What's happening
This bill allows the name of a putative father to be added to or removed from a child's birth certificate based on paternity adjudication.
Why it matters
Supports accurate legal and familial records. By allowing the addition or removal of a putative father's name on a birth certificate after a court's paternity ruling, the bill ensures birth certificates more accurately reflect legal parentage, which can impact inheritance, custody, and child support.
Clarifies and streamlines administrative process. The amendment replaces a patchwork of prior requirements with clearer procedures, reducing ambiguity for parents, courts, and agencies when updating birth certificates after paternity determinations.
Empowers individuals to contest paternity. Fathers listed on a child’s birth certificate are explicitly given the right to contest paternity, which could protect individuals from legal responsibilities for children found not to be biologically theirs and prevent potential fraud or mistakes.
Potentially affects access to benefits and rights. Changes to a birth certificate may influence a child’s access to certain benefits, such as social security, health insurance, or inheritance, and may also affect the legal rights and obligations of the adults involved.
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Who cares
Headline styles
List Fathers on Birth Certificates
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5441
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 9, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. PERRY -read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to birth certificates
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 4135 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 398 of the laws of 1997, is amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as follows:
2. The name, if known, of the putative father of a child born out of wedlock shall [not] be entered on the certificate of birth [prior to filing without (i) an acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to section one hundred eleven-k of the social services law or section four thousand one hundred thirty-five-b of this article executed by both the mother and putative father, and filed with the record of birth; or (ii) notification having been received by, or proper proof having been filed with, the record of birth by the clerk of a court of competent jurisdiction or the parents, or their attorneys of a judgment, order or decree relating to parentage].
4. A father listed on a child's birth certificate may contest the paternity of such child pursuant to section one hundred eleven-k of the social services law. Upon adjudication that such person listed on the child's birth certificate is not the father, a new birth certificate shall be issued pursuant to subdivision one of section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight of this article without such person's name.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09460-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.