S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5969
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 3, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Governmental Operations
 
 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 5 and 6 and three new subdivisions 2, 3 and
 4 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
 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)".
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09083-02-1

              

 A. 5969                             2
 
   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.
   § 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
 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

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 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.