Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB05-1287

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes:
Action Taken:
Move Amendment L.008 (Attachment D). The motion p
Move Amendment L.009 (Attachment E). The motion p
Refer HB 05-1287, as amended, to the Committee on 		Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
PASS


01:37 PM -- House Bill 05-1287

Representative T. Carroll called the committee to order. A quorum was present. The chairman announced that HB 05-1303 by Speaker Romanoff would not be heard today. He asked that witnesses limit their testimony to two to three minutes and try not to repeat prior testimony.

Representative Coleman, the prime sponsor of HB 05-1287, Concerning Limited Access to Information Related to an Adoption And, In Connection Therewith, Providing for Limited Access to Original Birth Certificates of Adoptees and Providing Biological Parents Opportunities to Provide Contact Information and Medical History, described why she was bringing the bill forward and summarized the bill's provisions. She responded to questions from the committee, acknowledging the difficulty of balancing the desire of adoptees to know who their parents are, with the desire of birth parents to remain anonymous due to the painful circumstances surrounding their decision to give a child up for adoption.


01:50 PM

Committee members commented on instances in which information such as medical history should be revealed upon a court finding of just cause, some potential unintended consequences of the bill (e.g., reliving a traumatic rape every three years when contact preference forms must be updated), the degree to which the bill makes state adoption law more open than it currently is, whether the public education campaign regarding contact preferences will extend to birth mothers who have moved out of the state or country, and the applicability of the new law to adoptees from another state whose birth parents now live in Colorado.

The following people testified on the bill:

02:06 PM -- Mr. Roger Uhrlaub, representing Adoptees in Search, spoke in support of the bill as an adoptee. Committee members were provided with talking points on the bill (Attachment A) and a history of adoption records in Colorado (Attachment B). Mr. Uhrlaub discussed Attachments A and B and explained why the bill was necessary. He then answered questions regarding similar legislation in other states and noted the positive effect of these laws, even to the surprise of their initial opponents. He also remarked on the cost of finding birth parents and how the bill will provide information to adoptees at a lower cost.

Committee members were provided with a memorandum prepared by Legislative Council Staff concerning the revised fiscal impact associated with Amendment L.008 (Attachment C), Amendment L.008 (Attachment D), Amendment L.009 (Attachment E), and a comparison of current law to the proposed changes under Amendment L.008, a strike-below amendment (Attachment F).

02:24 PM -- Ms. Peg Long, representing the Colorado Association of Family and Children Agencies, spoke in support of the bill but noted a few concerns. She described some of the bill's benefits to those in the adoption triad (i.e., the adoptee, birth parent, and adoptive parent), and discussed the possibility that birth parents will be precluded from filing future contact preference forms if they miss the January 1, 2007 filing deadline. Ms. Long responded to questions from the committee regarding confidentiality with respect to a deceased birth parent. Representative Coleman commented on the preclusion issue and clarified that after January 2, 2007, a person can begin the process of securing an original birth certificate.

02:38 PM -- Ms. Debbie Haskins, Office of Legislative Legal Services, further clarified that the cutoff date for filing the contact preference form would be January 1, 2007, and that the onus would be on the birth mother to renew her contact preference triennially. Ms. Haskins responded to several hypothetical scenarios involving the filing of contact preference forms and requests for contact, and discussion ensued.

02:44 PM -- Ms. Kathy Aderhold, representing herself as the birth mother of an adoptee, spoke in support of the bill. She cited her own experience and that of others to dispel misconceptions about reunions between adoptees and birth parents, confidentiality concerns, and concerns that removing secrecy from adoptions will increase abortions. She responded to questions from the committee regarding her daughter's desire to know about her as the birth mother.

02:55 PM -- Ms. Shayne Madsen, representing herself as an adoptee, spoke about the importance of access to health records by adoptees. She responded to questions from the committee regarding the renewal provision for the contact preference form, some problems associated with having some records that require a permanent opt-out and other records that require periodic opt-out renewal, and the need for persons with certain medical conditions to periodically review their contact preferences.

03:04 PM -- Mr. Uhrlaub returned to the table and indicated he was unaware of any state that has separate update requirements for medical records versus other adoption records.


03:05 PM

The chairman closed the public testimony portion of the hearing, and the committee began considering amendments.
BILL:HB05-1287
TIME: 03:07:18 PM
MOVED:Boyd
MOTION:Move Amendment L.008 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Hefley
VOTE
Boyd
Brophy
Decker
Harvey
Hefley
Jahn
Judd
Kerr
McGihon
Excused
Carroll M.
Carroll T.
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:HB05-1287
TIME: 03:06:54 PM
MOVED:Harvey
MOTION:Move Amendment L.009 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Hefley
VOTE
Boyd
Brophy
Decker
Harvey
Hefley
Jahn
Judd
Kerr
McGihon
Excused
Carroll M.
Carroll T.
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


03:09 PM

Representative Coleman made closing comments on the bill. Representatives Hefley, Harvey, and Brophy also commented.
BILL:HB05-1287
TIME: 03:14:15 PM
MOVED:Hefley
MOTION:Refer HB 05-1287, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion carried on a vote of 9-2.
SECONDED:McGihon
VOTE
Boyd
Yes
Brophy
No
Decker
No
Harvey
Yes
Hefley
Yes
Jahn
Yes
Judd
Yes
Kerr
Yes
McGihon
Yes
Carroll M.
Yes
Carroll T.
Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS