Iowa-2017-HSB123-Introduced

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 144.24, Code 2017, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 144.24 Substituting new for original birth certificates —— 3 inspection. 4 1. If a new certificate of birth is established, the actual 5 place and date of birth shall be shown on the certificate. The 6 certificate shall be substituted for the original certificate 7 of birth. Thereafter, 8 2. Following substitution of the original certificate of 9 birth with a new certificate of birth, the original certificate 10 and the evidence of adoption, paternity, legitimation, or sex 11 change shall not be subject to inspection except under order of 12 a court of competent jurisdiction, including but not limited 13 to an order issued pursuant to section 600.16A , as provided 14 in section 144.24A, or as provided by administrative rule for 15 statistical or administrative purposes only. However, 16 3. Notwithstanding subsection 2, the state registrar shall, 17 upon the application of an adult adopted person, a biological 18 parent, an adoptive parent, or the legal representative of the 19 adult adopted person, the biological parent, or the adoptive 20 parent, inspect the original certificate and the evidence of 21 adoption and reveal to the applicant the date of the adoption 22 and the name and address of the court which issued the adoption 23 decree. 24 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 144.24A Access to original birth 25 certificate —— application —— fees —— contact preference form. 26 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, 27 an adult adopted person who was born in this state and whose 28 original certificate of birth was substituted with a new 29 certificate of birth pursuant to section 144.24 based upon the 30 adoption, may apply for and obtain a noncertified copy of the 31 persons’ original certificate of birth in accordance with this 32 section. 33 a. The adult adopted person shall be at least eighteen years 34 of age at the time the application is filed. 35 -1- LSB 2092YC (1) 87 pf/nh 1/ 6

H.F. _____ b. The adult adopted person shall file a written application 1 along with proof of identification with the state registrar 2 requesting a noncertified copy of the original certificate of 3 birth. 4 c. Upon receipt of the written application and proof of 5 identification and payment of a fee, the state registrar shall 6 issue a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth 7 to the applicant. At the time of such issuance, the state 8 registrar shall also provide to the applicant any contact 9 preference form completed and submitted to the state registrar 10 pursuant to subsection 2. 11 2. a. The state registrar shall develop a contact 12 preference form on which a biological parent may state a 13 preference regarding contact by an adult adopted person 14 following application for and issuance of the noncertified copy 15 of the original certificate of birth under this section. The 16 preferences available to the biological parent shall include 17 all of the following, from which the biological parent may 18 choose only one: 19 (1) “I would like to be contacted. I have completed this 20 contact preference form and am filing the form with the state 21 registrar.” 22 (2) “I would prefer to be contacted only through an 23 intermediary. I have completed this contact preference form 24 and am filing the form with the state registrar.” 25 (3) “I do not want to be contacted. I may change this 26 preference by filling out another contact preference form. I 27 have completed this contact preference form and am filing the 28 form with the state registrar.” 29 b. The contact preference form shall be provided to the 30 biological parent in accordance with section 600A.4. 31 c. Upon receipt of a completed contact preference form, the 32 state registrar shall attach the completed form to the original 33 certificate of birth. 34 3. The state registrar shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 35 -2- LSB 2092YC (1) 87 pf/nh 2/ 6

H.F. _____ 17A to administer this section including rules relating to all 1 of the following: 2 a. Establishment of fees pursuant to section 144.46 for 3 issuance of the noncertified copy of the original certificate 4 of birth under this section. 5 b. The application form and proof of identification 6 requirements relative to application for a noncertified copy of 7 an original certificate of birth. 8 c. The contact preference form. 9 Sec. 3. Section 600.13, subsection 5, Code 2017, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 5. An interlocutory or a final adoption decree shall be 12 entered with the clerk of court. Such decree shall set forth 13 any facts of the adoption petition which have been proven to 14 the satisfaction of the juvenile court or court and any other 15 facts considered to be relevant by the juvenile court or court 16 and shall grant the adoption petition. If so designated in 17 the adoption decree, the name of the adopted person shall be 18 changed by issuance of that decree. The clerk of the court 19 shall, within thirty days of issuance, deliver one certified 20 copy of any adoption decree to the petitioner, one copy of any 21 adoption decree to the department and any agency or person 22 making an independent placement who placed a minor person for 23 adoption, and one certification certified copy of any adoption 24 decree to the state registrar of vital statistics to prepare 25 a certificate of adoption as prescribed in section 144.19 to 26 the state registrar of vital statistics . Upon receipt of 27 the certification certified copy of the adoption decree , the 28 state registrar shall prepare a new birth certificate pursuant 29 to section 144.23 and deliver to the parents named in the 30 decree and any adult person adopted by the decree a copy of 31 the new birth certificate. The parents shall pay the fee 32 prescribed in section 144.46 . Upon receipt of the certified 33 copy of the adoption decree, the state registrar shall also 34 attach a copy of any contact preference form included with 35 -3- LSB 2092YC (1) 87 pf/nh 3/ 6

H.F. _____ the certified copy to the original certificate of birth for 1 the purposes of section 144.24A. If the person adopted was 2 born outside this state but in the United States, the state 3 registrar shall forward the certification of adoption to the 4 appropriate agency in the state of birth. A copy of any 5 interlocutory adoption decree vacation shall be delivered and 6 another birth certificate shall be prepared in the same manner 7 as a certification of adoption is delivered and the birth 8 certificate was originally prepared. 9 Sec. 4. Section 600.16A, subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph 10 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows: 11 All With the exception of access to the original certificate 12 of birth as provided in section 144.24A, all of the papers and 13 records pertaining to a termination of parental rights under 14 chapter 600A and to an adoption shall not be open to inspection 15 and the identity of the biological parents of an adopted 16 person shall not be revealed except under any of the following 17 circumstances: 18 Sec. 5. Section 600A.4, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended 19 by adding the following new paragraph: 20 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0f. Shall be accompanied by a contact 21 preference form completed by the biological parent of the 22 person to be adopted and attached to the original certificate 23 of birth as provided in section 144.24A. The contact 24 preference form shall be attached to any termination of 25 parental rights order issued pursuant to section 600A.9. 26 EXPLANATION 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 28 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 29 This bill provides for access to an adult adopted person’s 30 original certificate of birth. 31 The bill provides that an adult adopted person who was 32 born in this state and whose original certificate of birth 33 was substituted with a new certificate of birth based upon 34 the adoption, may obtain a noncertified copy of the person’s 35 -4- LSB 2092YC (1) 87 pf/nh 4/ 6

H.F. _____ original certificate of birth as specified in the bill. 1 These specifications include that the adult adopted person 2 is at least 18 years of age at the time the application is 3 filed and that the adult adopted person must file a written 4 application along with proof of identification with the state 5 registrar. Upon receipt of the written application and proof 6 of identification and payment of a fee, the state registrar 7 shall issue a noncertified copy of the original certificate 8 of birth to the applicant. At the time of such issuance, the 9 state registrar must also provide to the applicant any contact 10 preference form completed and submitted to the state registrar. 11 The contact preference form, developed by the state registrar, 12 is a form to be completed and submitted by the biological 13 parent stating a preference regarding contact by an adult 14 adopted person following application for and issuance of the 15 noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth. The 16 preferences available to the biological parent include a choice 17 of one of the following: (1) “I would like to be contacted. 18 I have completed this contact preference form and am filing 19 the form with the state registrar.” (2) “I would prefer to be 20 contacted only through an intermediary. I have completed this 21 contact preference form and am filing the form with the state 22 registrar.” (3) “I do not want to be contacted. I may change 23 this preference by filling out another contact preference form. 24 I have completed this contact preference form and am filing the 25 form with the state registrar.” The contact preference form 26 is to be provided to an individual who is in the process of 27 terminating parental rights and is to be attached to a release 28 of custody and the termination of parental rights order, which 29 in turn is attached to the adoption petition and the adoption 30 decree. A certified copy of the adoption decree, including any 31 copy of the contact preference form, is to be sent to the state 32 registrar for the purpose of, in addition to the preparation 33 of a new birth certificate, attaching the contact preference 34 form to the original certificate of birth. The bill directs 35 -5- LSB 2092YC (1) 87 pf/nh 5/ 6

H.F. _____ the state registrar to adopt rules pursuant to Code chapter 1 17A to administer the provisions of the bill including rules 2 relating to fees for issuance of the noncertified copy of the 3 original certificate of birth, the application form and proof 4 of identification requirements relative to application for a 5 noncertified copy of an original certificate of birth, and 6 the contact preference form. Fees established are subject to 7 Code section 144.46 including provisions requiring that fees 8 collected are to be deposited in the general fund of the state 9 and the vital records fund in accordance with an apportionment 10 established by rule. 11 The bill includes conforming changes in the Code. The 12 bill provides an exception to the provisions and penalties 13 relating to the opening of papers and records pertaining to a 14 termination of parental rights or an adoption, to allow for 15 access to the original certificate of birth by an adult adopted 16 person. 17 -6- LSB 2092YC (1) 87 pf/nh 6/ 6