A07197 Summary:

BILL NOA07197A
 
SAME ASSAME AS UNI. S05168-A
 
SPONSORBuchwald
 
COSPNSRSimon, Bronson, Weprin, Gottfried, Ortiz, Epstein, Woerner, D'Urso, Rosenthal L, Blake, Jaffee, Zebrowski, Mosley, Cruz, Hyndman, O'Donnell, Paulin, Ashby, Fernandez, Pichardo, Sayegh, Griffin
 
MLTSPNSRGalef
 
Amd §§61, 63 & 64-a, Civ Rts L
 
Relates to court recognition of a change of gender, adds gender to procedures regarding change of name.
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A07197 Actions:

BILL NOA07197A
 
04/12/2019referred to governmental operations
10/23/2019amend and recommit to governmental operations
10/23/2019print number 7197a
01/08/2020referred to governmental operations
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A07197 Committee Votes:

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A07197 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A07197 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
            S. 5168--A                                            A. 7197--A
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                SENATE - ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 12, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        IN  SENATE  --  Introduced  by Sens. HOYLMAN, BENJAMIN -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Codes  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. BUCHWALD, SIMON, BRONSON,  WEPRIN,
          GOTTFRIED,  ORTIZ,  EPSTEIN,  WOERNER,  D'URSO,  L. ROSENTHAL,  BLAKE,
          JAFFEE, ZEBROWSKI, MOSLEY, CRUZ, HYNDMAN,  O'DONNELL,  PAULIN,  ASHBY,
          FERNANDEZ, PICHARDO, SAYEGH, GRIFFIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
          GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Oper-
          ations  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to  court  recognition
          of a change of gender
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 61 of the civil rights  law
     2  are  renumbered  subdivisions  6 and 7 and four new subdivisions 2, 3, 4
     3  and 5 are added to read as follows:
     4    2. The petition to change a petitioner's name may  also  request  that
     5  the  court  recognize  and  direct  a change in the petitioner's gender.
     6  Such request shall be accompanied, a) by an affidavit from the petition-
     7  er, which affidavit shall be accepted  as  conclusive  proof  of  gender
     8  change  if  it  contains  substantially  the  following  language:   "I,
     9  (petitioner's full name), hereby attest under penalty  of  perjury  that
    10  the request for a change in gender to (female, male, or nonbinary) is to
    11  conform my legal gender to my gender identity and is not for any fraudu-
    12  lent  purpose";  and  b) certification by a medical professional who has
    13  treated the petitioner in the  following  form:  "I,  (physician's  full
    14  name),  (physician's  medical  license  or certificate number), (issuing
    15  U.S. State/Foreign  Country  of  medical  license/certificate),  am  the
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08702-02-9

        S. 5168--A                          2                         A. 7197--A
 
     1  physician  of  (name  of  patient),  with  whom  I have a doctor/patient
     2  relationship  and  whom  I  have  treated  (or  with  whom  I   have   a
     3  doctor/patient  relationship  and  whose medical history I have reviewed
     4  and evaluated). (Name of patient) has had appropriate clinical treatment
     5  for  gender  transition  to  the  new gender (specify male or female). I
     6  declare under penalty of perjury under the laws  of  the  United  States
     7  that  the  foregoing  is  true  and  correct.  (Signature)  (Typed Name)
     8  (Date)".
     9    3. A petitioner may make  a  request  for  an  order  recognizing  and
    10  directing  a  change  in  petitioner's  gender by motion under the Index
    11  Number of an already granted name change.
    12    4. A petitioner may make  a  request  for  an  order  recognizing  and
    13  directing  a  change in petitioner's gender by in writing, signed by the
    14  petitioner and verified in like manner as a pleading in court of record,
    15  and shall specify the grounds of the  application,  the  name,  date  of
    16  birth, place of birth, age and residence of the individual whose name is
    17  proposed to be changed and the name which he or she proposes to assume.
    18    5. Unless a written objection is filed within twenty-eight days of the
    19  filing  of  the petition and shows good cause for opposing a court order
    20  recognizing the change of name and/or gender, the court shall grant  the
    21  petition  without  a hearing. If an objection is timely filed, the court
    22  may set a hearing, at a time  designated  by  the  court,  only  if  the
    23  objection  filed  shows good cause for opposing the petition. Objections
    24  based solely on concerns over the petitioner's  actual  gender  identity
    25  shall  not  constitute good cause. At the hearing, the court may examine
    26  on oath the petitioner and any other person having  knowledge  of  facts
    27  relevant  to  the  petition. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court
    28  shall grant the petition if the court determines that  the  petition  is
    29  not made for any fraudulent purpose.
    30    §  2. Section 63 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 253 of
    31  the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
    32    § 63. Order. If the court to which the petition is presented is satis-
    33  fied thereby, or by the affidavit and certificate  presented  therewith,
    34  that  the petition is true, and that there is no reasonable objection to
    35  the change of name and/or gender proposed, and if  the  petition  be  to
    36  change  the  name  and/or gender of an infant, that the interests of the
    37  infant will be substantially promoted by the  change,  the  court  shall
    38  make  an  order  authorizing  the  petitioner  to assume the name and/or
    39  gender proposed. The order shall further recite the date  and  place  of
    40  birth  of  the  applicant and, if the applicant was born in the state of
    41  New York, such order shall set forth the number of his birth certificate
    42  or that no birth certificate is  available.    If  a  gender  change  is
    43  approved  the  order  shall  state that "the term gender as used in this
    44  order is inclusive of sex or any  other  term  identifying  Petitioner's
    45  status  as  male or female" and that "the Court directs that any govern-
    46  ment agency or administrative body amend the sex on  Petitioner's  docu-
    47  ments,   including,   but   not  limited  to,  birth  certificate,  from
    48  (Male/Female) to (Female/Male/Non Binary). It  is,  therefore,  ordered,
    49  adjudged  and  decreed that the sex indicated on Petitioner's documents,
    50  including,  but  not  limited  to,  birth  certificate,  be  changed  to
    51  (Male/Female/Non Binary). The order may be tailored to meet the require-
    52  ments of any specific agency and shall be directed to be entered and the
    53  papers  on  which  it  was  granted to be filed prior to the publication
    54  hereinafter directed in the clerk's office of the county  in  which  the
    55  petitioner resides if he be an individual, or in the office of the clerk
    56  of  the civil court of the city of New York if the order be made by that

        S. 5168--A                          3                         A. 7197--A
 
     1  court.  Such order shall also direct the  publication,  at  least  once,
     2  within sixty days after the making of the order, in a designated newspa-
     3  per  in  the  county in which the order is directed to be entered and if
     4  the  petition  is made by a person subject to the provisions of subdivi-
     5  sion two of section sixty-two of this article, in a designated newspaper
     6  in any county wherein such person was convicted if  different  from  the
     7  county  in  which  the  order  is otherwise directed to be entered, of a
     8  notice in substantially the following form: Notice is hereby given  that
     9  an  order  entered by the ............ court,............ county, on the
    10  ...... day of......., bearing Index Number..........., a copy  of  which
    11  may   be   examined   at   the   office   of   the   clerk,  located  at
    12  ................., in room number......., grants me the right to  assume
    13  the  name  of  ...................    The  city  and state of my present
    14  address are .........................; the month and year  of  my  birth
    15  are  ................; the place of my birth is ....................; my
    16  present name is .................................
    17    § 3. Section 64-a of the civil rights law, as amended by  chapter  241
    18  of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
    19    § 64-a. Exemption from publication requirements. 1. If the court shall
    20  find that the publication of an applicant's change of name and/or gender
    21  would  jeopardize such applicant's personal safety, based on totality of
    22  the circumstances the provisions of sections sixty-three and  sixty-four
    23  of this article requiring publication shall be waived and shall be inap-
    24  plicable.  Provided,  however,  the  court  shall  not  deny such waiver
    25  [soley] solely on the basis that the applicant lacks specific  instances
    26  of  or  a personal history of threat to personal safety. The court shall
    27  order the records of such change of name proceeding to be sealed, to  be
    28  opened only by order of the court for good cause shown or at the request
    29  of the applicant.
    30    2.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, pending such a finding
    31  in subdivision one of this section where an applicant seeks relief under
    32  this section, the court shall immediately order the applicant's  current
    33  name,   proposed  new  name  and/or  gender,  residential  and  business
    34  addresses, telephone numbers, and any other information contained in any
    35  pleadings or papers submitted to the court to be safeguarded and  sealed
    36  in  order to prevent their inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure
    37  while the matter is pending.
    38    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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