ADOPTION INFO RELEASE - S.B. 860 (S-3): FLOOR ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 860 (Substitute S-3 as reported)

Sponsor: Senator Michael J. Bouchard

Committee: Families, Mental Health and Human Services

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Michigan Adoption Code to provide for the release of identifying information to the grandparent of an adopted person whose parent was deceased. The bill also would allow former siblings to file statements denying (as well as consenting to) the release of information.

The bill would require a child placing agency, the court, or the Family Independence Agency (FIA) to deliver a clearance reply form to a person adopted between 1945 and 1980 if both former parents consented to the release of identifying information; if only one former parent were known and he or she consented to the release; or if an adult former sibling or former parent's parent consented to the release, when the former parent was deceased. The adoptee could use the form to obtain a copy of his or her original birth certificate.

Currently, a child placing agency, the court, and the FIA may require a fee for supplying information. The fee must be $60 or the actual cost, whichever is less. The bill, instead, would require the Supreme Court to establish the maximum amount of a fee based upon a survey of those entities conducted at least every three years to determine the average cost to supply the information. A child placing agency, the court, or the FIA could not charge more than the maximum amount the Supreme Court established or the actual cost of supplying the information, whichever was less.

MCL 710.27 et al. - Legislative Analyst: S. Lowe

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on State government. The Family Independence Agency does not gather data on the number of adoptees whose parents are deceased, either for wards of the State or children available for adoption in the private system. The department could incur additional costs for maintaining the central adoption system due to new forms for additional information. Also, there could be an increase in fees, pending approval of the Supreme Court.

There appears to be no fiscal impact on local governments.

Date Completed: 5-26-98 - Fiscal Analyst: C. Cole

floor\sb860 - Analysis available @ http://www.michiganlegislature.org

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.