Date: 02/10/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1106

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH CARE & HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer House Bill 15-1106 to the Committee of the WPASS



01:33 PM -- HB 15-1106

Representative Saine introduced House Bill 15-1106. She explained that the bill is a clean-up bill from Senate Bill 14-051. That bill made various changes to the laws governing access to adoption records. House Bill 15-1106 clarifies that the records that may be accessed pursuant to the authority granted in Senate Bill 14-051 are to be unredacted.

01:36 PM -- Debbie Haskins, Office of Legislative Legal Services, explained the provisions of Senate Bill 14-051, stating that the purpose of the bill is to make the process of accessing adoption records and birth certificates uniform. Ms. Haskins explained that the issues addressed by House Bill 15-1106 relate to the definition of "adoption records" in Senate Bill 14-051. She explained that the courts have been interpreting the terminology "nonidentifying" from the current definition of adoption records to mean that the adoption records must be provided in a redacted form. Ms. Haskins explained that the goal of House Bill 15-1106 is to allow access to unredacted adoption records for eligible persons.

01:42 PM -- John Mann, representing himself, distributed a copy of his testimony to the committee (Attachment A). He spoke regarding his concerns with the bill's definition of "adoption records." He asked that the committee kill the bill or amend it to eliminate the bill's definition of adoption records. He responded to questions from the committee regarding the records that he has accessed, noting that the records were unredacted.

150210 AttachA.pdf150210 AttachA.pdf

01:56 PM -- Debbie Haskins, Office of Legislative Legal Services, returned to the table to respond to Mr. Mann's concerns regarding the bill's definition of adoption records and whether the definition fits under the bill's title. Mr. Mann and Ms. Haskins discussed the relationship of Senate Bill 14-051 and House Bill 15-1106.

02:02 PM -- Rich Uhrlaub, Adoptees in Search, testified in support of the bill. He responded to questions from the committee regarding whether there is a purpose behind the provision of redacted adoption records.

02:06 PM

Representative Saine gave concluding remarks regarding the bill.

02:10 PM -- Mr. Uhrlaub returned to the table to respond to questions from the committee regarding incidents in which individuals seeking access to adoption records were provided redacted copies.
BILL:HB15-1106
TIME: 02:08:10 PM
MOVED:Landgraf
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1106 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:Ginal
VOTE
Conti
Yes
Danielson
Yes
Everett
Yes
Ginal
Yes
Joshi
Yes
Landgraf
Yes
Melton
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Sias
Yes
Tyler
Yes
Windholz
Yes
Singer
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS