HB 1640 -- Birth Certificates

SPONSOR:  Schoeller

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass by consent" by the Special
Committee on Family Services by a vote of 10 to 0.

Currently, after a parent adopts a child, a court establishes a
decree of adoption that may or may not state that the adopted
child's birth certificate may be changed to replace a birth
parent's name with the adoptive parent's name.  This bill
establishes the Debbi Daniel Law which disallows a court-ordered
adoption decree or the adoptive parents' or adoptee's request for
a new birth certificate which changes the name of a birth parent
following an adoption.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2009, FY 2010, and
FY 2011.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill preserves the integrity
of a birth certificate.  It allows the birth certificate to
remain unchanged when a parent dies and a child is adopted at the
request of a family member.  The bill will not affect closed
adoptions.  The removal of a birth parent's name when a
stepparent wants to adopt a child after the death of a birth
parent removes, in a way, the existence of the deceased parent.
If the deceased birth parent's name is removed from the birth
certificate, the step grandparents will have more rights to the
child than the parents of the deceased parent.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Schoeller; Scott and
Marcie Daniel; and Bob and Vicki King.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:10 pm