Assembly passes bill allowing preauthorized consent for adoptee registry disclosures

Assemblymember Weprin sponsored and explained the bill amending section 4130-ac of the Public Health Law to permit adoptees and registrants to provide preauthorization consent that would allow identifying information to be released through a Department of Health form. Weprin said the change would help families in cases of death or serious injury when real-time consent is impossible and continued prior legislative work on adoptee access to records.

Opponents and questioners, including Assemblymember Walsh, pressed the sponsor on why the bill was necessary given earlier legislation that already permits adult adoptees to obtain long-form birth certificates. Walsh asked whether the registry preauthorization adds anything that the long-form certificate does not, and whether the proposed process simply shifts access in ways that might undercut privacy expectations for birth parents and siblings. Weprin and supporters said preauthorization would streamline access and could help both adoptees and their birth relatives, while the Department of Health would develop the required forms and procedures, including any revocation mechanism.

Several members raised concerns about leaving implementation details to DOH rulemaking — for example, whether a clear revocation process would be established — and whether the bill would expand access to more distant relatives. The sponsor said revocation and form specifics are standardly handled in agency regulations and that the legislative record should guide DOH rulemaking.

The Assembly approved the bill by recorded vote (Ayes 139, Nays 0). The act takes effect on the 30th day after enactment. The next step is implementation and any rulemaking by the Department of Health.