Public Act 097-0445
 
HB1149 EnrolledLRB097 05996 RPM 46067 b

    AN ACT concerning public health.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Vital Records Act is amended by changing
Section 16.1 as follows:
 
    (410 ILCS 535/16.1)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-16.1)
    Sec. 16.1. When it appears from a certificate of adoption
transmitted to the State Registrar of Vital Records, pursuant
to the provisions of Section 16 of this Act, that the child was
born outside of the United States or its Territories, then,
upon submission to the State Registrar of Vital Records of
evidence as to the child's birth date and birthplace provided
by the original birth certificate, or by a certified copy,
extract, or translation thereof or by other document
essentially equivalent thereto (the records of the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Immigration and
Naturalization Service or of the U.S. Department of State to be
considered essentially equivalent thereto), the State
Registrar of Vital Records shall make and file a Record of
Foreign Birth. The State Registrar of Vital Records may make
and file a Record of Foreign Birth for a person born in a
foreign country who has been granted an IR-3 or IH-3 visa by
the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Immigration and
Naturalization Service under the Immigration and Nationality
Act and who was adopted under the laws of a jurisdiction or
country other than the United States by an adopting parent who
is a resident of this State upon the submission to the State
Registrar of Vital Records of: (1) evidence as to the child's
birth date and birthplace (including the country of birth and
if available, the city and province of birth) provided by the
original birth certificate, or by a certified copy, extract, or
translation thereof or by other document essentially
equivalent thereto (the records of the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services Immigration and Naturalization Service or
of the U.S. Department of State to be considered essentially
equivalent thereto); (2) a certified copy, extract, or
translation of the adoption decree or by other document
essentially equivalent thereto (the records of the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Immigration and
Naturalization Service or of the U.S. Department of State to be
considered essentially equivalent thereto); (3) a copy of the
IR-3 or IH-3 visa; and (4) the name and address of the adoption
agency that handled the adoption. The Record of Foreign Birth
shall include the actual place and date of birth, the child's
name and parentage as ordered in the judgment of adoption and
any other necessary facts.
    Upon the specific written request by the person to whom the
Record of Foreign Birth relates or by his or her legal
representative, or by an agency of local, state or federal
government, or upon the order of a court of competent
jurisdiction and upon payment of a fee of $5 by the applicant,
the State Registrar of Vital Records shall issue to such
applicant one certification or a certified copy of the
specified Record of Foreign Birth.
    Upon receipt of a certified copy of a court order of
annulment of adoption or a court order vacating a judgment of
adoption of an adopted person for whom a Record of Foreign
Birth has been made and filed under the provisions of this
Section the State Registrar of Vital Records shall nullify and
void such Record of Foreign Birth by entering on its face the
statement "This Record is declared null and void upon the basis
of a court judgment annulling or vacating this adoption upon
which this Record is based" and a notation identifying the
court judgment.
    The provisions of this Section shall also be applicable to,
and shall inure to the benefit of all persons for whom a
judgment of adoption has been entered in a court in this State
prior to August 26, 1963. In such cases the applicant shall
furnish the State Registrar of Vital Records with a certified
copy of the adoption judgment together with affidavits as to
the personal particulars of the foster parents in lieu of the
certificate of adoption specified in Section 16 of this Act. In
every case wherein the State Registrar of Vital Records has
previously been furnished with a certificate of adoption
involving a foreign born child adopted in Illinois, a certified
copy of the adoption judgment and affidavits of personal
particulars are not necessary, but the State Registrar of Vital
Records shall make and file a Record of Foreign Birth in the
same manner and fashion as if the certificate of adoption has
been furnished him after August 26, 1963.
(Source: P.A. 93-645, eff. 12-31-03.)
 
    Section 10. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Section
18.05 as follows:
 
    (750 ILCS 50/18.05)
    Sec. 18.05. The Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical
Information Exchange.
    (a) General function. Subject to appropriation, the
Department of Public Health shall administer the Illinois
Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange in the
manner outlined in subsections (b) and (c) for the purpose of
facilitating the voluntary exchange of identifying and medical
information between mutually consenting members of birth and
adoptive families. The Department shall establish rules for the
confidential operation of the Illinois Adoption Registry. The
Department shall appoint an OBC-Access Public Information
Campaign Oversight Committee comprised of, but not limited to,
representatives of the Department of Public Health and the
Department of Children and Family Services, as well as
representatives of the organizations that serve, as of the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
Assembly, on the Illinois Adoption Registry Advisory Council or
the Confidential Intermediary Advisory Council. On and after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
Assembly, the OBC-Access Public Information Campaign Oversight
Committee shall develop and ensure the timely implementation of
a year-long, nationwide campaign to be conducted from November
1, 2010, through October 31, 2011, for the express purpose of
informing the public in earnest about the conditions under
which an adult adopted or surrendered person may receive a
non-certified copy of his or her original birth certificate,
and the procedures pursuant to which a birth parent may file a
Birth Parent Preference Form to express his or her wishes with
respect to contact with a surrendered son or daughter and the
release of identifying information that appears on the original
birth certificate. This year-long informational campaign shall
include, but not be limited to:
        (1) Public service announcements to be distributed to
    local and national radio and television stations.
        (2) Notices to be distributed throughout Illinois to
    physicians' offices, religious institutions, social
    welfare organizations, retirement homes, and other
    entities capable of reaching individuals who may be
    impacted by this change in the law.
        (3) An informational website exclusively devoted to
    providing the general public with information about the new
    law as well as other forms of free electronic media.
        (4) Press releases to be distributed to local and
    national radio and television stations, as well as to
    relevant websites.
        (5) Announcements about the new law to be posted on the
    websites of all adoption agencies licensed in the State.
        (6) Notices accompanying every vehicle registration
    renewal application issued by the Secretary of State's
    office between October 31, 2010, and November 1, 2011.
        (7) Notices enclosed with driver's license renewal
    applications issued by the Secretary of State's office
    beginning 30 days after the effective date of this
    amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly and through
    November 30, 2014.
    The Illinois Adoption Registry shall also maintain an
informational Internet site where interested parties may
access information about the Illinois Adoption Registry and
Medical Information Exchange and download all necessary
application forms. The Illinois Adoption Registry shall
maintain statistical records regarding Registry participation
and publish and circulate to the public informational material
about the function and operation of the Registry.
    (b) Establishment of the Adoption/Surrender Records File.
When a person has voluntarily registered with the Illinois
Adoption Registry and completed an Illinois Adoption Registry
Application or a Registration Identification Form, the
Registry shall establish a new Adoption/Surrender Records
File. Such file may concern an adoption that was finalized by a
court action in the State of Illinois, an adoption of a person
born in Illinois finalized by a court action in a state other
than Illinois or in a foreign country, a surrender taken in the
State of Illinois, or an adoption filed according to Section
16.1 of the Vital Records Act under a Record of Foreign Birth
that was not finalized by a court action in the State of
Illinois. Such file may be established for adoptions or
surrenders finalized prior to as well as after the effective
date of this amendatory Act. A file may be created in any
manner to preserve documents including but not limited to
microfilm, optical imaging, or electronic documents.
    (c) Contents of the Adoption/Surrender Records File. An
established Adoption/Surrender Records File shall be limited
to the following items, to the extent that they are available:
        (1) The General Information Section and Medical
    Information Exchange Questionnaire of any Illinois
    Adoption Registry Application or a Registration
    Identification Form which has been voluntarily completed
    by any registered party.
        (2) Any photographs voluntarily provided by any
    registrant for any other registered party at the time of
    registration or any time thereafter. All such photographs
    shall be submitted in an unsealed envelope no larger than 8
    1/2" x 11", and shall not include identifying information
    pertaining to any person other than the registrant who
    submitted them. Any such identifying information shall be
    redacted by the Department or the information shall be
    returned for removal of identifying information.
        (3) Any Information Exchange Authorization, Denial of
    Information Exchange, or Birth Parent Preference Form
    which has been filed by a registrant.
        (4) For all adoptions finalized after January 1, 2000,
    copies of the original certificate of live birth and the
    certificate of adoption.
        (5) Any updated address submitted by any registered
    party about himself or herself.
        (6) Any proof of death that has been submitted by a
    registrant.
        (7) Any birth certificate that has been submitted by a
    registrant.
        (8) Any marriage certificate that has been submitted by
    a registrant.
        (9) Any proof of guardianship that has been submitted
    by a registrant.
        (10) Any Request for a Non-Certified Copy of an
    Original Birth Certificate that has been filed with the
    Registry by an adult adopted or surrendered person or by a
    surviving adult child or surviving spouse of a deceased
    adopted or surrendered person who has registered with the
    Registry.
    (d) An established Adoption/Surrender Records File for an
adoption filed in Illinois under a Record of Foreign Birth that
was not finalized in a court action in the State of Illinois
shall be limited to the following items submitted to the State
Registrar of Vital Records under Section 16.1 of the Vital
Records Act, to the extent that they are available:
        (1) Evidence as to the child's birth date and
    birthplace (including the country of birth and, if
    available, the city and province of birth) provided by the
    original birth certificate, or by a certified copy,
    extract, or translation thereof or by other document
    essentially equivalent thereto (the records of the U.S.
    Citizenship and Immigration Services or of the U.S.
    Department of State to be considered essentially
    equivalent thereto).
        (2) A certified copy, extract, or translation of the
    adoption decree or other document essentially equivalent
    thereto (the records of the U.S. Citizenship and
    Immigration Services or of the U.S. Department of State to
    be considered essentially equivalent thereto).
        (3) A copy of the IR-3 or IH-3 visa.
        (4) The name and address of the adoption agency that
    handled the adoption.
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-895, eff. 5-21-10.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.