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78S40253 JMM-F

By:  Goolsby                                                      H.B. No. 25 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the right of an adopted person to have access to the 
person's original birth certificate.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 192.008, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to 
read as follows:
	(d)  Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (e) and 
(f), only the court that granted the adoption may order access to an 
original birth certificate and the filed documents on which a 
supplementary certificate is based.
	(f)  An adult adoptee who is applying for access to the 
person's original birth certificate and who knows the identity of 
each parent named on the original birth certificate is entitled to a 
copy of the original birth certificate without obtaining a court 
order.
	SECTION 2.  (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.                       
	(b)  The change in law made by this Act applies to access to 
an original birth certificate by an adopted person without regard 
to whether the adoption order for the person was rendered before, 
on, or after the effective date of this Act.