Add §4138-e, amd §§4138, 4138-d & 4104, Pub Health L; amd §114, Dom Rel L
Establishes the right of adoptees to receive a certified copy of their birth certificate upon reaching the age of 18, or if the adopted person is deceased, the adopted person's direct line descendants, or the lawful representative of such adopted person, or lawful representatives of such deceased adopted person's direct line descendants.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5494
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN, HUNTER, SAYEGH, ROMEO, COLTON, SCHMITT,
DE LA ROSA, GALEF, JEAN-PIERRE, CARROLL, D'URSO, WOERNER, GOTTFRIED,
SEAWRIGHT, RIVERA, THIELE, BLAKE, JOHNS, L. ROSENTHAL, BARRON, BRABE-
NEC, SCHIMMINGER, McDONOUGH, SMITH, LAVINE, SIMON, MOSLEY, OTIS,
LUPARDO, BENEDETTO, TITUS, ORTIZ, AUBRY, KIM, PICHARDO, CUSICK,
STIRPE, DILAN, STECK, WALKER, RICHARDSON, DiPIETRO, CAHILL, HEVESI,
BICHOTTE, JOYNER, SANTABARBARA, RAIA, DenDEKKER -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. ARROYO, BARRETT, BUCHWALD, COOK, DAVILA, DeSTEFANO, DINOW-
ITZ, ENGLEBRIGHT, FAHY, GIGLIO, HAWLEY, KOLB, LALOR, LIFTON, MALLIO-
TAKIS, PALMESANO, PALUMBO, PAULIN, PEOPLES-STOKES, PERRY, PRETLOW, RA,
RAMOS, RODRIGUEZ, RYAN, SOLAGES, STEC, WRIGHT, ZEBROWSKI -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the domestic relations law, in
relation to authorizing adoptees to obtain a certified copy of their
birth certificate
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 4138-e to read as follows:
3 § 4138-e. Adoptee's right to a certified copy of his or her birth
4 certificate. 1. The legislature hereby states its intention to acknowl-
5 edge, support and encourage the life-long health and well-being needs of
6 persons who have been and will be adopted in this state. The legislature
7 further recognizes that the denial of access to accurate and complete
8 medical and self-identifying data of any adopted person, known and
9 wilfully withheld by others, may result in such person succumbing to
10 preventable disease, premature death or otherwise unhealthy life, is a
11 violation of that person's human rights and is contrary to the tenets of
12 government. As such, the provisions of this section seek to establish
13 considerations under the law for adopted persons equal to such consider-
14 ations permitted by law to all non-adopted persons; this section does so
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09643-01-9
A. 5494 2
1 while providing for the privacy of an adopted person and his or her
2 birth.
3 2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner or
4 a local registrar or any person authorized by the commissioner or a
5 local registrar, upon application, proof of identity and payment of a
6 nominal fee, shall issue certified copies of original long form line by
7 line, vault copy birth certificates, including any change attached to
8 that certificate by a birth parent or parents, and any information
9 provided to the commissioner or a local registrar pursuant to subdivi-
10 sion one of section one hundred fourteen of the domestic relations law,
11 to (i) an adopted person, if eighteen years of age or more, or (ii) if
12 the adopted person is deceased, the adopted person's direct line
13 descendants, or (iii) the lawful representatives of such adopted person,
14 or lawful representatives of such deceased adopted person's direct line
15 descendants, as the case may be.
16 (b) When it shall be impossible for the commissioner or a local
17 registrar to provide a copy of an adult adopted person's original long
18 form birth certificate (as may occur in the case of an adopted person
19 born outside of, but adopted within, the state and such certificate is
20 not part of the records of the commissioner or a local registrar), the
21 true and correct information about the adopted person and the adopted
22 person's birth parents, including their identifying information, that
23 would have appeared on such original birth certificate shall be provided
24 to: (i) the adopted person, if eighteen years of age or more, or (ii)
25 if the adopted person is deceased, the adopted person's direct line
26 descendants, or (iii) the lawful representatives of such adopted person,
27 or lawful representatives of such deceased adopted person's direct line
28 descendants, as the case may be by any authorized agency as defined in
29 paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision ten of section three hundred
30 seventy-one of the social services law. In such case, the agency shall
31 be held harmless from any liability arising out of the disclosure.
32 (c) For purposes of this subdivision, the term "commissioner" shall
33 include the state commissioner of health, the commissioner of health and
34 mental hygiene of the city of New York and for records of birth prior to
35 January first, nineteen hundred fourteen, the local registrars of the
36 cities of Albany, Buffalo and Yonkers.
37 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 4138 of the public health law, as
38 amended by chapter 559 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as
39 follows:
40 4. The commissioner may make a microfilm or other suitable copy of the
41 original certificate of birth and all papers pertaining to the new
42 certificate of birth. In such event, the original certificate and papers
43 may be destroyed. All undestroyed certificates and papers and copies
44 thereof shall be confidential and the contents thereof shall not be
45 released or otherwise divulged except by order of a court of competent
46 jurisdiction or pursuant to section forty-one hundred thirty-eight-c
47 [or], forty-one hundred thirty-eight-d or forty-one hundred thirty-
48 eight-e of this [article] title.
49 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 4138 of the public health law, as
50 amended by chapter 201 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as
51 follows:
52 5. Thereafter, when a certified copy or certified transcript of the
53 certificate of birth of such a person, or a certification of birth for
54 such person is issued, it shall be based upon the new certificate of
55 birth, except when an order of a court of competent jurisdiction shall
56 require the issuance of a copy of the original certificate of birth or
A. 5494 3
1 application is made pursuant to section four thousand one hundred thir-
2 ty-eight-e of this title.
3 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 4138 of the public
4 health law, as amended by chapter 201 of the laws of 1972, is amended to
5 read as follows:
6 (a) When a new certificate of birth is made the commissioner shall
7 substitute such new certificate for the certificate of birth then on
8 file, if any, and shall send the registrar of the district in which the
9 birth occurred a copy of the new certificate of birth. The registrar
10 shall make a copy of the new certificate for the local record and hold
11 the contents of the original local record confidential along with all
12 papers and copies pertaining thereto. It shall not be released or other-
13 wise divulged except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction or
14 pursuant to section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight-e of this
15 title.
16 § 5. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 4138 of the public
17 health law, as added by chapter 201 of the laws of 1972, is amended to
18 read as follows:
19 (b) Thereafter, when a verified transcript or certification of birth
20 of such person is issued by the registrar, it shall be based upon the
21 new certificate, except when an order of a court of competent jurisdic-
22 tion shall require the issuance of a verified transcript or certif-
23 ication based upon the original local record of birth or application is
24 made pursuant to section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight-e of
25 this title.
26 § 6. Section 4138 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
27 subdivision 8 to read as follows:
28 8. An adopted person eighteen years of age or older, or the birth
29 parent or parents, may submit to the registrar a notice of change of
30 name and/or address and such information shall be attached to the
31 original birth certificate of the adopted person.
32 § 7. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 4138-d of the public
33 health law, as amended by chapter 181 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
34 read as follows:
35 (b) If the agency determines that the agency was involved in such
36 adoption, it shall transmit the registration to the adoption information
37 registry operated by the department and the agency shall release the
38 non-identifying information, as defined in section forty-one hundred
39 thirty-eight-c of this title, to the [adoptee registrant. The agency may
40 restrict the nature of the non-identifying information released pursuant
41 to this section upon a reasonable determination that disclosure of such
42 non-identifying information would not be in the adoptee's, the biolog-
43 ical sibling's or parent's best interest] adopted person.
44 § 8. Section 4104 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 153
45 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
46 § 4104. Vital statistics; application of article. The provisions of
47 this article except for the provisions contained in paragraph (i) of
48 subdivision two and subdivision four of section four thousand one
49 hundred, section four thousand one hundred three, subdivision two of
50 section four thousand one hundred thirty-five, section four thousand one
51 hundred thirty-five-b, subdivision eight of section four thousand one
52 hundred seventy-four, paragraphs (b) and (e) of subdivision one, para-
53 graph (a) and (b) of subdivision three, and subdivisions five and eight
54 of section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight, subdivision eleven of
55 section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight-c, paragraph (b) of
56 subdivision three of section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight-d,
A. 5494 4
1 section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight-e and section four thou-
2 sand one hundred seventy-nine of this article, shall not apply to the
3 city of New York.
4 § 9. Subdivision 1 of section 114 of the domestic relations law, as
5 amended by chapter 751 of the laws of 1989 and designated by chapter 601
6 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
7 1. If satisfied that the best interests of the adoptive child will be
8 promoted thereby, the judge or surrogate shall make an order approving
9 the adoption and directing that the adoptive child shall thenceforth be
10 regarded and treated in all respects as the child of the adoptive
11 parents or parent. In determining whether the best interests of the
12 adoptive child will be promoted by the adoption, the judge or surrogate
13 shall give due consideration to any assurance by a local commissioner of
14 social services that he or she will provide necessary support and main-
15 tenance for the adoptive child pursuant to the social services law. Such
16 order shall contain the full name, date and place of birth and reference
17 to the schedule annexed to the petition containing the medical history
18 of the child in the body thereof and shall direct that the child's
19 medical history, heritage of the birth parents, which shall include
20 nationality, ethnic background and race; education, which shall be the
21 number of years of school completed by the birth parents at the time of
22 the birth and also at the time of surrender of the adoptive child;
23 general physical appearance of the birth parents at the time of the
24 birth and also at the time of surrender of the adoptive child, which
25 shall include height, weight, color of hair, eyes, skin; occupation of
26 the birth parents at the time of the birth and also at the time of
27 surrender of the adoptive child; health and medical history of the birth
28 parents at the time of the birth and also at the time of surrender of
29 the adoptive child, including all available information setting forth
30 conditions or diseases believed to be hereditary, any drugs or medica-
31 tion taken during the pregnancy by the child's mother; and any other
32 information which may be a factor influencing the child's present or
33 future health, including the talents, hobbies and special interests of
34 the birth parents as contained in the petition, be furnished to the
35 adoptive parents, the commissioner and the appropriate local registrar
36 of vital statistics. If the judge or surrogate is also satisfied that
37 there is no reasonable objection to the change of name proposed, the
38 order shall direct that the name of the adoptive child be changed to the
39 name stated in the agreement of adoption and that henceforth he or she
40 shall be known by that name. All such orders made by a family court
41 judge of Westchester county since September first, nineteen hundred
42 sixty-two, and on file in the office of the county clerk of such county
43 shall be transferred to the clerk of the family court of such county.
44 Such order and all the papers in the proceeding shall be filed in the
45 office of the court granting the adoption and the order shall be entered
46 in books which shall be kept under seal and which shall be indexed by
47 the name of the adoptive parents and by the full original name of the
48 child. Such order, including orders heretofore entered, shall be subject
49 to inspection and examination only as hereinafter provided. Notwith-
50 standing the fact that adoption records shall be sealed and secret, they
51 may be microfilmed and processed pursuant to an order of the court,
52 provided that such order provides that the confidentiality of such
53 records be maintained. If the confidentiality is violated, the person or
54 company violating it can be found guilty of contempt of court. The fact
55 that the adoptive child was born out of wedlock shall in no case appear
56 in such order. The written report of the investigation together with all
A. 5494 5
1 other papers pertaining to the adoption shall be kept by the judge or
2 surrogate as a permanent record of his or her court and such papers must
3 be sealed by him or her and withheld from inspection. No certified copy
4 of the order of adoption shall issue unless authorized by court order,
5 except that certified copies may issue to the agency or agencies in the
6 proceeding prior to the sealing of the papers. Before the record is
7 sealed, such order may be granted upon written ex parte application on
8 good cause shown and upon such conditions as the court may impose. After
9 the record is sealed, such order may be granted only upon notice as
10 hereinafter provided for disclosure or access and inspection of records.
11 The clerk upon request of a person or agency entitled thereto shall
12 issue certificates of adoption which shall contain only the new name of
13 the child and the date and place of birth of the child, the name of the
14 adoptive parents and the date when and court where the adoption was
15 granted, which certificate as to the facts recited therein shall have
16 the same force and effect as a certified copy of an order of adoption.
17 For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "commissioner" shall mean
18 the state commissioner of health and, with respect to an adoptive child
19 born in the city of New York, the commissioner of health and mental
20 hygiene of the city of New York.
21 § 10. This act shall take effect January 15, 2020, provided, however,
22 that effective immediately, the commissioner of health is directed to
23 promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out
24 the provisions of this act.
