state; [(8)] (H) agents of a state or federal agency as approved by the department; and [(9)] (I) researchers approved by the department pursuant to section 19a-25.

(2) The Department of Public Health shall, upon request, issue to an adult adopted person twenty-one years of age or older (A) who was born in this state, (B) whose adoption was finalized on or after July 1, 2014, and (C) for whom a new certificate of birth was established on or after July 1, 2014, an uncertified copy of the unaltered, sealed original certificate of birth for such person marked with the same notation required for such records under subsection (c) of section 7-53, as amended by this act. Upon issuing an uncertified copy of such certificate of birth, the Department of Public Health shall notify such adopted person that a contact preference form and health history information form completed by such person's birth parent or parents may be available from the Department of Children and Families.

(3) Except as provided in section 19a-42a and subdivision (2) of this subsection, access to confidential files on paternity, adoption, gender change or gestational agreements, or information contained within [such files] the files of the Department of Public Health and registrars of vital statistics, shall not be released to any party, including the eligible parties listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection, except upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(b) No person other than the eligible parties listed in subsection (a) of this section shall be entitled to examine or receive a copy of any birth or fetal death record or certificate, access the information contained therein, or disclose any matter contained therein, except upon written order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit disclosure to any person, including the eligible parties listed in subsection (a) of this section, of information contained in the "information for health and statistical use only" section or the "administrative purposes only" section of a birth certificate, unless specifically authorized by the department for statistical or research purposes. The Social Security number of the parent or parents listed on any birth certificate shall not be released to any party, except to those persons or entities authorized by state or federal law. Such confidential information, other than the excluded information set forth in this subsection, shall not be subject to subpoena or court order and shall not be admissible before any court or other tribunal.

(c) The registrar of the town in which the birth or fetal death occurred or of the town in which the mother resided at the time of the birth or fetal death, or the department, may issue a certified copy of the certificate of birth or fetal death of any person born in this state [which] that is kept in paper form in the custody of the registrar. Such certificate shall be issued upon the written request of an eligible party listed in subsection (a) of this section. Any registrar of vital statistics in this state with access, as authorized by the department, to the electronic vital records system of the department may issue a certified copy of the electronically filed certificate of birth or fetal death of any person born in this state upon the written request of an eligible party listed in subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The department and each registrar of vital statistics shall issue only certified copies of birth certificates or fetal death certificates for births or fetal deaths occurring less than one hundred years prior to the date of the request, except as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section.

Sec. 3. Section 7-53 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2014):

(a) Upon receipt of the record of adoption referred to in subsection (e) of section 45a-745 or of other evidence satisfactory to the department that a person born in this state has been adopted, the department shall prepare a new birth certificate of such adopted person, except that no new certificate of birth shall be prepared if the court decreeing the adoption, the adoptive parents or the adopted person, if over fourteen years of age, so requests. Such new birth certificate shall include all the information required to be set forth in a certificate of birth of this state as of the date of birth, except that the [adopting] adoptive parents shall be named as the parents instead of the [genetic] birth parents and, when a certified copy of the birth of such person is requested by an authorized person, a copy of the new certificate of birth as prepared by the department shall be provided, except as provided in section 7-51, as amended by this act.

(b) Any person seeking to examine or obtain a copy of the original record or certificate of birth, except an adopted person who is eligible to obtain an original record or certificate of birth pursuant to section 7-51, as amended by this act, shall first obtain a written order signed by the judge of the probate court for the district in which the adopted person was adopted or born in accordance with section 45a-753, or a written order of the Probate Court in accordance with the provisions of section 45a-752. [, stating] Such order shall state that the court is of the opinion that the examination of the birth record of the adopted person by the [adopting] adoptive parents or the adopted person, if over eighteen years of age, or by the person wishing to examine the [same] birth record or that the issuance of a copy of such birth certificate to the [adopting] adoptive parents or the adopted person, if over eighteen years of age, or to the person applying [therefor] for the certificate of birth, will not be detrimental to the public interest or to the welfare of the adopted person, [or to the welfare of the genetic or] the birth parent or parents or the adoptive parent or parents.

(c) Upon receipt of such court order, the registrar of vital statistics of any town in which the birth of such person was recorded, or the department, may issue the [certified] uncertified copy of the original certificate of birth on file, marked with a notation by the issuer that such original certificate of birth has been superseded by a replacement certificate of birth as on file, or may permit the examination of such record.

(d) Immediately after a new certificate of birth has been prepared, an exact copy of such certificate, together with a written notice of the evidence of adoption, shall be transmitted by the department to the registrar of vital statistics of each town in this state in which the birth of the adopted person is recorded. The new birth certificate, the original certificate of birth on file and the evidence of adoption shall be filed and indexed, under such regulations as the commissioner adopts, in accordance with chapter 54, to carry out the provisions of this section and to prevent access to the records of birth and adoption and the information [therein] contained in the records without due cause, except as provided in this section and section 7-51, as amended by this act.

(e) Any person, except such adoptive parents or adopted person, who discloses any information contained in such records, except as provided in this section and section 7-51, as amended by this act, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

(f) Whenever a certified copy of an adoption decree from a court of a foreign country, having jurisdiction of the adopted person, is filed with the department under the provisions of this section, such decree, when written in a language other than English, shall be accompanied by an English translation, which shall be subscribed and sworn to as a true translation by an American consulate officer stationed in such foreign country.

Sec. 4. Section 45a-744 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2014):

It is the policy of the state of Connecticut to make available to adopted and adoptable persons who are adults (1) information concerning their background and status; to give the same information to their adoptive parent or parents; and, in any case where such adult persons are deceased, to give the same information to their adult descendants, including adopted descendants except a copy of their original birth certificate as provided by section 7-51, as amended by this act; (2) to provide for consensual release of additional information which may identify the biological parents or relatives of such adult adopted or adoptable persons when release of such information is in the best interests of such persons; (3) except as provided in section 7-51, as amended by this act, with respect to original birth records and certificates, and subdivisions (4) and (5) of this section, to protect the right to privacy of all parties to termination of parental rights, statutory parent and adoption proceedings; (4) to make available to any biological parent of an adult adopted or adult adoptable person, including a person claiming to be the father who was not a party to the proceedings for termination of parental rights, information which would tend to identify such adult adopted or adult adoptable person; and (5) to make available to any adult biological sibling of an adult adopted or adult adoptable person information which would tend to identify such adult adopted or adult adoptable person.

Sec. 5. Subsection (c) of section 19a-42 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2014):

(c) An amended certificate shall supersede the original certificate that has been changed and shall be marked "Amended", except for amendments due to parentage or gender change. The original certificate in the case of parentage or gender change shall be physically or electronically sealed and kept in a confidential file by the department and the registrar of any town in which the birth was recorded, and may be unsealed for viewing or issuance only as provided in section 7-51, as amended by this act, or upon a written order of a court of competent jurisdiction. The amended certificate shall become the public record.

Sec. 6. Subsection (b) of section 45a-750 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2014):

(b) Any person for whom there is only a removal of custody or removal of guardianship, and such removal took place in this state shall be given information [which] that may identify the biological parent or parents or any relative of such person, upon request, in person or in writing, in accordance with subsection (f) of section 45a-751b, as amended by this act, provided such information with respect to any relative shall not be released unless the consents required in subsection (e) of section 45a-751b, as amended by this act, are obtained.

Statement of Purpose:

To provide adult adopted persons, twenty-one years of age or older whose adoptions were finalized on or after July 1, 2014 with access to their birth parents' health information and information in the person's original birth certificate or record.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]

S.B. 59