Text of CT HB 6549 (2021)

LCO No. 3928 1 of 6 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6549 January Session, 2021 LCO No. 3928 *03928_______PH_* Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH Introduced by: (PH) AN ACT CONCERNING AMENDMENTS TO MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Subdivision (10) of section 7-36 of the general statutes is 1 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2 1, 2021): 3 (10) "Amendment" means to (A) change or enter new information on 4 a certificate of birth, marriage, death or fetal death, more than one year 5 after the date of the vital event recorded in such certificate, in order to 6 accurately reflect the facts existing at the time of the recording of the 7 event, (B) create a replacement certificate of birth for matters pertaining 8 to parentage and gender change, [or] (C) create a replacement certificate 9 of marriage for matters pertaining to gender change, or (D) reflect a legal 10 name change in accordance with section 19a-42, as amended by this act, 11 or make a modification to a cause of death; 12 Sec. 2. Section 19a-42 of the general statutes is repealed and the 13 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 14 Raised Bill No. 6549 LCO No. 3928 2 of 6 (a) To protect the integrity and accuracy of vital records, a certificate 15 registered under chapter 93 may be amended only in accordance with 16 sections 19a-41 to 19a-45, inclusive, chapter 93, regulations adopted by 17 the Commissioner of Public Health pursuant to chapter 54 and uniform 18 procedures prescribed by the commissioner. Only the commissioner 19 may amend birth certificates to reflect changes concerning parentage, or 20 birth or marriage certificates to reflect changes concerning gender 21 change. Amendments related to parentage or gender change shall result 22 in the creation of a replacement certificate that supersedes the original, 23 and shall in no way reveal the original language changed by the 24 amendment. Any amendment to a vital record made by the registrar of 25 vital statistics of the town in which the vital event occurred or by the 26 commissioner shall be in accordance with such regulations and uniform 27 procedures. 28 (b) The commissioner and the registrar of vital statistics shall 29 maintain sufficient documentation, as prescribed by the commissioner, 30 to support amendments and shall ensure the confidentiality of such 31 documentation as required by law. The date of amendment and a 32 summary description of the evidence submitted in support of the 33 amendment shall be endorsed on or made part of the record and the 34 original certificate shall be marked "Amended", except for amendments 35 due to parentage or gender change. When the registrar of the town in 36 which the vital event occurred amends a certificate, such registrar shall, 37 within ten days of making such amendment, forward an amended 38 certificate to the commissioner and to any registrar having a copy of the 39 certificate. When the commissioner amends a birth certificate, including 40 changes due to parentage or gender, the commissioner shall forward an 41 amended certificate to the registrars of vital statistics affected and their 42 records shall be amended accordingly. 43 (c) An amended certificate shall supersede the original certificate that 44 has been changed and shall be marked "Amended", except for 45 amendments due to parentage or gender change. The original certificate 46 in the case of parentage or gender change shall be physically or 47 electronically sealed and kept in a confidential file by the department 48 Raised Bill No. 6549 LCO No. 3928 3 of 6 and the registrar of any town in which the birth was recorded, and may 49 be unsealed for issuance only as provided in section 7-53 or upon a 50 written order of a court of competent jurisdiction. The amended 51 certificate shall become the official record. 52 (d) (1) Upon receipt of (A) an acknowledgment of paternity executed 53 in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 46b-172 by 54 both parents of a child born out of wedlock, or (B) a certified copy of an 55 order of a court of competent jurisdiction establishing the paternity of a 56 child born out of wedlock, the commissioner shall include on or amend, 57 as appropriate, such child's birth certificate to show such paternity if 58 paternity is not already shown on such birth certificate and to change 59 the name of the child under eighteen years of age if so indicated on the 60 acknowledgment of paternity form or within the certified court order as 61 part of the paternity action. If a person who is the subject of a voluntary 62 acknowledgment of paternity, as described in this subdivision, is 63 eighteen years of age or older, the commissioner shall obtain a notarized 64 affidavit from such person affirming that he or she agrees to the 65 commissioner's amendment of such person's birth certificate as such 66 amendment relates to the acknowledgment of paternity. The 67 commissioner shall amend the birth certificate for an adult child to 68 change his or her name only pursuant to a court order. 69 (2) If another father is listed on the birth certificate, the commissioner 70 shall not remove or replace the father's information unless presented 71 with a certified court order that meets the requirements specified in 72 section 7-50, or upon the proper filing of a rescission, in accordance with 73 the provisions of section 46b-172. The commissioner shall thereafter 74 amend such child's birth certificate to remove or change the father's 75 name and to change the name of the child, as requested at the time of 76 the filing of a rescission, in accordance with the provisions of section 77 46b-172. Birth certificates amended under this subsection shall not be 78 marked "Amended". 79 (e) When the parent or parents of a child request the amendment of 80 the child's birth certificate to reflect a new mother's name because the 81 Raised Bill No. 6549 LCO No. 3928 4 of 6 name on the original certificate is fictitious, such parent or parents shall 82 obtain an order of a court of competent jurisdiction declaring the 83 putative mother to be the child's mother. Upon receipt of a certified copy 84 of such order, the department shall amend the child's birth certificate to 85 reflect the mother's true name. 86 (f) Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a court of competent 87 jurisdiction changing the name of a person born in this state and upon 88 request of such person or such person's parents, guardian, or legal 89 representative, the commissioner or the registrar of vital statistics of the 90 town in which the vital event occurred shall amend the birth certificate 91 to show the new name by a method prescribed by the department. 92 (g) When an applicant submits the documentation required by the 93 regulations to amend a vital record, the commissioner shall hold a 94 hearing, in accordance with chapter 54, if the commissioner has 95 reasonable cause to doubt the validity or adequacy of such 96 documentation. 97 (h) When an amendment under this section involves the changing of 98 existing language on a death certificate due to an error pertaining to the 99 cause of death, the death certificate shall be amended in such a manner 100 that the original language is still visible. A copy of the death certificate 101 shall be made. The original death certificate shall be sealed and kept in 102 a confidential file at the department and only the commissioner may 103 order it unsealed. The copy shall be amended in such a manner that the 104 language to be changed is no longer visible. The copy shall be a public 105 document. 106 (i) The commissioner shall issue a new birth certificate to reflect a 107 gender change upon receipt of the following documents submitted in 108 the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner: (1) A written 109 request from the applicant, signed under penalty of law, for a 110 replacement birth certificate to reflect that the applicant's gender differs 111 from the sex designated on the original birth certificate; (2) a notarized 112 affidavit by a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 or holding a 113 Raised Bill No. 6549 LCO No. 3928 5 of 6 current license in good standing in another state, an advanced practice 114 registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378 or holding a current 115 license in good standing in another state, or a psychologist licensed 116 pursuant to chapter 383 or holding a current license in good standing in 117 another state, stating that the applicant has undergone surgical, 118 hormonal or other treatment clinically appropriate for the applicant for 119 the purpose of gender transition; and (3) if an applicant is also 120 requesting a change of name listed on the original birth certificate, proof 121 of a legal name change. The new birth certificate shall reflect the new 122 gender identity by way of a change in the sex designation on the original 123 birth certificate and, if applicable, the legal name change. 124 (j) The commissioner shall issue a new marriage certificate to reflect 125 a gender change upon receipt of the following documents submitted in 126 the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner: (1) A written 127 request from the applicant, signed under penalty of law, for a 128 replacement marriage certificate to reflect that the applicant's gender 129 differs from the sex designated on the original marriage certificate, 130 along with an affirmation that the marriage is still legally intact; (2) a 131 notarized statement from the spouse named on the marriage certificate 132 to be amended, consenting to the amendment; (3) a notarized affidavit 133 by a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 or holding a current 134 license in good standing in another state, an advanced practice 135 registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378 or holding a current 136 license in good standing in another state, or a psychologist licensed 137 pursuant to chapter 383 or holding a current license in good standing in 138 another state, stating that the applicant has undergone surgical, 139 hormonal or other treatment clinically appropriate for the applicant for 140 the purpose of gender transition; and (4) if an applicant is also 141 requesting a change of name listed on the original marriage certificate, 142 proof of a legal name change. The new marriage certificate shall reflect 143 the new gender identity by way of a change in the sex designation on 144 the original marriage certificate and, if applicable, the legal name 145 change. 146 Raised Bill No. 6549 LCO No. 3928 6 of 6 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 October 1, 2021 7-36(10) Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 19a-42 Statement of Purpose: To allow marriage certificates to be amended to reflect changes concerning gender. [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]