S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9409
I N A S S E M B L Y
April 29, 2014
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to limiting the scope
of information disclosed in a published notice of change of name
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 63 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter
258 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
S 63. Order. If the court to which the petition is presented is satis-
fied thereby, or by the affidavit and certificate presented therewith,
that the petition is true, and that there is no reasonable objection to
the change of name proposed, and if the petition be to change the name
of an infant, that the interests of the infant will be substantially
promoted by the change, the court shall make an order authorizing the
petitioner to assume the name proposed. The order shall further recite
the date and place of birth of the applicant and, if the applicant was
born in the state of New York, such order shall set forth the number of
his OR HER birth certificate or that no birth certificate is available.
The order shall be directed to be entered and the papers on which it was
granted to be filed prior to the publication hereinafter directed in the
clerk's office of the county in which the petitioner resides if he OR
SHE be an individual, or in the office of the clerk of the civil court
of the city of New York if the order be made by that court. Such order
shall also direct the publication, at least once, within sixty days
after the making of the order, in a designated newspaper in the county
in which the order is directed to be entered and if the petition is made
by a person subject to the provisions of subdivision two of section
sixty-two of this article, in a designated newspaper in any county wher-
ein such person was convicted if different from the county in which the
order is otherwise directed to be entered, of a notice in substantially
the following form:
Notice is hereby given that an order entered by the ............
court,............ county, on the ...... day of......., bearing Index
Number..........., a copy of which may be examined at the office of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14710-02-4
A. 9409 2
clerk, located at ................., in room number......., grants me
the right to assume the name of ................... [My] THE CITY AND
STATE OF MY present address [is] ARE .........................; the
[date] MONTH AND YEAR of my birth [is] ARE ................; the place
of my birth is ....................; my present name is
.................................
S 2. Section 64-a of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 83 of
the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
S 64-a. Exemption from publication requirements. 1. If the court shall
find that the publication of an applicant's change of name would jeop-
ardize such applicant's personal safety OR IF THE PETITION FOR A CHANGE
OF NAME ALLEGES A REASON OR CIRCUMSTANCE DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF
THIS SECTION, the provisions of sections sixty-three and sixty-four of
this article requiring publication shall be waived and shall be inappli-
cable. The court shall order the records of such change of name proceed-
ing to be sealed, to be opened only by order of the court for good cause
shown or at the request of the applicant.
2. THE PROCEDURE DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION APPLIES
TO PETITIONS ALLEGING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING REASONS OR CIRCUMSTANCES:
(A) TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL OF OR ACTUAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, PURSUANT TO
ARTICLE EIGHT OF THE FAMILY COURT ACT,
(B) TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL OF OR ACTUAL STALKING, PURSUANT TO SECTION
120.45, 120.50, 120.55 OR 120.60 OF THE PENAL LAW,
(C) TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL OF OR AN ACTUAL BIAS RELATED CRIME, INCLUD-
ING THE PROVISIONS AND COVERAGE OF THE HATE CRIMES ACT OF 2000 CODIFIED
IN ARTICLE FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE OF THE PENAL LAW,
(D) TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL OF OR AN ACTUAL SEXUAL ASSAULT, PURSUANT TO
ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY OF THE PENAL LAW,
(E) THE PETITIONER IS, OR IS FILING ON BEHALF OF, A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, STALKING, HATE CRIME OR SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR
(F) THE PETITIONER IS, OR IS FILING ON BEHALF OF A PERSON SEEKING A
CHANGE OF NAME TO CONFORM NAME TO HIS OR HER GENDER IDENTITY OR GENDER
EXPRESSION.
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, pending such a finding
in subdivision one OR TWO OF THIS SECTION where an applicant seeks
relief under this section, the court shall immediately order the appli-
cant's current name, proposed new name, residential and business
addresses, telephone numbers, and any other information contained in any
pleadings or papers submitted to the court to be safeguarded and sealed
in order to prevent their inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure
while the matter is pending.
S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.