S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
     S. 5168--A                                            A. 7197--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                       S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 12, 2019
                                ___________
 
 IN  SENATE  --  Introduced  by Sens. HOYLMAN, BENJAMIN -- read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Codes  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended, ordered reprinted as
   amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. BUCHWALD, SIMON, BRONSON,  WEPRIN,
   GOTTFRIED,  ORTIZ,  EPSTEIN,  WOERNER,  D'URSO,  L. ROSENTHAL,  BLAKE,
   JAFFEE, ZEBROWSKI, MOSLEY, CRUZ, HYNDMAN,  O'DONNELL,  PAULIN,  ASHBY,
   FERNANDEZ, PICHARDO, SAYEGH, GRIFFIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
   GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Oper-
   ations  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as
   amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to  court  recognition
   of a change of gender
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 61 of the civil rights  law
 are  renumbered  subdivisions  6 and 7 and four new subdivisions 2, 3, 4
 and 5 are added to read as follows:
   2. THE PETITION TO CHANGE A PETITIONER'S NAME MAY  ALSO  REQUEST  THAT
 THE  COURT  RECOGNIZE  AND  DIRECT  A CHANGE IN THE PETITIONER'S GENDER.
 SUCH REQUEST SHALL BE ACCOMPANIED, A) BY AN AFFIDAVIT FROM THE PETITION-
 ER, WHICH AFFIDAVIT SHALL BE ACCEPTED  AS  CONCLUSIVE  PROOF  OF  GENDER
 CHANGE  IF  IT  CONTAINS  SUBSTANTIALLY  THE  FOLLOWING  LANGUAGE:   "I,
 (PETITIONER'S FULL NAME), HEREBY ATTEST UNDER PENALTY  OF  PERJURY  THAT
 THE REQUEST FOR A CHANGE IN GENDER TO (FEMALE, MALE, OR NONBINARY) IS TO
 CONFORM MY LEGAL GENDER TO MY GENDER IDENTITY AND IS NOT FOR ANY FRAUDU-
 LENT  PURPOSE";  AND  B) CERTIFICATION BY A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL WHO HAS
 TREATED THE PETITIONER IN THE  FOLLOWING  FORM:  "I,  (PHYSICIAN'S  FULL
 NAME),  (PHYSICIAN'S  MEDICAL  LICENSE  OR CERTIFICATE NUMBER), (ISSUING
 U.S. STATE/FOREIGN  COUNTRY  OF  MEDICAL  LICENSE/CERTIFICATE),  AM  THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD08702-02-9

 S. 5168--A                          2                         A. 7197--A
 
 PHYSICIAN  OF  (NAME  OF  PATIENT),  WITH  WHOM  I HAVE A DOCTOR/PATIENT
 RELATIONSHIP  AND  WHOM  I  HAVE  TREATED  (OR  WITH  WHOM  I   HAVE   A
 DOCTOR/PATIENT  RELATIONSHIP  AND  WHOSE MEDICAL HISTORY I HAVE REVIEWED
 AND EVALUATED). (NAME OF PATIENT) HAS HAD APPROPRIATE CLINICAL TREATMENT
 FOR  GENDER  TRANSITION  TO  THE  NEW GENDER (SPECIFY MALE OR FEMALE). I
 DECLARE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY UNDER THE LAWS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES
 THAT  THE  FOREGOING  IS  TRUE  AND  CORRECT.  (SIGNATURE)  (TYPED NAME)
 (DATE)".
   3. A PETITIONER MAY MAKE  A  REQUEST  FOR  AN  ORDER  RECOGNIZING  AND
 DIRECTING  A  CHANGE  IN  PETITIONER'S  GENDER BY MOTION UNDER THE INDEX
 NUMBER OF AN ALREADY GRANTED NAME CHANGE.
   4. A PETITIONER MAY MAKE  A  REQUEST  FOR  AN  ORDER  RECOGNIZING  AND
 DIRECTING  A  CHANGE IN PETITIONER'S GENDER BY IN WRITING, SIGNED BY THE
 PETITIONER AND VERIFIED IN LIKE MANNER AS A PLEADING IN COURT OF RECORD,
 AND SHALL SPECIFY THE GROUNDS OF THE  APPLICATION,  THE  NAME,  DATE  OF
 BIRTH, PLACE OF BIRTH, AGE AND RESIDENCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL WHOSE NAME IS
 PROPOSED TO BE CHANGED AND THE NAME WHICH HE OR SHE PROPOSES TO ASSUME.
   5. UNLESS A WRITTEN OBJECTION IS FILED WITHIN TWENTY-EIGHT DAYS OF THE
 FILING  OF  THE PETITION AND SHOWS GOOD CAUSE FOR OPPOSING A COURT ORDER
 RECOGNIZING THE CHANGE OF NAME AND/OR GENDER, THE COURT SHALL GRANT  THE
 PETITION  WITHOUT  A HEARING. IF AN OBJECTION IS TIMELY FILED, THE COURT
 MAY SET A HEARING, AT A TIME  DESIGNATED  BY  THE  COURT,  ONLY  IF  THE
 OBJECTION  FILED  SHOWS GOOD CAUSE FOR OPPOSING THE PETITION. OBJECTIONS
 BASED SOLELY ON CONCERNS OVER THE PETITIONER'S  ACTUAL  GENDER  IDENTITY
 SHALL  NOT  CONSTITUTE GOOD CAUSE. AT THE HEARING, THE COURT MAY EXAMINE
 ON OATH THE PETITIONER AND ANY OTHER PERSON HAVING  KNOWLEDGE  OF  FACTS
 RELEVANT  TO  THE  PETITION. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE HEARING, THE COURT
 SHALL GRANT THE PETITION IF THE COURT DETERMINES THAT  THE  PETITION  IS
 NOT MADE FOR ANY FRAUDULENT PURPOSE.
   §  2. Section 63 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 253 of
 the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
   § 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 AND/OR GENDER proposed, and if  the  petition  be  to
 change  the  name  AND/OR GENDER 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 AND/OR
 GENDER 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 birth certificate
 or that no birth certificate is  available.    IF  A  GENDER  CHANGE  IS
 APPROVED  THE  ORDER  SHALL  STATE THAT "THE TERM GENDER AS USED IN THIS
 ORDER IS INCLUSIVE OF SEX OR ANY  OTHER  TERM  IDENTIFYING  PETITIONER'S
 STATUS  AS  MALE OR FEMALE" AND THAT "THE COURT DIRECTS THAT ANY GOVERN-
 MENT AGENCY OR ADMINISTRATIVE BODY AMEND THE SEX ON  PETITIONER'S  DOCU-
 MENTS,   INCLUDING,   BUT   NOT  LIMITED  TO,  BIRTH  CERTIFICATE,  FROM
 (MALE/FEMALE) TO (FEMALE/MALE/NON BINARY). IT  IS,  THEREFORE,  ORDERED,
 ADJUDGED  AND  DECREED THAT THE SEX INDICATED ON PETITIONER'S DOCUMENTS,
 INCLUDING,  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO,  BIRTH  CERTIFICATE,  BE  CHANGED  TO
 (MALE/FEMALE/NON BINARY). The order MAY BE TAILORED TO MEET THE REQUIRE-
 MENTS OF ANY SPECIFIC AGENCY AND 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 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

 S. 5168--A                          3                         A. 7197--A
 
 court.  Such order shall also direct the  publication,  at  least  once,
 within sixty days after the making of the order, in a designated newspa-
 per  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 subdivi-
 sion two of section sixty-two of this article, in a designated newspaper
 in any county wherein 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   clerk,  located  at
 ................., in room number......., grants me the right to  assume
 the  name  of  ...................    The  city  and state of my present
 address are .........................; the month and year  of  my  birth
 are  ................; the place of my birth is ....................; my
 present name is .................................
   § 3. Section 64-a of the civil rights law, as amended by  chapter  241
 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   § 64-a. Exemption from publication requirements. 1. If the court shall
 find that the publication of an applicant's change of name AND/OR GENDER
 would  jeopardize such applicant's personal safety, based on totality of
 the circumstances the provisions of sections sixty-three and  sixty-four
 of this article requiring publication shall be waived and shall be inap-
 plicable.  Provided,  however,  the  court  shall  not  deny such waiver
 [soley] SOLELY on the basis that the applicant lacks specific  instances
 of  or  a personal history of threat to personal safety. The court shall
 order the records of such change of name proceeding to be sealed, to  be
 opened only by order of the court for good cause shown or at the request
 of the applicant.
   2.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, pending such a finding
 in subdivision one of this section where an applicant seeks relief under
 this section, the court shall immediately order the applicant's  current
 name,   proposed  new  name  AND/OR  GENDER,  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.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.