PREFILED    DEC 17 2020

REFERENCE TITLE: adoption; health information; update

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-fifth Legislature

First Regular Session

2021

 

 

HB 2010

 

Introduced by

Representative Kavanagh

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending section 8‑129, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to adoption.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Section 8-129, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE8-129.  Health and genetic history; compilation; availability; costs

A.  Before placing a child for adoption, the division or the agency or the person placing the child, if the child is not placed by the division, shall compile and provide to the prospective adoptive parents detailed written nonidentifying information, including a health and genetic history and all nonidentifying information about the birth parents or members of a birth parent's family set forth in a document that is separate from any document containing identifying information.  This subsection does not apply if the birth parents are deceased, their whereabouts are unknown or the information is not otherwise reasonably available.

B.  Records containing the information prescribed in subsection A of this section:

1.  Shall be retained by the division, agency or person placing the child for ninety‑nine years, and if an agency or person ceases to function, the agency or person shall transfer these records to the division, except that an agency ceasing operations may transfer these records to another agency within this state, provided the agency transferring the records gives notice of the transfer to the division.

2.  May be supplemented with information supplied by any member of the birth family, any member of the adoptive family, or an adult adoptee or the family of an adult adoptee.  Supplemental information supplied to the division or the agency or the person who placed the child shall be filed with all other information concerning the adoption.  The division, agency or person placing the child shall notify the adoptee, if the adoptee is at least eighteen years of age, or the adoptive parents, if the adoptee is under eighteen years of age, of the receipt of any supplemental information from a member of the birth family.

3.  Shall be available on request throughout the ninety‑nine year period, together with any other information described in subsection A of this section which is added, to the following persons only:

(a)  The adoptive parents of the child or, if the adoptive parents have died, the child's guardian.

(b)  The adoptee if he the adoptee is eighteen or more years of age or more.

(c)  If the adoptee has died, the adoptee's spouse if he the spouse is the legal parent of the adoptee's child or the guardian of any child of the adoptee.

(d)  If the adoptee has died, any progeny of the adoptee who is eighteen or more years of age or more.

(e)  The birth parent of the adoptee or other biological children of the birth parent.

C.  The actual and reasonable cost of providing information pursuant to this section shall be paid by the person requesting the information. END_STATUTE