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History
- Referred to health
Companion bill
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Enacts bill of adoptee rights clarifying language and procedures for obtaining birth certificates and medical histories for adoptees
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor David Weprin
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S7286
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law and the domestic relations law, in relation to enacting the "bill of adoptee rights"
Purpose
Enacts bill of adoptee rights clarifying language and procedures for obtaining birth certificates and medical histories for adoptees
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends the public health law by adding a new section 4138-e.
Section 2 amends subdivision 5 of section 4138 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 201 of the laws of 1972.
Section 3 amends paragraph (b) of subdivision of section 4138 of the public health law, as added by chapter 201 of the laws of 1972.
Section 4 amends subdivision 7 of section 4138 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 644 of the laws of 1988.
Section 5 amends section 4138 of the public health law by adding two new subdivisions 8 and 9.
Section 6 amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 4138-d of the public health law, as amended by chapter 181 of the laws of 2010.
Section 7 amends section 4104 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 153 of the laws of 2011.
Section 8 amends subdivision 1 of section 114 of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter 751 of the laws of 1989 and designated by chapter 601 of laws of 1994·
Section 9 amends section 114 of the domestic relations law by adding a new subdivision 5.
Section 10 is the effective date.
Justification
The "Bill of Adoptee Rights" will provide adult adoptees with access to information that a non-adopted person has a legal right to obtain. In New York, an adoptee cannot access his or her original birth certificate unless the adoptee goes through judicial means, and even then, the outcome does not guarantee that access will be granted. This bill will allow adult adoptees to request and receive a non-certified copy of an original birth certificate and/or a medical history form if available.
Adoptees will be able to gain knowledge of their religious and ethnic heritage and access to medical information that may be necessary for preventive health care and illnesses that are linked to family history and genetics.
A birth parent may seek to protect his or her privacy by completing a contact preference form that would be sent to the adult adoptee upon a request for a non-certified copy of an original birth certificate. The contact preference form provides the birth parent with the option to be contacted by the adoptee, through an intermediary or to not be contacted at all.
Prior legislative history
2011 - Similar to S.1438
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law, provided, however, that, effective immediately, the commissioner of health is directed to promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.