By: Deshotel, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Creighton) H.B. No. 984
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 16, 2015;
May 4, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 18, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
May 18, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 984 By: Creighton
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to birth records of adopted persons; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 192.008, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (g) and
(h) to read as follows:
(d) Except as provided by Subsections (e), [and] (f), and
(g), only the court that granted the adoption may order access to an
original birth certificate and the filed documents on which a
supplementary certificate is based.
(g) The state registrar shall on written request provide to
a person who was adopted or, if the adopted person is deceased, an
adult descendant, adult sibling, surviving spouse, or adoptive
parent of the adopted person, a noncertified copy of the person's
original birth certificate if:
(1) the adopted person was born in this state;
(2) the request is made on or after the adopted
person's 18th birthday;
(3) a supplementary birth certificate was issued for
the adopted person; and
(4) the person requesting the certificate furnishes,
in person or by mail, appropriate proof of the person's identity.
(h) For a noncertified birth certificate provided under
Subsection (g), the state registrar shall collect a fee in an amount
equal to the fee charged for issuance of any other noncertified
birth certificate and issue the certificate within the time
prescribed for issuance of other noncertified birth certificates.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 192.0085 to read as follows:
Sec. 192.0085. CONTACT PREFERENCE FORM AND SUPPLEMENTAL
MEDICAL HISTORY FORM. (a) The state registrar shall develop a
contact preference form on which a birth parent shall state the
birth parent's preference regarding contact by an adopted person
who is the biological offspring of the birth parent. The contact
preference form shall provide the birth parent with the following
options:
(1) authorize direct contact by the adopted person;
(2) authorize contact by the adopted person only
through an intermediary selected and identified by the birth
parent; or
(3) not authorize contact by the adopted person.
(b) The state registrar shall ensure that a birth parent who
authorizes contact through an intermediary identifies on the
contact preference form a person to serve as an intermediary and
includes on the form that person's contact information.
(c) The state registrar shall develop a supplemental
medical history form that allows a birth parent to provide
supplemental medical information in addition to the information
included in the adopted person's genetic history report provided
under Section 162.005, Family Code.
(d) The department shall make the contact preference form
and the supplemental medical history form available on the
department's Internet website and make copies of the forms
available in the state registrar's office.
(e) A birth parent may file a contact preference form and a
supplemental medical history form with the state registrar. The
birth parent may return the contact preference form and
supplemental medical history form together to the state registrar.
(f) A birth parent who authorizes direct contact by the
adopted person or contact by the adopted person through an
intermediary by filing the contact preference form with the state
registrar may not change that preference after the preference is on
file with the state registrar. A birth parent may provide updated
intermediary contact information as necessary.
(g) A birth parent who does not authorize contact by the
adopted person may choose to authorize direct contact by the
adopted person or contact by the adopted person through an
intermediary by filing a supplemental contact preference form with
the state registrar authorizing the contact.
(h) The state registrar shall provide copies of the birth
parent's contact preference form and supplemental medical history
form, if available, to an adopted person or other person authorized
to receive a noncertified copy of the adopted person's original
birth certificate under Section 192.008.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 162, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 162.0061 to read as follows:
Sec. 162.0061. CONTACT PREFERENCE FORM: NOTICE AND FILING.
(a) The Department of Family and Protective Services or the
licensed child-placing agency, person, or other entity placing a
child for adoption shall:
(1) inform the birth parents of the child:
(A) of the provisions of Chapter 192, Health and
Safety Code, relating to the birth parent contact preference form
and the rights of an adopted child to obtain a noncertified copy of
the adopted person's original birth certificate; and
(B) that the birth parents are required to
provide a completed contact preference form to the Department of
Family and Protective Services or the licensed child-placing
agency, person, or other entity placing a child for adoption;
(2) provide the birth parents of the child with a
contact preference form; and
(3) forward each original completed contact
preference form to the state registrar.
(b) The notice to a child's birth parents required by this
section shall be provided at the time that the birth parent's
parental rights to a child are terminated.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a petition for
adoption may not be granted until a copy of each birth parent's
contact preference form has been filed.
(d) A court having jurisdiction of a suit affecting the
parent-child relationship may by order waive the contact preference
form filing requirement of this section if the child's birth
parents cannot be located or are deceased or the court determines
that it is in the best interest of the child to waive the
requirement.
SECTION 4. (a) The state registrar shall develop the
contact preference form and the supplemental medical history form
as required by Section 192.0085, Health and Safety Code, as added by
this Act, not later than January 1, 2016.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 192.008(g), Health and Safety
Code, as added by this Act, the state registrar is not required to
comply with that provision until July 1, 2016.
(c) The birth parent of a person who was adopted before
January 1, 2016, may file a contact preference form and a
supplemental medical history form with the state registrar not
later than July 1, 2016, and after that date at the discretion of
the state registrar. Notwithstanding Section 192.0085(f), Health
and Safety Code, as added by this Act, a birth parent may file a
supplemental contact preference form changing the birth parent's
contact preference at any time before July 1, 2016. The latest
contact preference form on file with the state registrar and filed
before that date controls.
SECTION 5. Section 162.0061, Family Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to a suit for adoption in which an order
terminating parental rights under Chapter 161, Family Code, is
rendered on or after January 1, 2016. A suit for adoption in which
an order terminating parental rights under Chapter 161, Family
Code, is rendered before January 1, 2016, is governed by the law in
effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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