SENATE, No. 1195

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

216th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED JANUARY 30, 2014

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  JOSEPH F. VITALE

District 19 (Middlesex)

Senator  DIANE B. ALLEN

District 7 (Burlington)

Senator  LORETTA WEINBERG

District 37 (Bergen)

Assemblywoman  VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE

District 37 (Bergen)

Assemblyman  REED GUSCIORA

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblyman UPENDRA J. CHIVUKULA

District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)

Assemblywoman  MILA M. JASEY

District 27 (Essex and Morris)

Assemblywoman  GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA

District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblyman  JOHN F. MCKEON

District 27 (Essex and Morris)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators P.Barnes, III, Beck, Pou, Ruiz, Bateman, Assemblyman Singleton, Assemblywoman Schepisi, Assemblyman Eustace, Assemblywomen Tucker and Jimenez

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Revises procedure for issuance of amended birth certificate for person who has undergone change in sex.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning amended certificates of birth and amending P.L.1984, c.191.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    Section 1 of P.L.1984, c.191 (C.26:8-40.12) is amended to read as follows:

     1.    The State registrar shall issue an amended certificate of birth to a person born in this State who [undergoes sex reassignment surgery and] requests an amended certificate of birth which shows the sex and, if applicable, the name of the person as it has been changed.  The application may be submitted on the person’s behalf by a parent or guardian, if the person is a minor.

     a.    The State registrar shall issue the amended certificate of birth upon receipt of: (1) a certified copy of an order from a court of competent jurisdiction which indicates that the name of the person has been changed, if the person has changed his or her name; and (2) a [medical certificate from] form provided by the State registrar and completed by the person's licensed [physician] health care provider which indicates [the sex of the person has been changed by surgical procedure] that the person has undergone clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition, based on contemporary medical standards, or that the person has an intersex condition.

     b.    The amended certificate of birth shall be of the same general type as the original certificate of birth, but shall not be marked as amended.

     c.    When an amended certificate of birth is issued, the State registrar shall notify the appropriate local registrar of vital statistics who shall enter the amended certificate in his local record and place his copy of the original certificate under seal.

     d.    The State [register] registrar shall place the original certificate of birth and all papers pertaining to the amended certificate of birth under seal.  The seal shall not be broken except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or upon the request of the person who is the subject of the certificate of birth, or the parent or guardian, if the person is a minor.

     Thereafter, whenever a certified copy of the certificate of birth is prepared, it shall be made from the amended certificate of birth except when an order of a court of competent jurisdiction requires that a certified copy be made of the original certificate of birth. 

     e.    In the case of a resident of this State who was born in another state or in a foreign jurisdiction, if such other state or
foreign jurisdiction requires a court order in order to amend a certificate of birth to reflect a change in sex, a court in this State shall have jurisdiction to issue such an order.

     [e.] f.  The fee for issuing the amended certificate of birth is $6.00.

(cf: P.L.1984, c.191, s.1)

 

     2.    This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, but the State registrar may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill revises the requirements for obtaining an amended certificate of birth due to a change in sex.  The bill provides that the State registrar of vital statistics shall issue an amended certificate of birth to a person born in this State who submits a request for an amended certificate of birth which shows the sex and name of the person as it has been changed.  The application may be submitted on the person’s behalf by a parent or guardian, if the person is a minor.  Under current law, a person must undergo sex reassignment surgery to receive an amended birth certificate.

     Under current law, the State registrar is to issue an amended certificate of birth upon receipt of a medical certificate from the person’s physician indicating that his or her sex has been changed by surgical procedure.  This bill would change the requirement to provide that a person could submit a form provided by the State registrar and completed by the person's licensed health care provider which indicates that the person has undergone clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition, based on contemporary medical standards, or that the person has an intersex condition.

     Current law further requires the State registrar to place the original certificate of birth and all papers pertaining to the amended certificate of birth under seal, which is not to be broken except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.  This bill would permit the seal to be broken upon the request of the person who is the subject of the certificate of birth, or upon the request of the parent or guardian, if the person is a minor.

     The bill also provides that in the case of a resident of this State who was born in another state or in a foreign jurisdiction, if such other state or foreign jurisdiction requires a court order in order to amend a certificate of birth to reflect a change in sex, a court in this State would have jurisdiction to issue such an order.

     The purpose of the bill is to acknowledge that individuals do not necessarily undergo sex reassignment surgery when changing sex, and to revise the process for obtaining an amended certificate of birth due to a change in sex to reflect current practices.