An Act Regarding Certificates of Birth, Marriage and Death
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0024
Committee Amendment CA_A_S38 (Senate)
Amends: 22 MRSA §2706-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/:}" to S.P. 32, L.D. 24, "An Act Regarding 
Certificates of Birth, Marriage and Death" 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §2703 in the first indented paragraph in the 3rd line (page 
1, line 35 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "birth" and insetting the following: 'ffif'th' 
Amend the bill in section 4 in subsection 6 in the 3rd line (page 1, line 41 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "biological" and inserting the following: 'biological genetic' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 4 the following: 
'Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §2706-A, as amended by PL 1989, c. 818, §4-7, is fmiher 
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amended to read: 
§2706-A. Adoption contact files 
1. File. The state registrar shall maintain files of the names and addresses of adopted 
persons and their adoptive and biological genetic parents, who have registered under this 
section. 
2. Registration. This subsection governs paiiicipation in the adoption registiy. 
A. The following persons may register their names and addresses with the state 
registrar and request contact: 
(1) A person who is 18 yeai·s of age or older and: 
(a) Who was adopted; 
(b) Whose adoption was annulled; 
(c) Whose adoptive parents surrendered and released parental rights to that 
person or had their parental rights terminated; or 
(d) Who was freed for adoption but was never subsequently adopted; 
(2) An adoptive parent if: 
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(a) The adopted person is under 18 years of age; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" If" to S.P. 32, L.D. 24 Z ~ · 3 B) 
(b) The adopted person is deceased; or 
( c) The adopted person is at least 18 years of age and is determined by a court 
to be incapacitated; and 
(3) The legal custodian or guardian of: 
(a) A person whose adoption was annulled, who was sunendered and released 
by that person's adoptive parents or whose adoptive parents' parental rights 
were te1minated; 
(b) An adopted person under 18 years of age who: 
(i) Has been removed from the custody or guardianship of that person's 
adoptive parents by order of a comi; or 
(ii) Was freed for adoption but was never subsequently adopted; or 
( c) An adopted person who is at least 18 years of age and has been determined 
by a court to be incapacitated. 
B. The following persons may register their names and addresses with the state 
registrar and request contact with an adopted person or a person freed for adoption as 
specified in paragraph A: 
(1) A biological genetic parent of an adopted person or of a person freed for 
adoption but not subsequently adopted; 
(2) The legal custodian or guardian of a person under 18 years of age whose full 
sibling or half-sibling is an adopted person or a person freed for adoption; 
(3) If a biological genetic parent of an adopted person or a person freed for 
adoption is deceased, a biological genetic mother, legal father, grandparent, 
sibling, half-sibling, aunt, uncle or first cousin of the deceased biological genetic 
parent; and 
( 4) A biological genetic sibling or half-sibling, who is at least 18 years of age, of 
an adopted person or a person freed for adoption. 
C. At the time ofregistration, each registrant shall indicate with which of the persons 
specified in paragraphs A and B contact is desired. 
D. A registrant may withdraw from the adoption registry at any time by submitting a 
written request to the state registrar. 
E. When an adopted person reaches 18 years of age and has not been determined by a 
court to be incapacitated, the state registrar, after mailing notice to the registrant, shall 
delete from the adoption registry any prior registration under paragraph A, 
subparagraph (2), division (a), or subparagraph (3), division (b). 
3. Certification of identity and relationship. The state registrar shall require each 
person registering or requesting contact to provide certification of the registrant's identity 
and relationship to the person with whom contact is desired and any additional information 
that is necessary to ensure accurate identification of the registrant and assist in identifying 
the other party. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to S.P. 32, L.D. 24 [5- 3 ~) 
3-A. Providing information about available counseling. The state registrar shall 
provide information about sources of counseling to any person registering or requesting 
contact. 
4. Reviewing departmental files. The state registrar may review both public and 
confidential depatimental files to assist in identifying or verifying the identification of the 
other paiiy. If both parties have registered, he the state registrar may release those names 
and addresses even if the relationship was identified or verified by the use of confidential 
departmental files. He The state registrar may charge a fee for the assistance.,_ which shall 
must reasonably reflect the cost of providing it. 
5. Request for contact. When the state registrar has requests for contact from a person 
specified in subsection 2, paragraph A, and a person specified in subsection 2, paragraph 
B, that are related to the same adoption and both persons indicated at the time of registration 
that contact with the other person was desired, the state registrar shall notify each party of 
the name and address of the other patiy and of sources of counseling. If a biological genetic 
parent, an adoptive parent or an adopted person registered under this section has made a 
request for contact and the party being sought died in the State, the state registrar shall 
· disclose to the requesting party the fact that the biological genetic parent, adoptive parent 
or the adopted person has died. 
6. Confidentiality. Except as provided in subsection 5, the files established under this 
section shall be are confidential and not open to public inspection. 
7. Public information. The state registrar shall, by appropriate means, make known 
to the public the existence of the adoption contact files, the assistance the department may 
offer and the purposes of those files.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the unanimous report of the committee, removes the word 
"birth" from the term "electronic birth registration system" because the bill refers to 
marriage and death records in addition to birth records with regard to filing records in an 
electronic registration system. It also makes technical changes to align the law with the 
Maine Parentage Act and makes other technical changes. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT