S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10198
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 10, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Hevesi) --
   (at request of the Office of Court Administration) --  read  once  and
   referred to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  family  court  act and the civil rights law, in
   relation to name changes of children
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision (c) of section 115 of the family court act, as
 amended by chapter 605 of the laws  of  2011,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (c)  The  family  court  has such other jurisdiction as is provided by
 law, including but not limited to: proceedings concerning  adoption  and
 custody  of children, as set forth in parts two and three of article six
 of this  act;  proceedings  concerning  the  uniform  interstate  family
 support  act,  as  set  forth in article five-B of this act; proceedings
 concerning children in foster care and care and custody of children,  as
 set  forth  in  sections  three  hundred fifty-eight-a and three hundred
 eighty-four-a of the social services law and article ten-A of this  act;
 proceedings  concerning  former  foster children as set forth in article
 ten-B of this act; proceedings concerning  destitute  children,  as  set
 forth  in article ten-C of this act; proceedings concerning guardianship
 and custody of children by reason of the death  of,  or  abandonment  or
 surrender  by,  the  parent  or  parents, as set forth in sections three
 hundred eighty-three-c, three hundred eighty-four and paragraphs (a) and
 (b) of subdivision four of section three hundred  eighty-four-b  of  the
 social  services  law;  proceedings  concerning standby guardianship and
 guardianship of the person as set forth in part four of article  six  of
 this  act  and article seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act;
 [and] proceedings concerning the interstate compact on juveniles as  set
 forth  in chapter one hundred fifty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred
 fifty-five, as amended[,]; PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING the interstate compact
 on the placement of children, as set  forth  in  section  three  hundred
 seventy-four-a of the social services law[, and]; PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING
 the uniform child custody jurisdiction and enforcement act, as set forth
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14246-01-4
 A. 10198                            2
 
 in  article  five-A  of  the  domestic  relations  law;  AND PROCEEDINGS
 CONCERNING THE CHANGE OF THE NAME OF A CHILD AS  SET  FORTH  IN  SECTION
 SIXTY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS LAW.
   §  2.  Subdivision  (b)  of  section  439  of the family court act, as
 amended by chapter 576 of the laws  of  2005,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (b)  In  any  proceeding  to  establish  paternity which is heard by a
 support magistrate, the support magistrate shall advise the  mother  and
 putative  father  of  the  right  to be represented by counsel and shall
 advise the mother and putative father of their right to  blood  grouping
 or  other  genetic  marker  or DNA tests in accordance with section five
 hundred thirty-two of this act. The support magistrate shall order  that
 such  tests be conducted in accordance with section five hundred thirty-
 two of this act. The support magistrate shall be empowered to  hear  and
 determine  all matters related to the proceeding including the making of
 an order of filiation pursuant to section five hundred forty-two of this
 act AND AN APPLICATION TO CHANGE THE  NAME  OF  THE  CHILD  PURSUANT  TO
 SECTION SIXTY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS LAW, provided, however, that where the
 respondent denies paternity and paternity is contested on the grounds of
 equitable  estoppel,  the  support  magistrate shall not be empowered to
 determine the issue of paternity, but shall transfer the proceeding to a
 judge of the court for a determination of the issue of paternity.  Where
 an order of filiation is issued by a judge in a paternity proceeding and
 child  support is in issue, the judge, or support magistrate upon refer-
 ral from the judge, shall be authorized to immediately make a  temporary
 or final order of support, as applicable. Whenever an order of filiation
 is  made by a support magistrate, the support magistrate also shall make
 a final or temporary order of support.
   § 3. Section 60 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 695  of
 the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
   §  60.  Petition for change of name. 1. A petition for leave to assume
 another name may be made by a resident of the state to the county  court
 of the county or the supreme court in the county in which [he] THE PETI-
 TIONER  resides,  or,  if [he] THE PETITIONER resides in the city of New
 York, either to the supreme court or to any branch of the civil court of
 the city of New York, in any county of the city of New York.  The  peti-
 tion  to  change the name of an infant may be made by the infant through
 [his] THE INFANT'S next friend, or  by  either  of  [his]  THE  INFANT'S
 parents,  or  by [his] THE INFANT'S general guardian, or by the guardian
 of [his] THE INFANT'S person, OR BY THE INFANT'S ATTORNEY.
   2. AN APPLICATION MAY BE MADE IN FAMILY COURT SEEKING A NAME-CHANGE OF
 A CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN AS PART OF A PENDING, RELATED PROCEED-
 ING.  SUCH APPLICATION MAY BE MADE BY ANY OF THE PARTIES TO THE PROCEED-
 ING OR BY THE ATTORNEY FOR THE CHILD.  AN APPLICATION FOR A NAME  CHANGE
 MADE IN FAMILY COURT SHALL ONLY BE GRANTED WHERE IT IS ON CONSENT OF ALL
 PARTIES.
   §  4. Subdivision 4 of section 62 of the civil rights law, as added by
 chapter 158 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   4. [The] EXCEPT FOR APPLICATIONS IN FAMILY COURT PURSUANT  TO  SECTION
 SIXTY  OF  THIS  ARTICLE, THE court shall not request or require consent
 from any party other than the petitioner, or in the case of a petitioner
 who does not have capacity to consent, their legal representative, as  a
 condition  of  granting the name change or obtaining certified copies of
 the name change order.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of April next  succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law.