NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9141

Senate Bill S9141

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to ensuring the privacy of name change actions and of sex designation change actions; repealer

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 30, 2024	referred to codes

2023-S9141 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Civil Rights Law
Laws Affected:: Rpld & add §§64-a & 67-b, Civ Rts L

2023-S9141 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the office of court administration, clerks, and all other records custodians to develop policies and procedures to ensure no identifying information or documentation relating to name change actions or sex designation change actions is visible or retrievable in any electronic database maintained by the state of New York or a subdivision thereof.

2023-S9141 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9141

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to ensuring the priva-
cy of name change actions and of sex designation change actions; and to
repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure the privacy of legal documents relating to name changes.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 repeals section 64-a of the civil rights law and adds a new
section 64-a governing the privacy of name change actions.

Section 2 repeals section 67-b of the civil rights law and adds a new
section 67-b governing the privacy of sex designation change actions.

JUSTIFICATION:

With the passage of the Gender Recognition Act of 2021, New York stream-
lined the process for changing one's name under state law. The GRA
outlined an accessible and private means of ensuring New Yorkers' iden-
tity documents reflect their gender identities and chosen names.

However, a person seeking a name or sex designation in court must still
file paperwork with private and legally sensitive information.  With the
steep rise of e-filing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of
these sensitive court documents are uploaded to state electronic filing
systems where they can be "scraped" by court data aggregator services
--- making their personal information searchable online and available to
anyone with access to such databases.

This level of disclosure places anyone seeking - and sometimes required
to seek - the court's help at direct risk of identity theft, harassment,
discrimination, and violence. For survivors of domestic violence, stalk-
ing, sexual assault, or other crimes, who are using the name change
process as a part of a comprehensive safety plan, ready access to this
information places them squarely in the sights of the very people from
whom they are seeking the court's protection.

Though applicants may currently petition for their records to be sealed,
the speed with which such documents are uploaded to the internet means
that one's birth certificate, driver's license, immigration documents,
medical records, orders of protection, and other private information may
be "leaked" to the internet before petitions to seal can be granted ---
making their publication irrevocable. For survivors of domestic
violence, stalking, sexual assault, or other crimes, who are using the
name change process as a part of a comprehensive safety plan, ready
access to this information places them squarely in the sights of the
very people from whom they are seeking the court's protection. Further-
more, such disclosure places transgender and gender non-conforming
people, who are already subject to documented high levels of animus and
hate violence, at risk of further public humiliation, threats, or
discrimination from people both in and outside their communities.

This bill will extend to name change legal documents the same privacy
courts apply to other deeply personal court matters such as adoption,
marriage, and divorce proceedings, as New Jersey has already done state-
wide. In doing so, it will align the privacy provided by the GRA with
all other name change and sex designation change mechanisms in the state
and provide less opportunity for accidental disclosure of or malicious
access to private information. Furthermore, by making these proceedings
categorically unavailable to the general public, it will relieve already
over-burdened courts and clerks from having to determine on a labor-in-
tensive, case-by-case basis what name change court records should or
should not be subject to seal.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New legislation.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

2023-S9141 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9141
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 30, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to ensuring the priva-
   cy of name change actions and of sex designation change  actions;  and
   to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 64-a of the civil rights law is REPEALED and a  new
 section 64-a is added to read as follows:
   §  64-A.  ENSURING PRIVACY OF NAME CHANGE ACTIONS. 1. AT NO TIME SHALL
 ANY PAPER OR DOCUMENT FILED BY ELECTRONIC  OR  PAPER  MEANS  IN  A  NAME
 CHANGE  ACTION  BE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION IN-PERSON, ONLINE, OR
 AT ANY COMPUTER TERMINAL IN THE COURTHOUSE OR THE OFFICE OF  THE  COUNTY
 CLERK,  EXCEPT  FOR  ACCESS BY THE PETITIONER, THE PERSON CHANGING THEIR
 NAME IF DIFFERENT FROM THE PETITIONER, THE ATTORNEY OF RECORD, OR UPON A
 FINDING OF GOOD CAUSE. NO ORDER OF THE COURT SHALL  BE  REQUIRED  FOR  A
 PETITIONER,  OR  A  PERSON  WHOSE  NAME  CHANGE A FILING PERTAINS TO, TO
 ACCESS THEIR OWN FILE.
   2. ANY ENTITY RESPONSIBLE FOR PROCESSING AND MAINTAINING COURT RECORDS
 SHALL ENSURE MATTERS FILED UNDER THIS ARTICLE ARE  INACCESSIBLE  TO  THE
 PUBLIC IMMEDIATELY UPON FILING, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A PETITIONER MAKES
 A SHOWING OF RISK AND REGARDLESS OF THE REASON FOR THE NAME CHANGE. THIS
 SECTION  APPLIES  TO  ALL MATTERS FILED UNDER THIS ARTICLE REGARDLESS OF
 WHETHER A PETITIONER HAS MADE A SPECIFIC REQUEST FOR  THEIR  INFORMATION
 TO  BE  KEPT PRIVATE AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A COURT HAS ORDERED SEAL-
 ING.
   3. THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION, CLERKS, AND ALL  OTHER  RECORDS
 CUSTODIANS  SHALL DEVELOP POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO ENSURE NO IDENTIFY-
 ING INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTATION RELATING TO A MATTER FILED  UNDER  THIS
 ARTICLE  IS VISIBLE OR RETRIEVABLE IN ANY ELECTRONIC DATABASE MAINTAINED
 BY THE STATE OF NEW  YORK  OR  A  SUBDIVISION  THEREOF.  NON-IDENTIFYING
 ADMINISTRATIVE  INFORMATION  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDEX NUMBERS,
 JUDGES, COURTS, ATTORNEY NAMES, INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATURE AND  STATUS
 OF  THE  ACTION,  AND INITIALIZED OR ANONYMIZED CAPTIONS MAY BE VISIBLE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD15341-01-4
 S. 9141                             2
 
 ALL CUSTODIAL AGENCIES AND INDIVIDUALS SHALL  ENSURE  ANY  PLATFORMS  OR
 SYSTEMS  USED  TO FILE OR MAINTAIN COURT RECORDS ALLOW FOR CUSTODIANS TO
 INPUT AND MAINTAIN MATTERS FILED UNDER THIS ARTICLE CONSISTENT WITH THIS
 SECTION.
   4.  WITHIN  NINETY  DAYS  OF  THE  EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, ALL
 CUSTODIAL AGENCIES AND  INDIVIDUALS  MAINTAINING  EXISTING  NAME  CHANGE
 RECORDS  SHALL  ENSURE ALL MATTERS FILED UNDER THIS ARTICLE PRIOR TO THE
 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION ARE REMOVED FROM  PUBLIC  VIEW  IN-PERSON
 AND IN ONLINE DATABASES CONSISTENT WITH THIS SECTION.
   5.  IF  A  PERSON  WHOSE  NAME WAS CHANGED BY COURT ORDER PRIOR TO THE
 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION DISCOVERS THAT INFORMATION DEEMED PRIVATE
 UNDER THIS SECTION IS PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE, SUCH PERSON MAY MOVE EX PARTE
 AT ANY TIME TO  REQUEST  THAT  INFORMATION  DEEMED  PRIVATE  UNDER  THIS
 SECTION  BE  REMOVED  FROM  PUBLIC  VIEW  CONSISTENT  WITH THIS SECTION,
 REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A REQUEST TO SEAL WAS MADE  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE
 ORIGINAL PETITION OR THE MATTER WAS PREVIOUSLY ORDERED SEALED.
   6.  NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO LIMIT THE DISCRETION
 OF THE COURT TO ORDER NOTICE OF A NAME CHANGE PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE.
   § 2. Section 67-b of the civil  rights  law  is  REPEALED  and  a  new
 section 67-b is added to read as follows:
   §  67-B. ENSURING THE PRIVACY OF SEX DESIGNATION CHANGE ACTIONS. 1. AT
 NO TIME SHALL ANY PAPER OR DOCUMENT FILED BY ELECTRONIC OR  PAPER  MEANS
 IN  A  SEX  DESIGNATION CHANGE ACTION BE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION
 IN-PERSON, ONLINE, OR AT ANY COMPUTER TERMINAL IN THE COURTHOUSE OR  THE
 OFFICE  OF  THE  COUNTY  CLERK, EXCEPT FOR ACCESS BY THE PETITIONER, THE
 PERSON CHANGING THEIR SEX DESIGNATION IF DIFFERENT FROM THE  PETITIONER,
 THE ATTORNEY OF RECORD, OR UPON A FINDING OF GOOD CAUSE. NO ORDER OF THE
 COURT  SHALL  BE REQUIRED FOR A PETITIONER, OR A PERSON WHOSE SEX DESIG-
 NATION CHANGE A FILING PERTAINS TO, TO ACCESS THEIR OWN FILE.
   2. ANY ENTITY RESPONSIBLE FOR PROCESSING AND MAINTAINING COURT RECORDS
 SHALL ENSURE MATTERS FILED UNDER THIS ARTICLE ARE  INACCESSIBLE  TO  THE
 PUBLIC IMMEDIATELY UPON FILING, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A PETITIONER MAKES
 A  SHOWING  OF RISK AND REGARDLESS OF THE REASON FOR THE SEX DESIGNATION
 CHANGE. THIS SECTION APPLIES TO ALL MATTERS  FILED  UNDER  THIS  ARTICLE
 REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A PETITIONER HAS MADE A SPECIFIC REQUEST FOR THEIR
 INFORMATION  TO  BE  KEPT  PRIVATE AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A COURT HAS
 ORDERED SEALING.
   3. THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION, CLERKS, AND ALL  OTHER  RECORDS
 CUSTODIANS  SHALL DEVELOP POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO ENSURE NO IDENTIFY-
 ING INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTATION RELATING TO A MATTER FILED  UNDER  THIS
 ARTICLE  IS VISIBLE OR RETRIEVABLE IN ANY ELECTRONIC DATABASE MAINTAINED
 BY THE STATE OF NEW  YORK  OR  A  SUBDIVISION  THEREOF.  NON-IDENTIFYING
 ADMINISTRATIVE  INFORMATION  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDEX NUMBERS,
 JUDGES, COURTS, ATTORNEY NAMES, INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATURE AND  STATUS
 OF  THE  ACTION,  AND INITIALIZED OR ANONYMIZED CAPTIONS MAY BE VISIBLE.
 ALL CUSTODIAL AGENCIES AND INDIVIDUALS SHALL  ENSURE  ANY  PLATFORMS  OR
 SYSTEMS  USED  TO FILE OR MAINTAIN COURT RECORDS ALLOW FOR CUSTODIANS TO
 INPUT AND MAINTAIN MATTERS FILED UNDER THIS ARTICLE CONSISTENT WITH THIS
 SECTION.
   4. WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF THE  EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF  THIS  SECTION,  ALL
 CUSTODIAL  AGENCIES AND INDIVIDUALS MAINTAINING EXISTING SEX DESIGNATION
 CHANGE RECORDS SHALL ENSURE ALL MATTERS FILED UNDER THIS  ARTICLE  PRIOR
 TO  THE  EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF  THIS  SECTION ARE REMOVED FROM PUBLIC VIEW
 IN-PERSON AND IN ONLINE DATABASES CONSISTENT WITH THIS SECTION.
   5. IF A PERSON WHOSE SEX DESIGNATION WAS CHANGED BY COURT ORDER  PRIOR
 TO  THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION DISCOVERS THAT INFORMATION DEEMED
 S. 9141                             3
 
 PRIVATE UNDER THIS SECTION IS PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE, SUCH PERSON MAY  MOVE
 EX  PARTE  AT  ANY TIME TO REQUEST THAT INFORMATION DEEMED PRIVATE UNDER
 THIS SECTION BE REMOVED FROM PUBLIC VIEW CONSISTENT WITH  THIS  SECTION,
 REGARDLESS  OF  WHETHER  A  REQUEST  TO SEAL WAS MADE AT THE TIME OF THE
 ORIGINAL PETITION OR THE MATTER WAS PREVIOUSLY ORDERED SEALED.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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