H0162B1943A02765 PWK:CMD 06/27/15 #90 A02765
AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL NO. 162
Sponsor: REPRESENTATIVE D. MILLER
Printer's No. 1943
Amend Bill, page 3, line 20, by striking out "(D)" and
inserting
(f)
Amend Bill, page 3, lines 21 through 30; pages 4 through 7,
lines 1 through 30; page 8, lines 1 through 15; by striking out
all of said lines on said pages and inserting
(b) Birth parent redaction.--
(1) No later than at the time of adoption, the
Department of Health shall develop and make available to each
birth parent a form that specifies a birth parent's desire to
have the birth parent's name redacted from the noncertified
copy of the original birth record of an adoptee when the
adoptee or, in the case of a deceased adoptee, a descendant
of the adoptee requests the original birth record's release.
The form shall be notarized with accompanying attestation of
parenthood and may be amended at any time. Absent a valid
redaction form under this paragraph, a birth parent's name
shall be available on a birth record.
(2) The following shall apply:
(i) A valid redaction form under paragraph (1) may
include a contact preference form, which the Department
of Health shall develop and make available to each birth
parent named on the original birth certificate no later
than the time of adoption. The contact preference form,
which can be amended by either birth parent any time,
shall provide a birth parent with options, in
substantially the following form, from which the birth
parent shall select one:
(A) I would like to be contacted. I have
completed the contact preference form and the medical
history form and have filed them with the Department
of Health.
(B) I would prefer to be contacted only through
an intermediary. I have completed the contact
preference form and the medical history form and have
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filed them with the Department of Health.
(C) I do not wish to be contacted. I have
completed the contact preference form and the medical
history form and have filed them with the Department
of Health.
(D) I do not wish to be contacted except in
cases where such contact is for the purpose of
addressing a life-threatening medical condition.
(ii) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
limit additional contact information from the birth
parents.
(3) A valid redaction form under paragraph (1) shall
include a medical history form, which the Department of
Health shall provide to each birth parent no later than at
the time of adoption. No identifying information shall be
mandated to be listed, and either birth parent may send
subsequent medical history forms as warranted.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an adoptee, a
descendant of an adoptee or the adopting parents may request
a copy of the medical history at any time.
(c) Administration.--
(1) The Commonwealth shall make a reasonable and
appropriate effort to engage and inform the public about the
availability of the birth parent redaction form and its
accompanying process. The Department of Health shall make
available the forms under subsection (b) to the appropriate
State agencies and publicly accessible Internet websites no
later than 30 days after the effective date of this
paragraph. This paragraph shall expire 210 days after the
effective date of this subsection.
(2) Upon receiving a request for a noncertified copy of
an original birth record from an adoptee or, if the adoptee
is deceased, a descendant of the adoptee, in the absence of a
valid redaction form under subsection (b)(1), the Department
of Health shall make a reasonable effort to contact the
listed birth parents in a manner respecting their privacy in
order to inform them of the redaction form process. If no
valid redaction form is received by the Department of Health
within 90 days of initiating search, a noncertified copy of
original birth record shall be released.
(d) Contact of birth parents.--An adoptee who receives a
noncertified copy of original birth record with redacted
information may request that the Department of Health contact a
birth parent every five years to determine whether or not the
birth parent will:
(1) permit the birth parent's name to be included on the
noncertified copy of original birth record; or
(2) provide an updated medical history form.
(e) Noncertified copy of an original birth record.--If
provided with a copy of a birth parent death certificate, the
Department of Health shall provide the adoptee, or if adoptee is
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deceased, a descendant of the adoptee, an unredacted
noncertified copy of original birth record upon request.
(f) Application.--An application under this section shall be
in a form acceptable to the Department of Health and shall
include the following information:
(1) The adoptee's current name and name assumed at the
time of adoption.
(2) The adoptee's address.
(3) The adoptee's age and date of birth.
(4) The adoptee's gender at birth.
(5) Proof of identification.
(6) The adoptee's telephone number.
(7) Any other information required by the Department of
Health, but only to the extent the information is necessary
for the Department of Health to verify the identity of the
applicant, locate relevant records or provide the adoptee's
noncertified copy of original birth record to the adoptee.
(g) Application procedures.--No later than 210 days from the
effective date of this subsection, the Department of Health
shall develop policies and procedures necessary to implement
this section within 210 days of the effective date of this
subsection.
(h) Fee.--The Department of Health may charge a fee for
issuing a noncertified copy of the original birth record. The
fee charged shall not exceed the fee for a certified copy of an
original birth record provided in section 609-A of the act of
April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative
Code of 1929.
(i) Construction.--Nothing in the section shall be construed
to permit disclosure of an adoptee's birth record to the birth
parents of the adoptee.
Amend Bill, page 8, line 19, by striking out "§ 2937(E)" and
inserting
§ 2937(c)(1) and (g)
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