HOUSE BILL No. 5129 October 2, 2001, Introduced by Reps. Julian, Lemmons, Toy, Rivet, Pappageorge, Zelenko, Ruth Johnson and Birkholz and referred to the Committee on Family and Children Services. A bill to amend 1939 PA 288, entitled "Probate code of 1939," by amending sections 67 and 68 of chapter X (MCL 710.67 and 710.68), as amended by 1994 PA 373. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 CHAPTER X 2 Sec. 67. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3(4)(5) or in section 68 of this chapter, records of proceed- 4 ings in adoption cases, including a notice filed under section 533(1)33 of this chapter,and a petition filed under section 634(1)34 of this chapter, and the papers and books relating to 7 the proceedings shall be kept in separate locked files and shall 8 not be open to inspection or copy except upon order of a court of 9 record for good cause shown expressly permitting inspection or 10 copy. Except as otherwise provided in subsection(4)(5) or in 00854'01 * GWH 2 1 section 68 of this chapter, the court, after 21 days following 2 entry of the final order of adoption, shall not permit copy or 3 inspection of the adoption proceedings, except upon a sworn peti- 4 tion setting forth the purpose of the inspection or copy. The 5 court may order notice and a hearing on the petition. The court 6 shall grant or deny the petition in writing within 63 days after 7 the petition is filed, except that for good cause the court may 8 grant or deny the petition after the 63-day period but not later 9 than 182 days after the petition is filed. 10 (2) A person in charge of adoption records shall not dis- 11 close the names of the biological or adoptive parents of an 12 adopted person, unless ordered to do so by a court of record or 13 as provided in subsection (4) or in section 68 of this chapter, 14 except to meet requirements of the director ofpublicTHE 15 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY health for the purpose of creating a new 16 certificate of birth in the adoptive name and sealing the origi- 17 nal certificate of birth. 18 (3)TheEXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (4) OR UNLESS THE 19 STATE REGISTRAR WAS REQUESTED TO NOT ESTABLISH A NEW BIRTH CER- 20 TIFICATE UNDER SECTION 2831 OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH CODE, 1978 21 PA 368, MCL 333.2831, THE director ofpublicTHE DEPARTMENT OF 22 COMMUNITY health shall furnish to the adopting parent or parents 23 a certified copy of the new birth certificate that shall not dis- 24 close the adoption of the person. A birth certificate issued to 25 an adopted person shall not refer to adoption and shall conform 26 as nearly as possible to the appearance of birth certificates 27 issued in other cases. 00854'01 * 3 1 (4) IN A STEPPARENT ADOPTION, AT THE WRITTEN REQUEST OF THE 2 CHILD'S BIRTH PARENT, THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY 3 HEALTH SHALL FURNISH TO THE CHILD'S PARENTS A CERTIFIED COPY OF A 4 NEW BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT IDENTIFIES BOTH THE ADOPTING STEPPAR- 5 ENT AND THE CHILD'S OTHER BIRTH PARENT, BUT ONLY IF THE OTHER 6 BIRTH PARENT IS DECEASED. THE BIRTH PARENT MAKING A REQUEST 7 UNDER THIS SUBSECTION SHALL SUBMIT WITH THE REQUEST A COPY OF THE 8 OTHER BIRTH PARENT'S DEATH CERTIFICATE OR OTHER EVIDENCE OF THAT 9 PARENT'S DEATH. 10 (5)(4)After an order of adoption has been entered under 11 section 56 OF THIS CHAPTER, the court shall permit the children's 12 ombudsman to inspect closed adoption records in connection with 13 an investigation authorized under the children's ombudsman act, 14Act No. 204 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 722.92115to 722.935 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1994 PA 204, 16 MCL 722.921 TO 722.935. The ombudsman shall not disclose infor- 17 mation obtained by an inspection under this subsection. If the 18 children's ombudsman requires further information from an indi- 19 vidual whose identity is protected in closed adoption records, 20 the ombudsman shall contact the individual discreetly and 21 confidentially. The ombudsman shall inform the individual that 22 his or her participation in the ombudsman's investigation is con- 23 fidential, is strictly voluntary, and will not alter or consti- 24 tute a challenge to the adoption. The ombudsman shall honor the 25 individual's request not to be contacted further. As used in 26 this subsection, "children's ombudsman" or "ombudsman" means the 27 ombudsman appointedpursuant toUNDER section 3 ofAct No. 20400854'01 * 4 1of the Public Acts of 1994, being section 722.923 of the Michigan2Compiled LawsTHE CHILDREN'S OMBUDSMAN ACT, 1994 PA 204, 3 MCL 722.923, or his or her designee. 4 Sec. 68. (1) Within 63 days after a request for nonidenti- 5 fying information is received, a child placing agency, a court, 6 or the department shall provide in writing to the adoptive 7 parent, adult adoptee, former parent, or adult former sibling 8 requesting the information all of the nonidentifying information 9 described in section 27(1) and (2) of this chapter. 10 (2) Within 63 days after a request for identifying informa- 11 tion about an adult adoptee is received, a child placing agency 12 or court or the department shall provide in writing to the former 13 parent or adult former sibling requesting the information the 14 adult adoptee's most recent name and address if the adult adoptee 15 has given written consent to release of the informationpursuant16toAS PROVIDED IN this chapter. If the adult adoptee has not 17 given written consent to the release of information, the child 18 placing agency, the court, or the department shall, upon presen- 19 tation of a certified copy of the order of appointment, give the 20 adult adoptee's name and address to a confidential intermediary 21 appointedpursuant toUNDER section 68b of this chapter, 22 together with any other information in its possession that would 23 help the confidential intermediary locate the adult adoptee. At 24 the option of agency or the department, the information may be 25 released to the court for release to the confidential 26 intermediary. 00854'01 * 5 1 (3) If the department or a child placing agency receives a 2 request for adoption record information in its possession from an 3 adult adoptee, former parent, or adult former sibling, the 4 department or child placing agency shall provide the individual 5 requesting the information with the identity of the court that 6 confirmed the adoption within 28 days after receipt of the 7 request. If a court receives such a request, the court shall 8 provide the individual requesting the information with the iden- 9 tity of the child placing agency that handled the adoption. 10 (4) If the court that terminated parental rights receives 11 from the former parents or adult former siblings of the adult 12 adoptee a request for the identity of the agency, court, or 13 department to which the child was committed, the court shall pro- 14 vide in writing the name of that agency, court, or department, if 15 known, within 28 days after receipt of the request. 16 (5) Upon receipt of a written request for identifying infor- 17 mation from an adult adoptee AND IF IT MAINTAINS THE ADOPTION 18 FILE FOR THAT ADOPTEE, a child placing agency, a court, or the 19 department, if it maintains the adoption file for that20adoptee,shall submit a clearance request form to the central 21 adoption registry. Within 28 days after receipt of a clearance 22 reply form from the central adoption registry, the child placing 23 agency, court, or department shall notify the adoptee in writing 24 of the identifying information to which the adoptee is entitled 25 under subsection (6) or (7), or, if the identifying information 26 cannot be releasedpursuant toUNDER those subsections, the 27 reason why the information cannot be released. The child placing 00854'01 * 6 1 agency, court, or department shall retain a copy of the notice 2 sent to the adult adoptee. 3 (6) For adoptions in which the former parents' rights were 4 terminated on or after May 28, 1945 and before September 12, 5 1980, a child placing agency, a court, or the department shall 6 release to an adult adoptee or to a confidential intermediary 7 appointed under section 68b of this chapter the identifying 8 information described in section 27(3) of this chapter and other 9 identifying information on file with the central adoption regis- 10 try as specified in section 27b of this chapter, in the following 11 manner: 12 (a) All of the identifying information described in 13 section 27(3) of this chapter shall be released to the adult 14 adoptee,if both former parents have on file with the central 15 adoption registry a statement consenting to release of the iden- 16 tifying information. 17 (b) The identifying information described in 18 section 27(3)(b) and (c) of this chapter about 1 of the former 19 parents and the identifying information described in 20 section 27(3)(a) and (d) of this chapter shall be released to the 21 adult adoptee if that former parent has on file with the central 22 adoption registry a statement consenting to release of identify- 23 ing information. 24 (c) The identifying information described in 25 section 27(3)(b) and (c) of this chapter about 1 of the former 26 parents and the identifying information described in 00854'01 * 7 1 section 27(3)(a) and (d) of this chapter shall be released to the 2 adult adoptee if that parent is deceased. 3 (d) All of the identifying information described in 4 section 27(3) of this chapter on both former parents shall be 5 released to the adult adoptee, if both former parents are 6 deceased. 7 (e) Upon presentation of a certified copy of the order of 8 appointment, all of the identifying information described in 9 section 27(3) of this chapter shall be released to a confidential 10 intermediary appointedpursuant toUNDER section 68b of this 11 chapter, together with additional information to assist the con- 12 fidential intermediary to locate former family members. At the 13 option of the agency or the department, the information may be 14 released to the court for release to the confidential 15 intermediary. 16 (7) For all adoptions in which the former parents' rights 17 were terminated before May 28, 1945 or on or after September 12, 18 1980, a child placing agency, a court, or the department shall 19 release to an adult adoptee the identifying information described 20 in section 27(3) of this chapter and any additional information 21 on file with the central adoption registry as specified in sec- 22 tion 27b of this chapter, except that if a former parent has 23 filed a statement currently in effect with the central adoption 24 registry denying consent to have identifying information 25 released, the identifying information specified in 26 section 27(3)(b) and (c) of this chapter shall not be released 00854'01 * 8 1 about that parent. For purposes of this subsection, a denial of 2 consent is not effective after the death of the former parent. 3 (8) Upon receipt of a written request from an adult adoptee 4 for the name and address of an adult former sibling, a child 5 placing agency, a court, or the department, if it maintains the 6 adoption file for that adoptee, shall submit a clearance request 7 form to the central adoption registry. Within 28 days after 8 receipt of a clearance reply form from the central adoption reg- 9 istry, the child placing agency, court, or department shall 10 notify the adoptee in writing of the name and address of an adult 11 former sibling whose statement was forwarded by the central adop- 12 tion registry. 13 (9) If a child placing agency or court or the department 14 requests information from the central adoption registry and if 15 the clearance reply form from the central adoption registry indi- 16 cates that neither of the former parents has on file with the 17 central adoption registry a statement currently in effect denying 18 consent to have identifying information released, the child plac- 19 ing agency, court, or department shall deliver to the adult 20 adoptee a copy of the clearance reply form it received from the 21 central adoption registry. The clearance reply form may be used 22 by the adult adoptee to obtain a copy of his or her original cer- 23 tificate of live birthpursuant toUNDER section 2882 of the 24 public health code,Act No. 368 of the Public Acts of 1978,25being section 333.2882 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1978 26 PA 368, MCL 333.2882. This subsection applies to all adoptions 00854'01 * 9 1 in which the parents' rights were terminated before May 28, 1945 2 or on or after September 12, 1980. 3 (10) If a child placing agency, a court, or the department 4 receives written information concerning a physician-verified med- 5 ical or genetic condition of an individual biologically related 6 to an adoptee and a request that the information be transmitted 7 to the adoptee because of the serious threat it poses to the 8 adoptee's life, the child placing agency, court, or department 9 shall send a written copy of the information by first-class mail 10 within 7 days after the request is received to the adoptee at his 11 or her last known address. If the adoptee is less than 18 years 12 of age, the information shall be sent by first-class mail within 13 7 days after the request is received to the adoptive parents at 14 their last known address. 15 (11) If the information described in subsection (10) is 16 returned undelivered, the agency, court, or department shall make 17 a reasonable effort to find the most recent address of the 18 adoptee or minor adoptee's parents and shall again send the 19 information by first-class mail within 21 days after receiving 20 the returned letter. 21 (12) If a child placing agency, a court, or the department 22 receives written information concerning a physician-verified med- 23 ical or genetic condition of a person biologically related to an 24 adoptee, and the condition is not life-threatening to the adopt- 25 ee, the child placing agency, court, or department shall place 26 the information in its adoption files. If the child placing 27 agency, court, or department receives a written request for the 00854'01 * 10 1 information from the adult adoptee or minor adoptee's adoptive 2 parents, it shall release a written copy of the information to 3 the adult adoptee or to the minor adoptee's adoptive parents 4 within 63 days after the request for the information was made. 5 (13) If a child placing agency, a court, or the department 6 receives written information concerning a physician-verified med- 7 ical or genetic condition that threatens the life of an adoptee 8 and for which a biologically related person could give 9 life-saving aid, and receives a request from or on behalf of the 10 adoptee that the information be transmitted, the child placing 11 agency, court, or department shall send a written copy of the 12 information by first-class mail within 7 days after the request 13 is received to the biological parents or adult biological sib- 14 lings of the adoptee at their last known address. 15 (14) If the information described in subsection (13) is 16 returned undelivered, the agency, court, or department shall make 17 a reasonable effort to find the most recent address of the bio- 18 logical parents or adult biological siblings and shall again send 19 the information by first-class mail within 21 days after receiv- 20 ing the returned letter. 21 (15) If a child placing agency, a court, or the department 22 provides an adoptee with the name of 1 of the adoptee's former 23 parents, that child placing agency, court, or department shall 24 notify the department ofpublicCOMMUNITY health of that fact. 25 Upon receipt of notification by the child placing agency, court, 26 or department, the department ofpublicCOMMUNITY health shall 27 insure that the original birth certificate on file for the 00854'01 * 11 1 adoptee has been sealed and that a new birth certificate has been 2 prepared in conformance with section 67 of this chapter. THIS 3 SUBSECTION DOES NOT APPLY IF A NEW BIRTH CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUED 4 UNDER SECTION 67(4) OF THIS CHAPTER OR IF THE STATE REGISTRAR WAS 5 REQUESTED TO NOT ESTABLISH A NEW BIRTH CERTIFICATE UNDER SECTION 6 2831 OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH CODE, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.2831. 7 (16) An employee or agent of a child placing agency, a 8 court, or the department, who intentionally releases identifying 9 information in violation of this section, is guilty of a 10 misdemeanor. 11 (17) This section also applies to a stepparent adoption and 12 to the adoption of a child related to the petitioner within the 13 fifth degree by marriage, blood, or adoption. 14 (18) As used in this section, "adult adoptee" means an indi- 15 vidual who was adopted as a child who is now 18 years of age or 16 older or an individual who was 18 years of age or older at the 17 time of adoption. 18 (19) A child placing agency, a court, and the department may 19 require a fee for supplying information under this section. The 20 fee shall be $60.00 or the actual cost of supplying the informa- 21 tion, whichever is less. The child placing agency, court, or 22 department may waive a part or all of the fee in case of indi- 23 gency or hardship. 24 (20) A direct descendant of a deceased adult adoptee may 25 request informationpursuant toUNDER this section. All infor- 26 mation to which an adult adoptee is entitledpursuant toUNDER 00854'01 * 12 1 this section shall be released to the adult adoptee's direct 2 descendants if the adult adoptee is deceased. 3 (21) A child placing agency, a court, or the department 4 shall permit the children's ombudsman to inspect adoption records 5 in its possession in connection with an investigation authorized 6 under the children's ombudsman act,Act No. 204 of the Public7Acts of 1994, being sections 722.921 to 722.935 of the Michigan8Compiled Laws1994 PA 204, MCL 722.921 TO 722.935. The ombuds- 9 man shall not disclose information obtained by an inspection 10 under this section. If the children's ombudsman requires further 11 information from an individual whose identity is protected in 12 closed adoption records, the ombudsman shall contact the individ- 13 ual discreetly and confidentially. The ombudsman shall inform 14 the individual that his or her participation in the ombudsman's 15 investigation is confidential, is strictly voluntary, and will 16 not alter or constitute a challenge to the adoption. The ombuds- 17 man shall honor the individual's request not to be contacted 18 further. As used in this subsection, "children's ombudsman" or 19 "ombudsman" means the ombudsman appointedpursuant toUNDER 20 section 3 ofAct No. 204 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sec-21tion 722.923 of the Michigan Compiled LawsTHE CHILDREN'S 22 OMBUDSMAN ACT, 1994 PA 204, MCL 722.923, or his or her designee. 00854'01 * Final page. GWH