ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 72

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MAY 20, 1996

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 72.

      This bill would guarantee all parents equal access to their children's medical, dental, insurance, child care and school records. The bill would provide that the place of residence or other identifying information about either parent would not appear on any records distributed. The bill would also authorize the court to deny access to the records if it finds that it is not in the best interest of the child or if the access is sought only for the purpose of causing the other parent to suffer a detriment.

      The committee amended the bill to omit section 2 which granted rule making powers to the Department of Education to establish guidelines and procedures for distributing records to the parents. The committee deleted this provision of the bill because many records other than educational records are involved and because the court should control the process.

      The committee also amended the bill to clarify that this access is subject to federal and State laws governing privacy. The amendments also change the reference to "minor" child to "unemancipated" to permit parents to have access to records for children over the age of 18 years for whom the parent still has a financial obligation.

      This bill embodies recommendation number 7 of the report of the Commission to Study the Law of Divorce, issued April 18, 1995.

      This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 1996 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review which has been performed.