HB1577: relative to initiating amendments and corrections to birth records.

HB 1577-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

12Mar2020... 0301h

2020 SESSION

20-2526

05/03

HOUSE BILL 1577-FN

AN ACT relative to initiating amendments and corrections to birth records.

SPONSORS: Rep. Cannon, Straf. 18; Rep. Woods, Merr. 23; Rep. Huot, Belk. 3; Rep. Butler, Carr. 7; Rep. Bouchard, Hills. 11; Rep. Stavis, Graf. 13; Rep. Bunker, Rock. 18; Rep. St. John, Hills. 27; Rep. Mangipudi, Hills. 35; Rep. Bernet, Hills. 4; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Sherman, Dist 24

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill provides a procedure for an individual to obtain a new birth certificate to reflect a sex designation other than that which was assigned at birth.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

12Mar2020... 0301h12Mar2020... 20-2526

05/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

AN ACT relative to initiating amendments and corrections to birth records.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Vital Records; Initiating Amendments and Corrections to Birth Records; Gender Identity. RSA 5-C:87, V is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

V. If an individual requests a birth record reflecting a gender designation other than that which was assigned at birth, a new birth record shall be prepared to reflect a change in the individual's gender upon receipt of a notarized certification by a licensed and qualified health care provider affirming the individual's gender designation.

(a) The notarized certification shall be signed by a licensed and qualified health care provider under the penalty of RSA 5-C:14. It shall provide that the named individual is currently or was previously under the signing health care provider's care, and that in the health care provider's professional opinion the individual's gender is (1) male, (2) female, or (3) neither male nor female, and can be reasonably expected to continue as such for the foreseeable future.

(b) The application shall be signed by the applicant under the penalty of RSA 5-C:14. This signature shall certify that the request for change of gender is for the purpose of ensuring that the applicant's birth record accurately reflects the applicant's gender, and that the request is not for any fraudulent or unlawful purpose. If the applicant is a minor who is at least 14 years of age but less than 18 years of age, the application shall be signed by the applicant and by each parent listed on the minor's birth certificate or the minor's legal guardian. If a parent listed on the birth certificate cannot be found, the applicant also shall submit a certified copy of a court order stating that the consent of only one parent is required. If a parent is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate shall be submitted with the application.

(c) The individual shall surrender any prior birth record issued by the state of New Hampshire in the individual's possession. The original birth record shall be retained by the city or town of birth. The city or town clerk shall submit the individual's application, the health care provider's certification, and a certified copy of the original birth record to the state registrar for review. Upon approval by the state registrar, the city or town clerk shall issue a new birth record with a marginal note indicating that the record has been amended in accordance with this paragraph. The birth records shall reflect the gender as male, female, or neither.

(d) The fee to amend a birth record pursuant to this paragraph shall be the same as the fee to amend a birth record pursuant to RSA 5-C:10, III. Any subsequent amendment to the birth record regarding gender designation shall require a court order.

(e) If a New Hampshire resident, who was born in another state, seeks a birth record gender designation change, the individual shall petition the circuit court probate division for a hearing regarding the birth record change and shall submit to the court a notarized certification by a licensed and qualified health care provider affirming the individual's gender designation. After a court order authorizing the change has been issued, the individual shall submit the order to the individual's birth state for issuance of the revised birth record.

(f) In this paragraph, "licensed and qualified health care provider" means a treating and licensed physician, physician assistant, psychologist, advanced practice registered nurse, clinical social worker, or clinical mental health counselor.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.

LBAO

20-2526

Amended 3/23/20

HB 1577-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2020-0301h)

AN ACT relative to initiating amendments and corrections to birth records.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Expenditures

$0

$100,000+

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

[ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Vital Records Improvement Fund (RSA 5-C:15)

COUNTY:

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

LOCAL:

Revenue

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Expenditures

$0

$0

$0

$0

METHODOLOGY:

This bill allows an individual to request a birth certificate reflecting a sex designation other than that which was assigned at birth. The fee to amend a birth certificate would be the same as the existing fee to correct or amend a birth certificate, or $10, kept by the municipality pursuant to RSA 5-C:10, III. The New Hampshire Municipal Association does not know how many applications are likely to be submitted in any municipality in a given year due to this legislation and is unable to estimate if there would be any additional total revenue. The Secretary of State's Office indicates there would be a one-time cost of $100,000 for the Division of Vital Records for modification of forms and associated programming for data exchange with the Department of Health and Human Services.

This bill contains penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems. There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures. However, the entities impacted have provided the potential costs associated with these penalties below.

Judicial Branch

FY 2021

FY 2022

Simple Criminal Case

$300

$314

Routine Criminal Felony Case

$484

$498

Appeals

Varies

Varies

It should be noted that average case cost estimates for FY 2021 and FY 2022 are based on data that is more than ten years old and does not reflect changes to the courts over that same period of time or the impact these changes may have on processing the various case types. An unspecified misdemeanor can be either class A or class B, with the presumption being a class B misdemeanor.

Judicial Council

Public Defender Program

Has contract with State to provide services.

Has contract with State to provide services.

Contract Attorney – Felony

$825/Case

$825/Case

Assigned Counsel – Felony

$60/Hour up to $4,100

$60/Hour up to $4,100

It should be noted that a person needs to be found indigent and have the potential of being incarcerated to be eligible for indigent defense services. The majority of indigent cases (approximately 85%) are handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%).

Department of Corrections

FY 2019 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$44,400

$44,400

FY 2019 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate

$5,071

$5,071

FY 2019 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation

$576

$576

NH Association of Counties

County Prosecution Costs

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$105 to $120

$105 to $120

Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors. When the Department of Justice has investigative and prosecutorial responsibility or is involved in an appeal, the Department would likely absorb the cost within its existing budget. If the Department needs to prosecute significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs may increase by an indeterminable amount.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

New Hampshire Municipal Association, Judicial Branch, Departments of State, Corrections, and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties