Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB53%20INTR.htm&yr=2017&sesstype=RS&i=53
Timestamp: 2019-11-21 07:30:23
Document Index: 655916804

Matched Legal Cases: ['§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§16', '§48']

By Senators Ferns and Stollings
That §48-23-101, §48-23-102, §48-23-201, §48-23-202, §48-23-203, §48-23-204, §48-23-205, §48-23-206, §48-23-207, §48-23-208, §48-23-209, §48-23-301, §48-23-401, §48-23-402, §48-23-403, §48-23-404, §48-23-501, §48-23-502, §48-23-503, §48-23-504, §48-23-505, §48-23-506, §48-23-507, §48-23-601, §48-23-701 and §48-23-801 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; that §16-5-16 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §48-22-705, all to read as follows:
(3) Information sufficient to identify the order of adoption and name and other identifying information of the biological parents of the person adopted for the purposes of an adoption file as set forth in section seven hundred five, article twenty-two, chapter forty-eight of this code.
(1) ”Adoption file” means a file maintained by the State Registrar which contains information about an adoption of an adult adoptee. An adoption file contains, at a minimum, all of the information required to be maintained by the State Registrar in a certificate of adoption as set forth in section sixteen, article five, chapter sixteen of this code;
(7) “State Registrar” means the person appointed by the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health to oversee the operation of the Section of Vital Statistics as set forth in article five, chapter sixteen of this code.
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any adult adoptee whose adoption took place in the State of West Virginia may submit an application on a form prescribed by the secretary in legislative rule to obtain a copy of his or her adoption file as that term is defined by this section.
(2) A biological parent as defined in this section may request that their identifying information and contact information be redacted from the adoption file provided to the adult adoptee or a lineal descendant.
(3) At any time a biological parent may rescind or modify their request that their identifying information or contact information be either disclosed or redacted. Any such request shall be on forms promulgated by the secretary pursuant to legislative rule.
(4) Regardless of whether a biological parent request that their identifying information and contact information be redacted they shall provide a social and medical history to be included in the adoption file. This information shall be released with the adoption file to the adult adoptee or the lineal descendant.
(1) It is the responsibility of the State Registrar to maintain confidential adoption file on each person adopted in this state.
(1) No person, agency, entity or organization of any kind, including, but not limited to, any officer or employee of this state and any employee, officer or judge of any court of this state, may disclose any confidential information relating to an adoption except as provided in this section or pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon receipt of the information required pursuant to section sixteen, article five, chapter sixteen of this code, the State Registrar shall place the original birth certificate, the certificate of adoption and any other items provided by the court in an adoption file. The contents of the adoption file are not a public record and are only subject to disclosure pursuant to the provisions of this section or by court order.
(5) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, no person, group or person, or entity, including an entity, agency, department, division or bureau of this state may file a class action to force the disclosure of any information contained in an adoption file.
(f) Rule-making authority. The secretary shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. These rules shall include at a minimum: