House File 746 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to access to a copy of an original birth
2certificate by an adult adoptee or an entitled person,
3providing for fees, and including effective date provisions.
4BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  Section 144.24, Code 2019, is amended to read as
2follows:
   3144.24  Substituting new for original birth certificates —
4inspection.
   51.  If a new certificate of birth is established, the actual
6place and date of birth shall be shown on the certificate. The
7certificate shall be substituted for the original certificate
8of birth. Thereafter,
   92.   Following substitution of the original certificate of
10birth with a new certificate of birth,
the original certificate
11and the evidence of adoption, paternity, legitimation, or sex
12change shall not be subject to inspection except under order of
13a court of competent jurisdiction, including but not limited
14to an order issued pursuant to section 600.16A, as provided
15in section 144.24A,
or as provided by administrative rule for
16statistical or administrative purposes only. However,
   173.   Notwithstanding subsection 2,the state registrar shall,
18upon the application of an adult adopted person, a biological
19parent, an adoptive parent, or the legal representative of the
20adult adopted person, the biological parent, or the adoptive
21parent, inspect the original certificate and the evidence of
22adoption and reveal to the applicant the date of the adoption
23and the name and address of the court which issued the adoption
24decree.
25   Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  144.24A  Access to original certificate
26of birth — application — contact preference form — medical
27history form — fees.
   281.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
29an adult adopted person who was born in this state and whose
30original certificate of birth was substituted with a new
31certificate of birth pursuant to section 144.24 based upon
32the adoption, or an entitled person, may apply for and obtain
33a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth of
34the adult adopted person who is the subject of the original
35certificate of birth in accordance with this section.
-1-
   1a.  (1)  If an adult adopted person is submitting the
2application, the adult adopted person shall be at least
3eighteen years of age at the time the application is filed.
   4(2)  If an entitled person is submitting the application,
5the adult adopted person who is the subject of the original
6certificate of birth shall be at least eighteen years of age at
7the time the application is filed.
   8b.  The adult adopted person or the entitled person shall
9file a written application with the state registrar on a form
10and in the manner prescribed by the state registrar requesting
11a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth.
   12c.  Upon receipt of the written application, proof of
13identification, and payment of a fee, the state registrar
14shall issue a noncertified copy of the original certificate
15of birth to the applicant. At the time of such issuance, the
16state registrar shall also provide to the applicant any contact
17preference form or medical history form completed and submitted
18to the state registrar pursuant to subsections 2 and 3.
   192.  a.  The state registrar shall develop a contact
20preference form on which a biological parent may state a
21preference regarding contact by an adult adopted person or an
22entitled person following application for and issuance of the
23noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth under
24this section. The preferences available to the biological
25parent shall include all of the following, from which the
26biological parent may choose only one:
   27(1)  “I would like to be contacted. I have completed this
28contact preference form and am filing the form with the state
29registrar. I may change this preference by filing a subsequent
30contact preference form with the state registrar.”
   31(2)  “I would prefer to be contacted only through an
32intermediary. I would like the following named individual
33or entity to act as an intermediary. I have completed this
34contact preference form and am filing the form with the state
35registrar. I may change this preference by filing a subsequent
-2-1contact preference form with the state registrar.”
   2(3)  “I do not want to be contacted; however, my personally
3identifiable information may be released if requested in
4accordance with Iowa Code section 144.24A. I have completed
5this contact preference form and am filing the form with the
6state registrar. I may change this preference by filing a
7subsequent contact preference form with the state registrar.”
   8b.  The contact preference form shall also state that
9regardless of whether a contact preference form is completed
10by the biological parent, a noncertified copy of the original
11certificate of birth shall be issued to an adult adopted person
12or an entitled person who applies for a noncertified copy of an
13original certificate of birth in accordance with this section.
   14c.  The contact preference form shall be provided to the
15biological parent in accordance with section 600A.4. A contact
16preference form may be completed or updated by the biological
17parent at any time at the request of the biological parent.
   183.  a.  The state registrar shall develop a medical history
19form on which a biological parent may provide the medical
20history of the biological parent and any blood relatives. The
21options available to the biological parent shall include all of
22the following from which the biological parent may choose only
23one:
   24(1)  “I am not aware of any medical history of any
25significance.”
   26(2)  “I prefer not to provide any medical information at this
27time.”
   28(3)  “I wish to provide the following medical information
29included on the attached form.”
   30b.  The medical history form shall be provided to the
31biological parent in accordance with section 600A.4. A medical
32history form may be completed or updated by the biological
33parent at any time at the request of the biological parent.
   344.  Upon receipt of a completed contact preference form or
35medical history form, the state registrar shall attach any such
-3-1completed form to the original certificate of birth.
   25.  For the purposes of this section, “entitled person”
3means the spouse of the adult adopted person or an adult
4related to the adult adopted person within the second degree
5of consanguinity.
   66.  The state registrar shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter
717A to administer this section including rules relating to all
8of the following:
   9a.  Establishment of fees pursuant to section 144.46 for
10issuance of a noncertified copy of the original certificate of
11birth under this section.
   12b.  The application form and proof of identification
13requirements relative to an application for a noncertified copy
14of an original certificate of birth.
   15c.  The contact preference form and the medical history form.
   167.  a.  The department shall establish a public awareness and
17notification period to promote awareness of the provisions of
18this section and to allow time for a biological parent to file
19contact preference and medical history forms.
   20b.  Beginning August 1, 2019, an application may be submitted
21under this section by an adult adopted person or an entitled
22person to obtain a noncertified copy of an adult adopted
23person’s original certificate of birth in accordance with this
24section, if the adult adopted person who is the subject of the
25original certificate of birth was born before January 1, 1970.
   26c.  Beginning July 1, 2020, an application may be submitted
27under this section by an adult adopted person or an entitled
28person to obtain a noncertified copy of an adult adopted
29person’s original certificate of birth in accordance with this
30section, notwithstanding the date of birth of the adult adopted
31person who is the subject of the original certificate of birth
32prescribed under paragraph “b”.
33   Sec. 3.  Section 600.13, subsection 5, Code 2019, is amended
34to read as follows:
   355.  a.  An interlocutory or a final adoption decree shall be
-4-1entered with the clerk of court. Such decree shall set forth
2any facts of the adoption petition which have been proven to
3the satisfaction of the juvenile court or court and any other
4facts considered to be relevant by the juvenile court or court
5and shall grant the adoption petition. If so designated in
6the adoption decree, the name of the adopted person shall be
7changed by issuance of that decree.
   8b.  The clerk of the court shall, within thirty days of
9issuance, deliver one certified copy of any adoption decree
10to the petitioner, at no charge, one copy of any adoption
11decree to the department and any adoption service provider
12who placed a minor person for adoption, at no charge, and one
13certification certified copy of any adoption decree to the
14state registrar of vital statistics to prepare a certificate

15 of adoption birth as prescribed in section 144.19 to the state
16registrar of vital statistics at no charge
.
   17c.  Upon receipt of the certification certified copy of the
18adoption decree
, the state registrar shall prepare a new birth
19certificate pursuant to section 144.23 and shall do one of the
20following, as applicable:
   21(1)  Deliver to the parents named in the decree a copy of
22the new birth certificate along with a document, developed and
23furnished by the department, listing all postadoption services
24available to adoptive families in the state.
   25(2)  Deliver to any adult person adopted by the decree a copy
26of the new birth certificate.
   27d.  The parents shall pay the fee prescribed in section
28144.46.
   29e.  Upon receipt of the certified copy of the adoption
30decree, the state registrar shall also attach a copy of any
31contact preference form or medical history included with the
32certified copy to the original certificate of birth for the
33purposes of section 144.24A.
   34e.    f.  If the person adopted was born outside this state
35but in the United States, the state registrar shall forward
-5-1the certification certified copy of the adoption decree to the
2appropriate agency in the state of birth.
   3f.    g.  A copy of any interlocutory adoption decree vacation
4shall be delivered and another birth certificate shall be
5prepared in the same manner as a certification certified copy
6 of the adoption decree is delivered and the birth certificate
7was originally prepared.
8   Sec. 4.  Section 600.16A, subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph
91, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   10All With the exception of access to the original certificate
11of birth as provided in section 144.24A, all of the
papers and
12records pertaining to a termination of parental rights under
13chapter 600A and to an adoption shall not be open to inspection
14and the identity of the biological parents of an adopted
15person shall not be revealed except under any of the following
16circumstances:
17   Sec. 5.  Section 600A.4, subsection 2, Code 2019, is amended
18by adding the following new paragraph:
19   NEW Paragraph.  0f.  Shall be accompanied by a contact
20preference form or medical history form completed by the
21biological parent of the person to be adopted and attached
22to the original certificate of birth as provided in section
23144.24A. The contact preference form or medical history form
24shall be attached to any termination of parental rights order
25issued pursuant to section 600A.9.
26   Sec. 6.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  Section 144.24A, subsection
277, paragraph “a”, as enacted in this Act, requiring the
28department of public health to establish a public awareness
29and notification period to promote awareness and to allow time
30for a biological parent to file contact preference and medical
31history forms, being deemed of immediate importance, takes
32effect upon enactment.
33EXPLANATION
34The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
35the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
-6-
   1This bill provides for access to an adult adopted person’s
2original certificate of birth.
   3The bill provides that an adult adopted person who was born
4in this state and whose original certificate of birth was
5substituted with a new certificate of birth based upon the
6adoption, or an entitled person, may obtain a noncertified copy
7of the adult adopted person’s original certificate of birth as
8specified in the bill. Upon receipt of the written application
9and proof of identification and payment of a fee, the state
10registrar of vital statistics shall issue a noncertified copy
11of the original certificate of birth to the applicant. At the
12time of such issuance, the state registrar must also provide to
13the applicant any contact preference form or medical history
14form completed and submitted to the state registrar. The
15contact preference form, developed by the state registrar,
16is a form to be completed and submitted by the biological
17parent stating a preference regarding contact by an adult
18adopted person or entitled person following application for and
19issuance of the noncertified copy of the original certificate
20of birth. The preferences available to the biological parent
21include a choice of one of the following: (1) “I would like to
22be contacted. I have completed this contact preference form
23and am filing the form with the state registrar. I may change
24this preference by filing a subsequent contact preference form
25with the state registrar.” (2)“I would prefer to be contacted
26only through an intermediary. I would like the following
27named individual or entity to act as an intermediary. I have
28completed this contact preference form and am filing the form
29with the state registrar. I may change this preference by
30filing a subsequent contact preference form with the state
31registrar.” (3) “I do not want to be contacted; however,
32my personally identifiable information may be released if
33requested in accordance with Iowa Code section 144.24A. I
34have completed this contact preference form and am filing the
35form with the state registrar. I may change this preference
-7-1by filing a subsequent contact preference form with the state
2registrar.” The medical history form, developed by the state
3registrar, allows a biological parent to provide the medical
4history of the biological parent and any blood relatives.
5The options available to a biological parent on which the
6biological parent may choose only one are: (1) “I am not aware
7of any medical history of any significance”; (2) “I prefer
8not to provide any medical information at this time”; (3) “I
9wish to provide the following medical information included on
10the attached form”. The contact preference form and medical
11history form are to be provided to an individual who is in the
12process of terminating parental rights and are to be attached
13to a release of custody and the termination of parental rights
14order, which in turn are attached to the adoption petition
15and the adoption decree. A certified copy of the adoption
16decree, including any copy of the contact preference form and
17medical history form, are to be sent to the state registrar for
18the purpose of, in addition to the preparation of a new birth
19certificate, attaching the contact preference form and medical
20history form to the original certificate of birth. The bill
21directs the state registrar to adopt rules pursuant to Code
22chapter 17A to administer the provisions of the bill including
23rules relating to fees for issuance of the noncertified copy
24of the original certificate of birth, the application form and
25proof of identification requirements relative to application
26for a noncertified copy of an original certificate of birth,
27and the contact preference form and medical history form.
28Fees established are subject to Code section 144.46 including
29provisions requiring that fees collected are to be deposited
30in the general fund of the state and the vital records fund in
31accordance with an apportionment established by rule.
   32The bill provides for the establishment of a public
33awareness and notification period by the department of
34public health upon the effective date of the Act; provides
35that beginning August 1, 2019, an adult adopted person or an
-8-1entitled person may submit an application for a noncertified
2copy of an adult adopted person’s certificate of birth if the
3adult adopted person, who is the subject of the application,
4was born before January 1, 1970; and provides that beginning
5July 1, 2020, an adult adopted person or an entitled person
6may apply for a noncertified copy of an adult adopted person’s
7certificate of birth, notwithstanding the date of birth of the
8adult adopted person who is the subject of the application.
   9The bill includes conforming changes in the Code. The
10bill provides an exception to the provisions and penalties
11relating to the opening of papers and records pertaining to a
12termination of parental rights or an adoption, to allow for
13access to the original certificate of birth consistent with the
14bill.
-9-
pf/rh