House Bill 102 amends various sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated related to adoption records, primarily focusing on access and consent requirements. The bill allows the department to open adoption records under specific circumstances, including when a child is reported as a victim of abuse or neglect. It modifies the age at which individuals can access their adoption records from twenty-one to eighteen years and introduces new provisions for adoptive parents and representatives of the department to access records in certain situations. Additionally, it clarifies that identifying information from sealed records can be released to adopted persons or their relatives if the biological parent is deceased.

The bill also stipulates that identifying information from sealed records cannot be released without the written consent of the biological parent if they were a victim of rape or incest, unless the biological parent is deceased. It further allows lineal descendants of a biological parent to petition for access to identifying information under specific conditions. Overall, the bill aims to enhance access to adoption records while ensuring the protection of sensitive information related to biological parents. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 36-1-126, 36-1-127, 36-1-127(c)(1)(A), 36-1-127(c)(1)(B), 36-1-127(c)(1)(C), 36-1-127(e)(1)(A), 36-1-138, 36-1-134(a)(1), 36-1-134, 36-1-136