Text of MO SB 14 (2023)

Modifies provisions relating to amending birth certificates

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FIRST REGULAR SESSION SENATE BILL NO. 14 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CIERPIOT. 0032S.02I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary AN ACT To repeal section 193.215, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to amending birth certificates. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows: Section A. Section 193.215, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1 section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 193.215, 2 to read as follows: 3 193.215. 1. A certificate or report registered 1 pursuant to sections 193.005 to 193.325 may be amended only 2 pursuant to the provisions of sections 193.005 to 193.325, 3 and regulations adopted by the department. 4 2. A certificate or report that is amended pursuant to 5 this section shall be marked "Amended" except as otherwise 6 provided in this section. The date of amendment and a 7 summary description of the evidence submitted in support of 8 the amendment shall be endorsed on or made part of the 9 record. 10 3. Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a 11 court of competent jurisdiction changing the name of a 12 person born in this state and upon request of such person or 13 such person's parents, guardian, or legal representative, 14 the state registrar shall amend the certificate of birth to 15 show the new name. The court order shall include such facts 16 as are necessary to locate and identify the certificate of 17 birth of the person whose name is being changed. 18 SB 14 2 4. When an applicant does not submit the minimum 19 documentation required in the regulations for amending a 20 vital record or when the state registrar has reasonable 21 cause to question the validity or adequacy of the 22 applicant's sworn statements or the documentary evidence, 23 and if the deficiencies are not corrected, the state 24 registrar shall not amend the vital record and shall advise 25 the applicant of the reason for this action and the 26 applicant's right of appeal to a court of competent 27 jurisdiction. 28 5. When a certificate or report is amended pursuant to 29 this section, the state registrar shall report the amendment 30 to any other custodians of the vital record and their record 31 shall be amended accordingly. 32 6. Upon written request of both parents and receipt of 33 a sworn acknowledgment of paternity notarized and signed by 34 both parents of a child born out of wedlock, the state 35 registrar shall amend the certificate of birth to show such 36 paternity. The acknowledgment affidavit form shall be 37 developed by the state registrar and shall include the 38 minimum requirements prescribed by the secretary of the 39 Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to 42 40 U.S.C. Section 652(a)(7). The acknowledgment form shall 41 include provisions to allow the parents to change the 42 surname of the child and such surname shall be changed on 43 the birth record if the parents elect to change the child's 44 surname. The signature of the parents shall be notarized or 45 the signature shall be witnessed by at least two 46 disinterested adults whose signatures and addresses shall be 47 plainly written thereon. The form shall be accompanied by 48 oral notice, which may be provided through the use of video 49 SB 14 3 or audio equipment, and written notice to the mother and 50 putative father of: 51 (1) The alternatives to, the legal consequences of, 52 and the rights and responsibilities that arise from signing 53 the acknowledgment; 54 (2) The benefits of having the child's paternity 55 established; and 56 (3) The availability of paternity establishment and 57 child support enforcement services. A rescission of 58 acknowledgment form shall be filed with the bureau of vital 59 records pursuant to section 210.823 to vacate the legal 60 finding of paternity. The bureau shall file all rescissions 61 and forward a copy of each to the family support division. 62 The birth record shall only be changed pursuant to this 63 subsection upon an order of the court or the family support 64 division. 65 7. The department shall offer voluntary paternity 66 establishment services. 67 8. Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a 68 court of competent jurisdiction changing the name of a 69 person born in this state and upon request of such person or 70 such person's parents, guardian or legal representative, the 71 state registrar shall amend the certificate of birth to show 72 the new name. 73 9. Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a 74 court of competent jurisdiction indicating the sex of an 75 individual born in this state has been changed by surgical 76 procedure for a medically-verifiable disorder of sex 77 development and that such individual's name has been 78 changed, the certificate of birth of such individual shall 79 be amended. No certificate of birth shall be amended 80 because the sex of an individual born in this state has been 81 SB 14 4 changed solely by nonsurgical means, including, but not 82 limited to, hormone therapy, voice and speech therapy, or 83 behavioral therapy. No certificate of birth shall be 84 amended because the sex of the individual was changed for 85 reasons other than a medically-verifiable disorder of sex 86 development. 87 