BIRTH CERT. & CONTACT FORM; ADOPTEES H.B. 5148 (H-1) & 5149 (H-1):
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bills 5148 and 5149 (Substitute H-1 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Kristian Grant (H.B. 5148)
Representative Pat Outman (H.B. 5149)
House Committee: Families, Children, and Seniors
Senate Committee: Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety
Date Completed: 2-14-24
CONTENT
The bills would allow an adult adoptee or a descendent or legal representative of an adult
adoptee to obtain an unredacted copy of the adult adoptee's birth certificate by filing a written
request with the State Registrar and paying a fee. Currently, former parents who had their
rights terminated may deny the release of identifying information; the bills would delete this
provision but maintain any denial filed before July 1, 2024. Instead, the Department of Health
and Human Services (DHHS) would have to develop a contact preference form that former
parents, including those with terminated parental rights, could file with the DHHS or State
Registrar. The form would allow the former parent to specify contact preferences, including
no contact, direct contact, or contact through an intermediary. Additionally, the bills would
delete a provision that required adoptees adopted between May 28, 1945, and September 12,
1980, to have central registry clearance and a court order to obtain birth records.
The bills are tie-barred, and each bill would take effect 90 days after its enactment.
FISCAL IMPACT
The bills would have small but indeterminate fiscal impact on the DHHS and local units of
government. There would be administrative costs for the DHHS and local units of government
including transitioning to the new policy, notifying the affected public of the change, and
gathering of records when adoptees request their original birth certificate.
MCL 333.2829 & 333.2882 (H.B. 5148) Legislative Analyst: Eleni Lionas
710.27a et al. (H.B. 5149) Fiscal Analyst: Humphrey Akujobi
Joe Carrasco, Jr.
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CONTENT
House Bill 5148 (H-1) would amend the Public Health Code do the following:
-- Allow an adult adoptee or a descendent or legal representative of an adult
adoptee to receive an unredacted copy of the adult adoptee's birth certificate
upon written request and payment of a fee.
-- Require the State Registrar to develop a contact preference form for former
parents.
-- Require the State Registrar to provide any contact preference form that was filed
and a notice that the individual could request certain information under the
Adoption Code if the State Registrar provided a birth certificate copy to an
individual described above.
House Bill 5149 (H-1) would amend the Michigan Adoption Code to do the following:
-- Allow for the disclosure of the names of biological or adoptive parents under
certain conditions, such as creating a new birth certificate or issuing an
unredacted birth certificate copy.
-- Delete a provision that specifies that individuals adopted between May 28, 1945,
and September 12, 1980, must have central registry clearance and a court order
to obtain birth records.
-- Delete provisions allowing former parents to deny consent of the release of
identifying information after July 1, 2024.
-- Allow former parents to complete a contact preference form with the State
Registrar or DHHS that specified contact preferences, including no contact, direct
contact, or contact through an intermediary.
-- Specify that all adoption records would be public record 100 years after the birth
of the adoptee.
-- Require the DHHS to make reasonable efforts to notify members of the public
who could be affected by changes in the law governing the release of identifying
and nonidentifying information and access to original birth certificates.
House Bill 5148 (H-1)
The Public Health Code requires a probate court to prepare an adoption report for any adoption
ordered by that court. The report must contain information necessary to establish a birth
certificate for the adopted individual, and the birth certificate must conform to standards
provided under the Adoption Code. Under the bill, this provision would be subject to the
restrictions pertaining to the release of certain identifying information of former parents as
proposed by House Bill 5149 (H-1)
On receipt of a written request of an adult adoptee and payment of a fee, the State Registrar
must issue that individual a copy of his or her original certificate of live birth, if the written
request identifies the name of the adult adoptee and is accompanied by a copy of a Central
Adoption Registry clearance reply form that was completed by the DHHS and delivered to that
individual. Instead, under the bill, the State Registrar would have to issue an unredacted copy
of that individual's original certificate of live birth if the adult adoptee provided a written
request that identified the name of the adult adoptee, and the written request was
accompanied by payment of the required fee.
Currently, upon receipt of a written request of a confidential intermediary, presentation of a
certified copy of the order appointment, identification of the name of the adult adoptee, and
payment of a fee, the State Registrar must issue that confidential intermediary a copy of the
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original certificate of live birth of the adult adoptee on whose behalf the intermediary was
appointed. The bill would delete this provision. Instead, under the bill' the State Registrar
would have to issue a descendent or legal representative of an adult adoptee an unredacted
birth certificate of the adult adoptee, if the descendant or legal guardian provided a written
request that identified the name of the adult adoptee and the applicable fee.
If the State Registrar provided a copy of a birth certificate under the provisions described
above, the State Registrar also would have to provide all the following:
-- Any contact preference form prescribed by the State Registrar that was filed with the
original birth certificate or any update contact preference form filed with the DHHS at any
time.
-- A notice that the individual could request identifying information under the Michigan
adoption code.
Additionally, the State Registrar would have to prescribe and furnish a contact preference
form that a parent named on a birth certificate could file with the State Registrar or DHHS to
provide an individual receiving a copy of the certificate with the former parent's wishes
concerning contact including no contact, direct contact, or contact through an intermediary.
House Bill 5149 (H-1)
Under the Adoption Code, for all adoptions in which the former parents' rights were terminated
before May 28, 1945, or on or after September 12, 1980, a child placing agency, a court, or
the DHHS must release to an adult adoptee the identifying information described in Section
27(3) and any additional information on file with the Central Adoption Registry. If a former
parent has filed a currently effective statement with the Registry denying consent to have
identifying information released, however, the name and most recent address of each
biological parent may not be released. This provision does not apply to adoptions in which the
former parent's rights were terminated under the Safe Delivery of Newborns Law (which
allows a parent to surrender a newborn to an emergency service provider) unless the former
parent filed a statement with the Registry consenting to the release of identifying information.
The bill would delete these provisions.
(Section 27(3) requires a parent or guardian, the DHHS, a child placing agency, or a court
that places an adoptee to compile the following information, if reasonably obtainable:
-- The name of the child before adoption placement.
-- The name of each biological parent at the time of termination of parental rights.
-- The most recent name and address of each biological parent.
-- The names of the biological siblings at the time of the termination of parental rights.)
Instead, a child placing agency, a court, subject to certain release conditions provided below,
or the DHHS would have to release the identifying information described in Section 27(3) and
any additional information on file with the Registry to an adult adoptee; however, if a former
parent had, before July 1, 2024, a currently effective statement with the Registry denying
consent to have identifying information released, the name and most recent address of each
biological parent could not be released. A denial of consent to release identifying information
would not be effective after the death of a parent if filed before July 1, 2024.
In addition, under the Adoption Code, if a child placing agency, a court, or the DHHS requests
information from the Registry and if the clearance reply form from the Registry indicates that
neither of the former parents has on file with the Registry a currently effective statement
denying consent to release identifying information, the agency, court, or DHHS must give the
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adult adoptee a copy of the clearance reply form. The form may be used by the adult adoptee
to obtain a copy of his or her original birth certificate. Instead, under the bill, a former parent,
including a former parent whose rights were terminated, could file a contact preference form
with the State Registrar or the DHHS as proposed by House Bill 5148 (H-1). Additionally, the
restrictions on the release of identifying information could not restrict an individual from
obtaining an unredacted copy of an original birth certificate as provided by House Bill 5148 (H-1).
Generally, a person in charge of adoption records can only disclose the names of biological
parents or adoptive parents of an adopted person under certain conditions. The bill would
allow for the disclosure of such information to meet the requirements of creating a new birth
certificate and to issue an unredacted copy of the original birth certificate under House Bill 5148 (H-1).
If a child placing agency, a court, or the DHHS provides an adoptee with the name of one of
the adoptee's former parents, that entity must notify the DHHS and ensure that the original
birth certificate on file has been sealed and a new birth certificate has been prepared. The bill
would delete this provision.
Currently, the DHHS must develop forms for parents to use to consent to, deny, or revoke a
consent to or denial of the release of identifying information and forms for adult former
siblings to use to provide notice of the death of a former parent and to consent to the release
of the sibling's name and address to the adult adoptee. The denial form must contain a space
for the former parent to indicate the reason why he or she does not wish to be contacted. The
bill would delete references to the denial form.
At the time of termination of parental rights, the court must inform each parent of the
following:
-- Information pertaining to Section 27b, which concerns a central registry that controls the
release of the parent's identifying information.
-- Information pertaining to Section 68, which specifies the procedures for disclosing
identifying and nonidentifying information and conditions for release of such information.
-- An informational pamphlet explaining the release of information.
-- Information pertaining to Section 68b, which prescribes the process for the appointment
of a confidential intermediary for the search and contact of a former family member.
Specifically, the court must inform each parent that the consent to release the name and
address of each biological parent at the time of termination of parental rights is presumed
unless a parent denied the release with the central registry as described above. The court
must explain the parent's right to file, update, or revoke the denial at any time and must
provide the forms to do so. The bill would delete this provision.
Instead, under the bill, at the time of termination of parental rights, the court, and if
applicable, the child placing agency, would have to comply with the following:
-- The court would have to inform each parent of the provisions described in Section 27b,
Section 68, Section 68a, and Section 68b.
-- The court and any child placing agency would have to notify each parent of the parent's
ability to file a contact preference form and updated contact preference form.
The bill would specify that the DHHS would have to update the information packet under
Section 68a to reflect the bill's changes.
The Registry must keep on file the statements for release or denial of release of parental
information. Under the bill, the Registry would have to keep the denial of release of
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information statements on file if those statements were filed before July 1, 2024, and were
still in effect.
For adoptions in which the former parents' rights were terminated on or after May 28, 1945,
and before September 12, 1980, the Code prescribes the release of certain or all information
of Section 27(3) to an adult adoptee or to a confidential intermediary. The Code allows for
access to specific identifying information depending on degrees of parental consent. The bill
would delete these provisions.
Under the bill, all adoption records would be public records 100 years after the birth of the
adoptee. Additionally, the DHHS with the cooperation of other State departments and
agencies would have to make reasonable efforts to notify members of the public who could
be affected by changes in law governing the release of identifying and non-identifying
information and access to the original birth certificate including all the following:
-- Informing the public by submitting a press release and information to news media.
-- Informing the adoptee, birth parent, and genealogy groups in the State and other states.
-- Including information in motor vehicle registration and driver's license renewals.
-- Including information on social media, the DHHS website, and other online services and
platforms.
Within 14 days of a request from the DHHS, the court that entered the adoption order would
have to provide the DHHS with the necessary information to locate and identify the birth
certificate of the adopted individual.
SAS\S2324\s5148sa
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official
statement of legislative intent.
Page 5 of 5 Bill Analysis @ www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa hb5148/5149/2324


Statutes affected:
Substitute (H-1): 333.2829, 333.2882
House Introduced Bill: 333.2829, 333.2882
As Passed by the House: 333.2829, 333.2882