SUMMARY OF OPEN RECORDS LEGISLATION
1997-2002
ALABAMA
2000 – HB690 – Records, Unconditional – Passed into law. New law reopened original birth certificates to adult adoptees and others who had been issued amended birth certificates as children. Gov. Don Siegelman signed HB690 into law on May 25, 2000.
ARKANSAS
1999 – HB2202 – Records, Unconditional – Defeated in House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee.
2001 – HB1057 – Records, Unconditional – Died in committee.
CALIFORNIA
2001 – AB1349 – Records, Unconditional – Judicial Committee opted to hold bill over until the fall session.
2002 – AB1349 – Records, Unconditional – Judicial Committee refused to pass bill without substantial and unacceptable amendments. Bill pulled by sponsor and CAOpen2000.
COLORADO
1999– HB1188 – Intermediary System/Veto Bill – Passed into law June 2, 1999. Bill solidifies intermediary system for adoptions that occurred between 1967 and Sept. 1999. Bill guarantees anonymity for that time period. Post 1999 records are open to adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents except birth parents who had rights terminated due to neglect or abuse, and except birth mothers and adoptees who may file disclosure veto.
CONNECTICUT
1999 – SB522 – Records, Unconditional – Committee recommended clause that would allow birth parent s who relinquished between 1977 and 1999 to withhold access of birth certificate to adoptee if they can show good cause in court of law. SR1724, the conforming bill, also included provision requiring state to notify birth parents of an adoptee who has petitioned for copy of original birth certificate through intrusive means such as newspapers, etc - Died in committee.
DELAWARE
1998 – HB522 – Records, Unconditional – Passed into law with birth parent disclosure veto provision conditions, despite assurances to Bastard Nation from the DE Coalition that the bill would be pulled rather than accept such amendments.
GEORGIA
2002 – HB1127 – Records, Unconditional – Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and was referred to the Rules Committee for a date to be heard on the floor. Rules did not act upon HB1127, allowing time to run out and essentially killing this bill.
ILLINOIS
1997 – HB474, SB600 – Records, Unconditional – Died in committee even after vetoes and whiteout provisions added.
1999 – HB631 – Registry – PASSED INTO LAW. EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2000. IL Adoption Registry and Medical Exchange Act. Contains clause that if adoptee and birth mother both register and both agree, adoptee will be issued his/her original birth certificate. As of May 2002, 51 matches have been made.
LOUISIANA
2001 – Bill 30 – Records, Unconditional – House Committee added conditions to Bill 30. Bill withdrawn by sponsors.
MARYLAND
1997 – HB303 – Records, Conditional/Mandatory CI System – Unfavorable report from committee. Bill died.
1998 – HB214, SB114 – Records, Conditional/Disclosure Vetoes/Complex CI System – PASSED INTO LAW MAY 21, 1998.
MINNESOTA
1997 – HF727, SF727 – Records, Conditional – Received favorable report from Senate Committee but died when referred to House for the following session.
MISSOURI
2000 – HB1216 – Records, Unconditional – Failed on the House floor by a vote of 30 YES – 92 NO.
2001 – HB355 – Records, Unconditional – Passed in the House Children, Families and Health Committee by vote of 12-2. Defeated in a vote before the full House.
2002 – HB1195 – Records, Unconditional – Passed in the House Civil and Administrative Law Committee. HB1195 pullled before floor vote due to added unacceptable amendments.
2002 – SB923 Records, Conditional – Rep. Selby, sponsor of HB1195, introduced amendment on floor of House to change SB923 to unconditional access of original birth certificates to adoptees at age of majority. Bill was defeated.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
2001 – HB449 – Records, Unconditional – Conditions added in subcommittee. Bill withdrawn at request of NHOARC after the addition of unacceptable amendments.
NEW JERSEY
1999 – S270 – Registry; S354 – Non-identifying Information; S498 – Records, Conditional, Disclosure Veto
2001 – S1032 – Records, Unconditional – Combined and substituted with a veto bill, S2002, as well as with a Registry Bill, S300. Died in committee.
2002 – SB2002 reintroduced as S194 – Records, Conditional, assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee.
NEW YORK
1997 – A7067 – Records, Conditional – Passed out of Children and Families Committee and sent to Codes.
2000 – A4316, S3477 – Records, Conditional – Judicial Committee to review.
OREGON
1997 – SB895 – Records, Conditional with disclosure and contact vetoes and birth parent access – Defeated.
1997 – Measure 58 – Bastard Nation inspired Ballot Initiative/ Records, Unconditional, Helen Hill, Chief Petitioner. Electorate overwhelmingly approved Measure 58 on Nov. 3, 1999. Scheduled to go into effect Sept. 3, 1999, but lawsuits and injunctions were filed. Opponents lost in all state and federal courts. Measure 58 went into effect on May 30, 2000. All Oregon born adoptees, 21 years of age or older, may request and receive their original birth certificates, unconditionally.
PENNSYLVANIA
1998 – Advisory Committee formed to assist the PA Joint State Commission's Task Force on Adoption Law. Bastard Nation Executive Committee member Cynthia Bertrand Holub was appointed to this committee.
1998 – SB544, HB1642 – Uniform Adoption Act – Died in committee.
2002 – SB859, HB1471 – Broad Adoption Reform Bill recommended by PA Advisory Committee. Records section includes expansion of CI system for adoptees born before passage of this Act and access to records if CI searcher fails to locate a birth parent to secure permission w/in 18 months. Adoptees born after passage would have unconditional access to original birth certificate. Died in committee, expected to be reintroduced.
RHODE ISLAND
2001 – SB2767 – Records, Unconditional – Stalled in committee.
2002 – SB2767 – Records, Unconditional – Judiciary Committee - no action taken to date.
SOUTH CAROLINA
1999 – HB4504 – Records, Conditional – Died in committee.
TENNESSEE
1998 – Records, Conditional – Contains disclosure vote for adoptees who were product of rape or incest, as well as a contact veto that applies to all adoptees. Passed into law. Opponents challenged law through TN and federal courts. The TN Supreme Court upheld the law and the Federal Sixth District Court of Appeals ruled in TN's favor. (Doe v. Sundquist). Law went into effect in 1999.
TEXAS
1997 – HB1835, SB1445 – Records, Unconditional – Voted down on House floor and died in Senate Committee.
1999 – HB13 – Records, Unconditional – Died in committee.
2001 – HB1767 – Records, Unconditional with a contact preference provision – Died in committee.
WASHINGTON
1998 – HB2810, SB6496 – Records, Unconditional – Passed both House and Senate Committees by wide margin. Because of short 60–day session, the bill s did not make it out of either Rules Committee before cut-off date.
1999 – Records, Unconditional – Reintroduced in House, but bill was never filed and instead a legislator filed a disclosure veto bill, HB 1784. Original Bill pulled by its supporters.
WISCONSIN
1999 – AB526 – Records, Conditional – Referred to Committee on Family Law.
CANADA
NOVA SCOTIA
1999 – Bill #117 – Records, Conditional – Withdrawn
NEWFOUNDLAND
1999 –2000 – Bill #14 – Records, Conditional – New adoption legislation to overhaul their 50-year-old adoption act. The new legislation contains disclosure and contact vetoes, criminal penalties, and a mutual consent registry. First Reading Apr. 30/02, Second Reading Dec. 2/02, Committee Dec. 12/02, no amendments, Third Reading Dec. 16/02, Royal Assent Dec. 19/02 PASSED INTO LAW.
ONTARIO
2000 – Bill # 108 – Records, Conditional – Withdrawn due to short session.
2001 – Bill #77– Records, Conditional – Heard by the Standing Committee on General Government. Bill passed out of committee with 2 main amendments: contact veto fine increased to $10,000 and wording was changed from "no-contact notice" to "contact veto." Bill 77 might have a third reading at the next session.
WATCH THESE STATES IN 2003
ARKANSAS
GEORGIA
LOUISIANA
MISSOURI
NEVADA