BILL NUMBER: S9411
SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting charg-
ing a fee to obtain a certified copy or certified transcript of birth
when the department of corrections and community supervision or a local
correctional facility requests such for an individual under community
supervision
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 4 of section 4174 of the public health law.
Section 2 amends section 4179 of the public health law.
Section 3 sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Individuals often need state-issued identification to access social
services, secure housing, and apply for employment, which are all key
factors that contribute to the individual successfully reintegrating
into the community after serving an incarceratory sentence. Many people
returning from incarceration, however, do not have state-issued iden-
tification, and obtaining such identification frequently requires
providing a copy of a birth certificate, access to which can be costly.
In 2010, legislation was enacted to provide birth certificates from the
state health department and the NYC bureau of vital statistics at no
charge to state and local correctional facilities as well as to NYC DOC
when requested for the purpose of providing such certificate to an
inmate in anticipation of such inmate's release from custody. This bill
modifies existing law to expand those provisions to include requests
made on behalf of individuals under community supervision, to promote
successful reentry of those individuals.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.6602 of 2019-2020: Referred to Rules
S.2772 of 2021-2022: Referred to Health
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Minimal to state and local governments.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately

Statutes affected:
S9411: 4174 public health law, 4174(4) public health law, 4179 public health law