BILL NUMBER: S3765
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to foreign adoptions
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 4138-b of the public health law to clarify the
procedures for issuance of a birth certificate apply to adopted persons
of any age, and that this provision is retroactive.
Section 2 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law, people born in other countries adopted by residents
of New York may receive birth certificates in New York state upon the
finalization of their adoption. This is a crucial area of our public
health statutes that allows adopted persons to have access to the iden-
tification documents needed for travel, education, marriage, or other
aspects of everyday life.
However, because the current statute authorizes the issuance of certif-
icates to an adopted "child," the department of health has refrained
from issuing such certificates to foreign-born adoptees whose adoption
was finalized after the age of eighteen. This restriction unnecessarily
burdens adult foreign-born adoptees.
This legislation would replace the word "child" with "person of any age"
in the foreign adoption statute and explicitly provide a path for adop-
tees born in other countries to obtain amended birth certificates in New
York State. The legislation specifies that this change in eligibility
would be retroactive, such that adoptees who were adopted as adults
before the effective date may be eligible for such certificates.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S7261 (Hoylman-Sigal), Died in committee
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.

Statutes affected:
S3765: 4138-b public health law