HBA-KMH H.B. 13 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 13 By: Goolsby Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 12/28/1998 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Until the codification of the Texas Family Code in 1973, state law allowed an adopted person to access court records regarding their adoption. Now, access may only be authorized by a finding of "good cause" by a court of competent jurisdiction. "Good cause" is not defined for these purposes and is subject to interpretation by each court. H.B. 13 authorizes the state registrar to provide, under certain conditions, a noncertified copy of an adopted person's birth certificate to the adopted person, as well as other information if ordered by the court. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sec. 192.008, Health and Safety Code, as follows: (a)Adds a restriction that the only information that may be changed on a supplementary birth certificate is the name of the mother, father, or child. Removes language which stated that this subsection does not prohibit a single individual, male or female, from adopting a child and redesignates it to the newly created Subsection (h). (b)Prohibits the state registrar from issuing a supplementary birth certificate if a court, an adoptive parent, or an adoptee 12 years of age or older requests that it not be issued, but requires the state registrar to furnish a certified copy of the report of adoption in such instances. (c) -(f) Redesignated from existing Subsections (b)-(e). (e)Expands the definition of the court of competent jurisdiction under this subsection by striking the language which had limited it to the court that granted the adoption. Deletes an original birth certificate from the list of things to which a court may order access. New Subsection (g) offers an exception to this subsection. Makes a conforming change. (f)Authorizes the release of additional information, under this subsection, about adoption and termination suits, including the identity and location of the court, the docket number, and the date the adoption or termination order was signed. (g)Requires the state registrar to provide to a person who was adopted a noncertified copy of the person's original birth certificate if the person is 21 years of age or older; a supplementary birth certificate was issued for the person; and, the person furnishes proof of the person's identity. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Provides that the change in law made by this Act regarding access to birth certificate information applies without regard to the date an adoption order is rendered. SECTION 3. Emergency Clause.