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Committee backs bill to let adult adoptees access birth records retroactively
Summary
The Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee voted to send House Bill 47 to the Senate floor with a "due pass" recommendation. The bill would permit adoptees born before July 1, 2022, to request their original birth records once they turn 18, with a notification process and limited redaction options for birth parents.
The Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee voted to send House Bill 47 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation after testimony from the bill's sponsors and supporters.
Representative Barbara Ehart, R-33, and Senator Brandon Shippey, R-9, described the bill as a measure to allow adoptees who were adopted before July 1, 2022, to access their birth records after they reach age 18. Representative Julianne Young, the bill's original sponsor, told the committee the change is intended to balance adoptees' interest in health and identity information with birth parents' privacy.
"This legislation is not about imposing any course of action on any adoptee or any birth parents," Representative Young said. She described a notification process in which the Department of Vital Records would notify a listed birth parent when an adult adoptee requests records. That parent may indicate a preference for no contact or request their identifying information be redacted for up to five years, Young said. If a parent requests redaction, the record review process can be repeated every five years.
Supporters said the bill mirrors procedures already in place for adoptions finalized after July 1, 2022. Representative Ehart and Shippey said the bill would simply extend that process retroactively so adults adopted earlier can access medical and family history without necessarily forcing direct contact.
Committee discussion focused on how the notification and redaction process would work. Senator Maryanne Wintrow asked whether a birth parent could ensure their identity is never disclosed; Young answered that no method can guarantee anonymity given modern DNA and internet searches, but that the bill would allow parents to register contact preferences with the Department of Vital Records and update contact information to avoid unwanted disclosures.
A motion to send the bill to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation was made by Senator Lank and seconded. Senator Wintrow asked for more time to study the measure and was recorded as voting "nay" on the committee recommendation; the motion nevertheless carried.
The committee did not amend the bill at the hearing.
The committee hearing included public testimony from Representative Julianne Young by videoconference and statements from the bill's legislative sponsors. No written amendments were adopted during the session.
