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H.B. 406

             1     

ACCESS TO ADOPTION RECORDS

             2     
2011 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Chief Sponsor: Jackie Biskupski

             5     
Senate Sponsor: ____________

             6     
             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill amends the Utah Adoption Act by modifying when adoption records can be
             10      unsealed.
             11      Highlighted Provisions:
             12          This bill:
             13          .    provides that, in the event an adoptee has a medical need requiring knowledge of
             14      the adoptee's biological heritage, a court shall unseal the adoption record; and
             15          .    makes technical changes.
             16      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             17          None
             18      Other Special Clauses:
             19          None
             20      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             21      AMENDS:
             22          78B-6-141, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 159
             23     
             24      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             25          Section 1. Section 78B-6-141 is amended to read:
             26           78B-6-141. Petition, report, and documents sealed -- Exceptions.
             27          (1) A petition for adoption, the written report described in Section 78B-6-135 , and any


             28      other documents filed in connection with the petition are sealed.
             29          (2) The documents described in Subsection (1) may only be open to inspection as
             30      follows:
             31          (a) in accordance with Subsection (3)(a), by a party to the adoption proceeding:
             32          (i) while the proceeding is pending; or
             33          (ii) within six months after the day on which the adoption decree is entered;
             34          (b) subject to Subsection (3)(b), a court enters an order permitting access to the
             35      documents by a person who has appealed the denial of that person's motion to intervene;
             36          (c) upon order of the court expressly permitting inspection or copying, after good cause
             37      has been shown;
             38          (d) as provided under Section 78B-6-144 ;
             39          (e) those records shall become public on the one hundredth anniversary of the date the
             40      final decree of adoption was entered; [or]
             41          (f) if the adoptee is an adult at the time the final decree of adoption is entered, the
             42      documents described in this section are open to inspection and copying without a court order
             43      by the adoptee or a parent who adopted the adoptee, unless the final decree of adoption is
             44      entered by the juvenile court under Subsection 78B-6-115 (3)(b)[.]; or
             45          (g) if an adoptee has a medical need to know the adoptee's biological heritage, a court
             46      shall immediately order the unsealing of the adoption record if the need is certified by a
             47      licensed physician by testimony or in a written statement.
             48          (3) (a) A person who files a motion to intervene in an adoption proceeding:
             49          (i) is not a party to the adoption proceeding, unless the motion to intervene is granted;
             50      and
             51          (ii) may not be granted access to the documents described in Subsection (1), unless the
             52      motion to intervene is granted.
             53          (b) An order described in Subsection (2)(b) shall:
             54          (i) prohibit the person described in Subsection (2)(b) from inspecting a document
             55      described in Subsection (1) that contains identifying information of the adoptive or potential
             56      adoptive parents; and
             57          (ii) permit the person described in Subsection (3)(b)(i) to review a copy of a document
             58      described in Subsection (3)(b)(i) after the identifying information described in Subsection


             59      (3)(b)(i) is redacted from the document.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-2-11 3:04 PM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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