Bill Text: NY A05036 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
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Bill Title: Relates to adoptee rights; clarifies language and procedures for obtaining birth certificates and medical histories of adoptees; permits an adopted adult to access certain records when they reach the age of 18; creates a contact preference to be filed by birth parents.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 60-18)
Status: (Vetoed) 2017-12-29 - tabled [A05036 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A05036-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relates to adoptee rights; clarifies language and procedures for obtaining birth certificates and medical histories of adoptees; permits an adopted adult to access certain records when they reach the age of 18; creates a contact preference to be filed by birth parents.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 60-18)
Status: (Vetoed) 2017-12-29 - tabled [A05036 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A05036-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5036 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 6, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN, MOSLEY, OTIS, BENEDETTO, HOOPER, TITUS, SEPULVEDA, ORTIZ, MAYER, AUBRY, PICHARDO, CUSICK, BRINDISI, SKOUFIS, MURRAY, THIELE, BRABENEC, DiPIETRO, TITONE, GALEF, RAIA, STIRPE, COLTON, DILAN, LAVINE, KEARNS, STECK, LOPEZ, WALKER, RICHARDSON, KIM, HIKIND, CAHILL, JEAN-PIERRE, HEVESI, BICHOTTE, JOYNER, SANTABARBARA, DenDEKKER, BLAKE, HUNTER -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, BARRETT, BUCHWALD, BUTLER, COOK, CURRAN, DAVILA, DINOWITZ, ENGLE- BRIGHT, FAHY, FARRELL, GIGLIO, GJONAJ, GOTTFRIED, GRAF, HAWLEY, JOHNS, KOLB, LALOR, LIFTON, LUPARDO, LUPINACCI, MAGEE, MALLIOTAKIS, McDONALD, McDONOUGH, McKEVITT, M. G. MILLER, MOYA, OAKS, PALMESANO, PALUMBO, PAULIN, PEOPLES-STOKES, PERRY, PRETLOW, RA, RAMOS, RIVERA, RODRIGUEZ, ROSENTHAL, RYAN, SIMANOWITZ, SKARTADOS, SOLAGES, STEC, WALTER, WRIGHT, ZEBROWSKI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the public health law, in relation to adoptee rights The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby states its 2 intention to acknowledge, support and encourage the life-long health and 3 well-being of persons who have been and will be adopted in the state of 4 New York. The legislature further recognizes that the inability to 5 access accurate and complete medical and self-identifying data of any 6 adopted person may result in such person succumbing to preventable 7 disease, premature death or otherwise unhealthy life. As such, the 8 provisions of this act seek to establish considerations under the law 9 for adopted persons to access their birth information while providing 10 for the privacy of an adopted person and his or her birth and adoptive 11 families. 12 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 114 of the domestic relations law, as 13 amended by chapter 559 of the laws of 1992 and as designated by chapter 14 601 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09376-01-7A. 5036 2 1 2. No person, including the attorney for the adoptive parents shall 2 disclose the surname of the child directly or indirectly to the adoptive 3 parents except upon order of the court. No person shall be allowed 4 access to such sealed records and order and any index thereof except 5 upon an order of a judge or surrogate of the court in which the order 6 was made or of a justice of the supreme court. [No] Except as provided 7 in subdivisions four and five of this section, no order for disclosure 8 or access and inspection shall be granted except on good cause shown and 9 on due notice to the adoptive parents and to such additional persons as 10 the court may direct. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to 11 require the state commissioner of health or his or her designee to 12 secure a court order authorizing disclosure of information contained in 13 adoption or birth records requested pursuant to the authority of section 14 forty-one hundred thirty-eight-c or section forty-one hundred thirty- 15 eight-d of the public health law; upon the receipt of such request for 16 information, the court shall transmit the information authorized to be 17 released thereunder to the state commissioner of health or his or her 18 designee. 19 § 3. Section 114 of the domestic relations law is amended by adding a 20 new subdivision 5 to read as follows: 21 5. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law: (a) an adopted 22 person who has attained the age of eighteen years may apply to the court 23 in which the order of adoption was made, or to the supreme court, to 24 request an order releasing a certified copy of his or her original long 25 form birth certificate, or where no birth certificate is available, the 26 identifying information of his or her birth parent or parents, in 27 accordance with this subdivision. Such application shall include suffi- 28 cient proof of identity of such adopted person. 29 (b) Upon receipt of an application pursuant to paragraph (a) of this 30 subdivision, the court shall provide the department of health, or order 31 that such department be provided, with the identifying information of 32 the adopted person's birth parent or parents and direct the department 33 of health to make a reasonable and good faith effort, documented in 34 writing and completed within one hundred twenty days, to notify the 35 birth parent or parents and advise such parent or parents that the 36 adopted person has made an application pursuant to this subdivision. 37 Such notification and advisory given shall comply with any terms and 38 conditions set forth by the court and shall be made by means designed to 39 be sensitive to the personal nature of the matter. Such notification 40 shall also include an advisory to such parent or parents about the 41 adoption medical information registry established by section forty-one 42 hundred thirty-eight-c of the public health law and the procedures by 43 which a birth parent may provide medical information to the registry. 44 The department of health shall, before making efforts to notify the 45 birth parent or parents, determine whether such parent or parents have 46 already filed a written confirmation with the court or the department of 47 health pursuant to paragraph (h) of this subdivision or a birth parent 48 registration consent form with the adoption information registry pursu- 49 ant to subdivision ten of section forty-one hundred thirty-eight-c of 50 the public health law. Where such confirmation or consent form is on 51 file, the department of health shall notify the court and no such 52 efforts to notify the parent shall be made. 53 (c) Upon notification pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, 54 or earlier at the discretion of the birth parent pursuant to paragraph 55 (h) of this subdivision, such birth parent may complete a written and 56 notarized confirmation that he or she wishes to maintain confidentialityA. 5036 3 1 of identifying information, or that he or she consents to the release of 2 identifying information. 3 (d) Upon receipt of such written confirmation, or where the parent has 4 completed a birth parent registration consent form pursuant to subdivi- 5 sion ten of section forty-one hundred thirty-eight-c of the public 6 health law, the department of health shall notify the court and provide 7 the court with the written confirmation or consent form, as the case may 8 be, completed by the birth parent. Where such consent form has been 9 revoked by a birth parent, the department of health shall so notify the 10 court and such revocation shall be considered by the court as a request 11 for continued confidentiality of identifying information. 12 (i) If the birth parent consents to the release of identifying infor- 13 mation, the court shall (A) order the release of a certified copy of the 14 long-form birth certificate to the adopted person, or (B) when such 15 birth certificate is not available, order that the identifying informa- 16 tion be made available to the adopted person. 17 (ii) If the birth parent requests continued confidentiality, the court 18 shall direct the release of a certified copy of the birth certificate 19 with the identifying information regarding such parent redacted, and 20 shall provide such adopted person with such redacted copy and file a 21 copy of the redacted version in the court record. Such redacted copy 22 shall include non-identifying information as that term is defined in 23 subdivision three of section forty-one hundred thirty-eight-c of the 24 public health law. 25 (iii) Where there are two identified birth parents and only one such 26 parent has requested confidentiality, the identifying information 27 regarding the other parent may, in the discretion of the court, be 28 released to the adopted person in accordance with this subdivision. The 29 consent of one parent shall not be construed to be consent by the other 30 parent. 31 The court shall issue a written order when making a determination 32 pursuant to subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph. 33 (e) (i) If after reasonable and good faith efforts pursuant to para- 34 graph (a) of this subdivision, the birth parent is unable to be notified 35 or does not respond to such notification, the department of health shall 36 so notify the court. Unless the court, in its discretion, for good cause 37 specified in its order, determines that the release of such birth 38 certificate or identifying information would be clearly detrimental to 39 the welfare of the birth or adoptive parents, the court shall: (A) 40 release, or direct the release of, an unredacted, certified copy of the 41 long-form birth certificate to the adopted person, or (B) if such birth 42 certificate is not available, release or direct the release of the iden- 43 tifying information that would have appeared on the original long-form 44 birth certificate. For the purposes of this paragraph, good cause shall 45 include, but is not limited to, evidence concerning the wishes of the 46 birth parent regarding confidentiality as expressed at the time of the 47 adoption or surrender. The court shall issue a written order when making 48 a determination pursuant to this paragraph. 49 (ii) Where the court determines not to release an unredacted birth 50 certificate pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the court 51 shall direct the release of a certified copy of the birth certificate 52 with the identifying information regarding the birth parent or parents 53 redacted, and shall provide such adopted person with such redacted copy. 54 (f) Upon the consent of a birth parent to release identifying informa- 55 tion pursuant to this subdivision, the department of health shall 56 provide such parent with a contact preference form that shall, ifA. 5036 4 1 completed by the birth parent, accompany a copy of a birth certificate 2 or other identifying information provided to the adopted person under 3 this subdivision and be filed with the adoption information registry 4 established by section forty-one hundred thirty-eight-c of the public 5 health law. The contact preference form shall include the following 6 content to be completed at the option of the birth parent: 7 (i) I am willing to or would like to be contacted. 8 (ii) I would prefer to be contacted only through an intermediary. 9 (iii) I have completed a medical history form and have filed it with 10 the department of health. 11 (iv) Please do not contact me. If I decide later that I would like to 12 be contacted, I will submit an updated contact preference form to the 13 court or the department of health. 14 (v) Add any additional information here (if desired): 15 The medical history form shall be in a form prescribed by the depart- 16 ment of health and shall be supplied to the birth parent with a contact 17 preference form. 18 The medical history form and contact preference form are confidential 19 communications from the birth parent to the person named on the sealed 20 birth certificate and shall be placed in separate sealed envelopes upon 21 receipt from the birth parent. 22 The sealed envelopes containing the contact preference form and 23 medical history form shall be released to a person requesting his or her 24 birth certificate under this subdivision or his or her agent, such as 25 his or her attorney, with appropriate authorization. The contact pref- 26 erence form and medical history form are private communications from the 27 birth parent to the person named on the sealed birth certificate and no 28 copies of the forms shall be retained by the court. 29 (g) The department of health shall develop an affirmative information 30 campaign and widely disseminate to the public, through its website, 31 public service announcements and other means, in multiple languages and 32 through multiple outlets, information concerning the adoption informa- 33 tion registry established by section forty-one hundred thirty-eight-c of 34 the public health law and the provisions of this subdivision, including, 35 but not limited to, the means by which a birth parent may file a written 36 confirmation pursuant to paragraph (h) of this subdivision with the 37 court that ordered the adoption or the department of health that he or 38 she wishes to maintain the confidentiality of identifying information, 39 or consents to the release of such identifying information. 40 (h) A birth parent may, at any time, file a written and notarized 41 confirmation with the court that ordered the adoption or with the 42 department of health indicating that he or she wishes to maintain confi- 43 dentiality of identifying information or that he or she consents to the 44 release of identifying information. The department of health shall noti- 45 fy the court and provide the court with a copy of such written confirma- 46 tion. The court shall honor such written confirmation unless it is with- 47 drawn or modified, in notarized writing, by the birth parent. 48 (i) For the purposes of this subdivision, "adopted person" shall 49 include a person who was surrendered as described in subdivision seven 50 of section one hundred nine of this article. 51 § 4. Subdivision 10 of section 4138-c of the public health law, as 52 added by chapter 435 of the laws of 2008, is amended and a new subdivi- 53 sion 10-a is added to read as follows: 54 10. The commissioner is directed to develop an adoption information 55 registry birth parent registration consent form to be completed at the 56 time of surrender or consent to adoption. Such form shall include check-A. 5036 5 1 off boxes to be appropriately marked by the biological parent or parents 2 whose consent is necessary for the relinquishment of such child indicat- 3 ing whether or not such parent consents to the receipt of identifying 4 information and a certified copy of the original birth certificate by 5 the child to be adopted. A copy of such form shall be sent to the 6 department with copies of the original and amended birth certificates. 7 Such form shall state that it is the responsibility of the birth parent 8 to update the registry with any changes in contact information. The form 9 shall additionally advise the biological parents of the adoption medical 10 information sub-registry and the procedures by which a birth parent may 11 provide medical information to the sub-registry. Notwithstanding any 12 inconsistent provision of law to the contrary, the commissioner is 13 directed to develop any rules and regulations necessary to expedite the 14 transfer of information from any agency, court or department necessary 15 to implement this subdivision. 16 10-a. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law to the contra- 17 ry, for surrenders occurring and orders of adoptions entered after the 18 effective date of this subdivision, where the biological parent or 19 parents whose consent is necessary for the relinquishment of such child 20 consents to the release of a certified copy of the child's original 21 birth certificate or does not affirmatively request, on the form 22 described in subdivision ten of this section, that such original birth 23 certificate remain confidential, the surrendered or adopted person 24 shall, after attaining the age of eighteen and upon application to the 25 department and adequate proof of identity, have the right to receive a 26 certified copy of their original birth certificate. 27 § 5. This act shall take effect April 15, 2018, provided, however, 28 that paragraphs (g) and (h) of subdivision 5 of section 114 of the 29 domestic relations law, as added by section three of this act, shall 30 take effect on the thirtieth day after such effective date.
