AN ACT Relating to adoption; amending RCW 70.58.210, 26.33.290, and 26.33.330; adding new sections to chapter 26.33 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 26.33 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department shall establish and maintain an adoption registry in conjunction with the recording of adoption decrees under RCW 70.58.210. The adoption registry shall contain identifying information on natural parents and adoptees as shown on the adoption decrees and as shown on consent to disclosure forms filed under subsection (2) of this section. The registry shall be indexed to allow adoptees and natural parents to be matched. Consents to disclosure of identifying information shall be recorded in the registry.

(2) A natural parent of an adoptee for whom a decree of adoption has been recorded under RCW 70.58.210, may file a consent to disclosure in the adoption registry. The parent's consent to disclosure authorizes the department, as provided in subsection (3) of this section, to release information identifying the parent to the adoptee. An adult adoptee for whom a decree of adoption has been recorded under RCW 70.58.210, may file a consent to disclosure in the adoption registry. The adult adoptee's consent to disclosure authorizes the department, as provided in subsection (3) of this section, to release information identifying the adult adoptee to a natural parent of the adult adoptee. No person other than a natural parent of an adoptee or an adult adoptee may file a consent. By giving written notice to the department, a person who has filed a consent may revoke it at any time before disclosure under subsection (3) of this section. The department shall provide forms for the filing of consents. The forms shall contain current information about the identity and location of the person filing the consent. A person who has filed a consent to disclosure may at any time provide the department with updated identity and location information.

(3) Upon the request of any person who has filed a consent to disclosure under subsection (2) of this section, the department shall examine the registry to see if it also contains a consent to disclosure that authorizes the release of identifying information to the requesting person. If the registry does also contain such a consent, the department shall release the name, address, and phone number shown in that consent to the requesting person. The department shall not release any information from the adoption registry other than the name, address, and phone number shown on a consent to disclosure.

(4) When the department discloses information to any person under subsection (3) of this section, the department shall also give the person an affidavit, executed by the custodian of the adoption registry, affirming that the disclosure was made pursuant to a consent filed under subsection (2) of this section.

(5) Information contained in recorded adoption decrees or filed consent to disclosure forms shall not be released from the adoption registry except as provided in this section, RCW 26.33.330, or 26.33.340.

(6) As used in this section, "adult adoptee" means a person who has been adopted under the laws of this state and who is at least eighteen years old.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 26.33 RCW to read as follows:

It is unlawful for any person to obtain or to seek to obtain the disclosure of any information from the adoption registry established in section 1 of this act by intentionally misrepresenting his or her identity to the department, or by intentionally providing other false information, in conjunction with filing a consent to disclosure form or requesting an examination of the registry. A violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 26.33 RCW to read as follows:

Sections 1 and 2 of this act apply to any adoption for which a decree has been recorded with the department regardless of when the recording occurred.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 26.33 RCW to read as follows:

The department may adopt rules to implement section 1 of this act and may charge a reasonable fee for filing a consent form or for requesting an examination of the adoption registry.

Sec. 5. Section 1, chapter 133, Laws of 1939 as last amended by section 2, chapter 101, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 70.58.210 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Whenever a decree of adoption has been entered declaring a child, born in the state of Washington, adopted in any court of competent jurisdiction in the state of Washington or any other state or any territory of the United States, a certified copy of the decree of adoption shall be recorded with the proper department of registration of births in the state of Washington and a certificate of birth shall issue upon request, bearing the new name of the child as shown in the decree of adoption, the names of the adoptive parents of the child and the age, sex, and date of birth of the child, but no reference in any birth certificate shall have reference to the adoption of the child. However, original registration of births shall remain a part of the record of the board of health.

(2) Whenever a decree of adoption has been entered declaring a child, born outside of the United States and its territories, adopted in any court of competent jurisdiction in the state of Washington, a certified copy of the decree of adoption together with evidence as to the child's birth date and birth place provided by the original birth certificate, or by a certified copy, extract, or translation thereof or by a certified copy of some other document essentially equivalent thereto, shall be recorded with the proper department of registration of births in the state of Washington. The records of the United States immigration and naturalization service or of the United States department of state are essentially equivalent to the birth certificate. A certificate of birth shall issue upon request, bearing the new name of the child as shown in the decree of adoption, the names of the adoptive parents of the child and the age, sex, and date of birth of the child, but no reference in any birth certificate shall have reference to the adoption of the child. Unless the court orders otherwise, the certificate of birth shall have the same overall appearance as the certificate which would have been issued if the adopted child had been born in the state of Washington.

A person born outside of the United States and its territories for whom a decree of adoption has been entered in a court of this state before September 1, 1979, may apply for a certificate of birth under this subsection by furnishing the proper department of registration of births with a certified copy of the decree of adoption together with the other evidence required by this subsection as to the date and place of birth. Upon receipt of the decree and evidence, a certificate of birth shall be issued in accordance with this subsection.

(3) In conjunction with the recording of decrees of adoption under this section, an adoption registry shall be maintained under section 1 of this 1985 act.

Sec. 6. Section 29, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.290 are each amended to read as follows:

Upon receipt of a decree of adoption, the state registrar of vital statistics shall:

(1) Return the decree to the court clerk if all information required by RCW 26.33.250 is not included in the decree;

(2) If the adoptee was born in a state other than Washington, or in a territory of the United States, forward the certificate of adoption to the appropriate health record recording agency of the state or territory of the United States in which the birth occurred;

(3) If the adoptee was born in the state of Washington or was born outside of the United States or its territories, issue in accordance with RCW 70.58.210 a new certificate of birth by the office of the state registrar of vital statistics which reflects the information contained in the decree.

Sec. 7. Section 33, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.330 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) All records of any proceeding under this chapter shall be sealed and shall not be thereafter open to inspection by any person except as provided under section 1 of this 1985 act or upon order of the court for good cause shown.

(2) The state registrar of vital statistics may charge a reasonable fee for the review of any of its sealed records.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.