HBA-JLV H.B. 1767 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1767 By: Goolsby Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 4/1/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides that only the court that granted an adoption is allowed to access an original birth certificate and the filed documents on which a supplementary certificate is filed without a court order. As a result, those seeking information about their own adoption are limited by current statutes, making it difficult to access significant information. Also, there is not presently a mechanism by which birth parents are able to register their desire concerning contact with their birth child. Many birth parents do not desire to be contacted by their birth child, but as a result of technological advances in adoptee search methods, a birth child is still able to search for and contact their birth parent, despite the birth parent's preference. House Bill 1767 authorizes certain individuals to have access to the original birth certificate and the documents upon which the supplementary birth certificate was based, and allows birth parents to file a contact preference form to indicate whether or not they would like to be contacted by their birth child, contingent upon their provision of medical and genetic history to the state registrar. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 1767 amends the Health and Safety Code to require the state registrar to make available the original birth certificate and the filed documents on which the supplementary certificate is based without a court order to an adopted child at least 21 years of age, an adoptive parent, or an adult descendant or surviving spouse of a deceased adopted child. The bill provides that no other person may access the original birth certificate or the filed documents on which the supplementary certificate is based, except as provided by another law or a court order. The bill authorizes a birth parent who files an updated medical and genetic history to file a contact preference form with the state registrar. The bill requires the state registrar to deliver the medical and genetic history report and the contact preference form to the adopted child if the adopted child makes any inquiry with the state registrar. The bill authorizes the state registrar to charge the birth parent a reasonable fee to cover the costs of complying with the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the state registrar to keep statistics on the number of access orders received, letters filed, and notifications sent. EFFECTIVE DATE January 1, 2002.