State Legislation: 2024

Kentucky

HB87. [ENACTED] Provides court records only upon birthparent consent or to the children, grandchildren, or siblings of deceased adoptees or birthparents. Kentucky is a restricted state. Currently, either a court order or birthparent consent is required to obtain copies of court adoption records. The House bill, as initially introduced, carved out an exception: if you are a child, grandchild, or sibling—either of a deceased adoptee or a deceased birthparent—you can obtain adoption records upon request to the court. Release of the records is not available to the adult adopted person while that person is alive. Rep. John Blanton (R) is the primary author, and the bill was assigned to the Judiciary Committee. At its initial hearing, the committee recommended passage but adopted a substitute bill that would make the release of the records up to the discretion of the court, changing “shall” to “may” when considering the release to descendants of adopted people or birthparents. It passed the House on a 92-1 floor vote. It was then heard in the Senate Judiciary committee in March, where it was substantially amended, recommended for passage, and later passed the full Senate. The House concurred with the Senate amendments and it was signed by Gov. Andy Bashear on April 4, 2024. At its core—though not clearly outlined—the final enacted bill upholds current law requiring consent of birthparents to release records to the adult adopted person, but mandates release if that consent is present. It also adds the ability of children, grandchildren, or siblings of deceased adoptees or birthparents to obtain the records, though release is limited through the discretion of the court. The law is effective July 15, 2024.

Idaho

HB544 [PASSED HOUSE; FAILED SENATE COMMITTEE VOTE]. Modifies an already complex and discriminatory law but makes it worse by categorizing adulthood for most adoptees to be 40 years of age or older. This bill is a prime example of using a badly flawed “incremental” approach to adoptee rights legislation. It takes a current complex law (described in this FAQ) and makes it worse, if not insulting. The bill, sponsored by the House State Affairs Committee, requires most Idaho-born adoptees to be at least 40 years of age to ask for their own original birth record. From there, the bill follows what is now required under current law: use of Idaho’s Voluntary Adoption Registry, which currently mandates matches between participants before any information is released (and birthparents can ask that no information be released). If there is a match, a waiting period of a “minimum” of 30 days goes into place, where the birthparent has the option to express a contact preference. Nevertheless, one option—which contradicts the primary purpose of any “mutual consent” adoption registry—is a birthparent’s right to request and secure redaction of their information on the adoptee’s original birth record. You can read our analysis of the original 2022 bill (now law) here. The only thing this bill changes is to allow 40+-year-old adoptees to participate in the state’s broken and badly designed system. The bill moved quickly in the House and passed the full House on February 21, 2024, on a generally close 46-24 vote. It failed to be recommended for passage in the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee and is considered dead for the session.

Maryland

HB214 [DIED IN SENATE]. Repeals a requirement that an adult’s legal parents must consent to the person’s adoption— as an adult. Adult adoption—i.e., the adoption of one adult by another adult or adults—is an option in every state in the United States, and very few states have significant limitations on the procedure. Most states allow adults to adopt other adults, and the only requirement for most of these adoptions is the consent of the adult to be adopted. Maryland, however, is the only state in the United States that requires the consent of the adult adoptee as well as the adoptee’s legal parents at the time of the proposed adoption. As such, adults who legally wish to end their current relationship with their parents—for whatever reason— may not do so in Maryland unless they first obtain their current parents’ consent. This bill eliminates the need of an adult to consent for an adoption from their parents. It was heard in committee on January 25, 2024, with compelling testimony from adults who have unsuccessfully sought adult adoptions in Maryland. On March 13, it was reported out favorably to the House, where it later passed on a vote of 135-0. It is now in the Senate, where it was heard in Judicial Proceedings on March 26. The Maryland legislature adjourned in early April without further Senate action.

Michigan

HB5148/HB5149. [PASSED HOUSE] Provides an unrestricted right, at age 18, for Michigan-born adoptees to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificate. House bills 5148 and 5149, introduced on October 17, 2023, are tie-bar bills (both bills must pass for either to become law) that repeal and simplify Michigan’s overly complex and inequitable system that currently restricts adult adopted persons from requesting and obtaining their own vital records. HB5148, carried by Rep. Kristian Grant (D) amends Michigan vital records law so that all adult adopted persons and their descendants may request and obtain a copy of the adopted person’s original birth record. Such requests are made and fulfilled directly through the state registrar, without the need to involve Michigan’s Central Adoption Registry (CAR) or the court. HB5149, carried by Rep. Pat Outman (R), eliminates the the state’s Central Adoption Registry’s control over the release of pre-adoption birth records, while at the same time repealing the differential treatment of adoptees based on the date that parental rights had been terminated. The bills reflect the long work of the Michigan Adoptees Rights Coalition (MARC) and its member organizations. More information about the bills and MARC are on MARC’s website, including a more thorough overview. The bills made it out of the Children, Family and Seniors Committee on November 8 and were both passed by the full House on November 9 on identical 99-8-3 votes. The Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety, completed the second of two hearings on February 29. Shortly after the last hearing, the Michigan Adoptee Rights Coalition withdrew its current support for the bills, given oppositon from numerous Michigan-based organizations, including the Catholic Conference and the state chapter of the ACLU. Though the bills are still technically active, the likelihood of further movement in the Senate is slim.

Mississippi

HB1029 [DIED IN COMMITTEE] Confusing bill that would release the OBC at age 24 but may preserve the right of a birthparent to veto release of information. HB1029 appears modeled in part on Louisiana’s new law, setting the age at 24 for an adopted person to request their own original birth record. Except Mississippi does not have the issue Louisiana has with its civil code and the broad inheritance rights of adults. Worse, the bill confusingly appears to preserve an existing right of birthparents to “expressly prohibit[ ] the bureau from providing the adoptee with any information about such birth parent’s identity and location, and prohibiting any licensed adoption agency from conducting a search for such birth parent.” Oddly, the bill also allows a birthparent to file a contact preference form and, even though the parent appears to be able to veto the release of information, the contact preference form is still provided to the adopted person. While language in in the bill attempts to exempt release of the OBC from the birthparent veto, it sill needs work to make it abundantly clear. It may, however, be fixable with a few simple tweaks. It is sponsored by Republican Billy Adam Calvert, and it is currently assigned to Judiciary B.

SB2030 [DIED IN COMMITTEE]. Releases the OBC to an adopted person who is at least 21 years of age “unless otherwise ordered by a court.” SB2030 is identical to a bill from last year, authored by Senator Angela Burks Hill. It provides that a “person who has been adopted is entitled to a certified copy of the person’s original birth certificate if the person is at least twenty-one (21) years old. Sounds good so far, except that a provision has been tacked on to the end, which allows release of the OBC “unless otherwise provided by a court.” As a practical matter, such a provision will be available for all adoptions going forward and, if requested by a parent, will be included in a court’s order at the time of adoption. For this reason, it is a bill that will ultimately create the option for a birthparent to veto disclosure, requested at the time of surrender and finalization of the adoption. Last year an identical bill passed the full Mississippi Senate on a partisan vote of 41-11. It later died in conference. As with last year, it is referred again to the Senate Judiciary A Committee.

HB314 [DIED IN COMMITTEE]. Repeat discriminatory bill that requires birthparent notice and consent before releasing any identifying information, including an original birth certificate. This is a repeat bill for at least the last two sessions. Representative Lee Yancey introduced identical bills the last two sessions. The bill imposes a birthparent notice and consent requirement for the release of any identifying information, including the original birth record. The key provision in HB314 states that “the bureau [of vital statistics] shall contact the birth parent . . . to notify him or her of the request. Upon agreement from a birth parent, the bureau shall provide the requested information regarding only the parent who agreed to the release of identifying information.” While the bill is silent on redaction, the wording of the bill suggests that any information about a non-consenting parent will be redacted. The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary A Committee, where it died in the 2022 and 2023 sessions.

HB344 [DIED IN COMMITTEE]. Modifies requirements for issuing a foreign certificates of birth for intercountry adoptees whose adoptive parents are Mississippi residents. Straightforward bill that eliminates the requirement to register a full and final adoption in state court in order to obtain a state-issued foreign certificate of birth. It applies only to adoptees who acquired US citizenship automatically under the Child Citizenship Act. The bill would allow the Mississippi vital records registrar to issue a certificate of foreign birth after presentation of proof of US citizenship and documents related to the adoption, including a birth certificate, the original adoption decree, and any English translations. Republican Rep. Fred Shanks introduced the bill, and it is assigned to the House Judiciary B Committee.

New York

A8412/S7261. Extends the issuance of New York state foreign certificates of birth to adult intercountry adopted people. In most states an intercountry adoptee as a minor can be issued a certificate of foreign birth so long as there is a full and final adoption registered in state court. This bill extends the issuance of a foreign certificate of birth (which New York calls a “certificate of birth data”) to any adoptee of any age, including people adopted as adults. It also makes the ability to obtain a certificate of birth data retroactive for adoptees who did not previously receive such a certificate as a child (New York did not begin issuing certificates of birth data to intercountry adoptees until the late 1970s). A8412 was introduced on December 29, 2023, and it is carried by Assemblymember Amy Paulin; S7261 is being carried by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. While it moved out of committee in the Senate, it died before reaching the floor for a vote.

SB7303. Requires insurance coverage for medically-related genetic testing for adoptees and those who were in foster care. We may start to see more bills like this in the near future. This is fairly straightforward and requires medical insurers to “provide coverage for comprehensive medical genetic testing to determine the presence or absence of an inherited genetic characteristic . . . to persons who were adoptees . . . or who were persons placed in foster care.” Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-Staten Island) introduced the bill. It was assigned to the Senate Insurance Committee, where it did not receive further consideration.

South Carolina

H5265. [DIED IN COMMITTEE] Releases the identity of a birthparent to an adult adopted person through the state’s mutual consent registry but only if the birthparent is dead and the adopted person provides the parent’s proof of death. This is a “dead parents don’t talk” bill that depends on a birthparent’s death before any information is released from the state’s mutual consent registry. The core provision of the bill provides:

Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, an adoption agency shall furnish the identity of an adoptee’s biological parent to the adoptee if the adoptee is at least eighteen years of age and furnishes the adoption agency with a certification from the Department of Public Health’s bureau of vital statistics or from an office of vital records in another jurisdiction certifying that the biological parent is deceased.

Introduced relatively late in the session (the South Carolina legislature adjourns in May) it has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. It died in committee without a hearing.

Virginia

HB550 [CARRIED OVER TO 2025]. Reintroduced bill from 2023. Restores the right of an adult adopted person to request and obtain their own original pre-adoption birth certificate. Current Status: Available for floor vote. This is a fairly simple and direct bill within a complex legal framework for Virginia OBCs. The primary provision of the bill states that “at the written request and upon proof of identification, the State Health Commissioner shall provide an adult adoptee access to his original birth certificate and make such certificate available for copy.” The bill author (known as a chief “patron” under Virginia legislative procedures) is Republican Representative Wendell Walker of Lynchburg. He introduced the bill in 2023, and it got as far as passing second reading in the House before it was re-referred to committee, where it did not progress further. This year it is again on a fast track. It was referred to the Health and Human Services Committee, where it was heard in subcommittee on January 18. The subcommittee recommended minor non-substantive amendments. Upon full committee consideration, the committee voted 16-6 to report the bill favorably for passage. The vote, however, indicated a split among Democrats, with 6 voting yes and 6 voting no; all ten Republicans on the committee voted yes. It passed the full House on a 66-32 vote on January 29. The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee, however, heard the bill and voted 8-6 to carry it over to 2025, essentially killing the bill for 2024. The Capitol Coalition for Adoptee Rights, which includes the Virginia Adoptee Rights Alliance, is advocating for the the bill but neither organization was involved in the bill’s drafting or introduction.

West Virginia

HB4815 [DIED IN COMMITTEE] Reintroduced bill from prior years, which requires use of the state’s registry and an unsuccessful attempt to get identifying information. This bill requires an adult adopted person, aged 18 or over, to request and to be “unsuccessful in obtaining identifying information” from the state’s mutual consent registry before being able to apply for an original birth record (but at age 21). While the bill appears to require the state registrar to issue the OBC to the adoptee under those limited circumstances, a separate provision in current law creates significant doubt whether that could occur without a birthparent’s consent. In addition, West Virginia’s mutual consent registry requires the adopted person to complete “one hour of counseling with a social worker or social service worker employed by the Department’s registry.” It is a confusing bill and does not restore to West Virginia adoptees their unrestricted right to request and obtain their own OBCs. Josh Holstein is the prime sponsor. The bill died in Committee without a hearing.

SB153 [DIED IN COMMITTEE] Requires redaction of the original birth certificate by default unless a birthparent agrees to release the record. SB153 is a repeat bill that applies to adult adoptees and lineal descendants of the adoptee. To request your own birth record an adoptee must be at least 18 years of age and “graduated from high school, completed a Test Assessing Secondary Completion program or has legally withdrawn from secondary schooling.” The bill also uses a “contact preference and personal identifying information disclosure form,” which must be used by birthparents to agree to release of personally identifying information and to register any contact preference. If a birthparent does not complete and file the form, the adult adoptee will by default receive a redacted OBC. In addition, the lack of birthparent consent (or a veto of release) applies to currently deceased birthparents and lasts beyond the death of any birthparent, creating what is known as a “Zombie Veto.” Because the bill passed the senate last session, it is on a fast track and starts on the senate floor without having to move through committee. It is currently poised to pass the full senate on third reading, though it has been referred to the Rules committee, where it currently sits. Last session it passed the Senate but died in the House Judiciary Committee without further consideration. The bill died in the Rules Committee without further action.

Wisconsin

AB13/SB15. Provides an unrestricted right, at age 18, for an adoptee to request and obtain the “impounded” pre-adoption birth certificate. These companion bills are nearly identical to legislation introduced last session, which received predominantly Republican support and were also heard in committee but never set for a vote. As introduced, AB13 and SB15 provide a simple and unrestricted right to request and obtain the original “impounded” birth certificate at age 18. The bills further divorce Wisconsin’s current process to obtain an OBC from the state’s complex intermediary system that requires a search for birthparents to obtain consent for release of identifying information and the OBC. The Senate bill is sponsored again by Senator Andre Jacque, with support of twelve other senators and representatives, including Rep. Paul Tittl, the Assembly sponsor. SB15 has been assigned initially to the Senate Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families, now chaired by a proponent of the bill and a sponsor. AB13 is assigned to the Assembly Committee on Children and Families, where it was heard last session. The bills died without hearing.