STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4402--B
Cal. No. 515
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 4, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, BAILEY, BENJAMIN, BIAGGI, COONEY, GIANARIS,
GOUNARDES, JACKSON, PARKER, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA -- read
twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the
Committee on Codes -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered
to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and
ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
-- again amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the
order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, the vehicle and traffic law and
the public health law, in relation to enacting the "Gender Recognition
Act"; and to repeal subdivision 1 of section 502 of the vehicle and
traffic law relating to driver's licenses
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Gender Recognition Act".
3 § 2. Section 62 of the civil rights law is amended by adding two new
4 subdivisions 3 and 4 to read as follows:
5 3. Except as provided in subdivisions one and two of this section, the
6 court shall not require any other pre-hearing notice. The court shall
7 not condition the entry of an order on notice to any other party or to
8 any city, state or federal agency except by written order detailing the
9 court's reasoning for requiring such notice and showing cause why such
10 notice should be served. Under no circumstances shall the court require
11 notice to United States immigration and customs enforcement, United
12 States customs and border protection, United States citizenship and
13 immigration services, or any successor agencies, or any agencies having
14 similar duties.
15 4. The court shall not request or require consent from any party other
16 than the petitioner, or in the case of a petitioner who does not have
17 capacity to consent, their legal representative, as a condition of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05588-10-1
S. 4402--B 2
1 granting the name change or obtaining certified copies of the name
2 change order.
3 § 3. Section 63 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 253 of
4 the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
5 § 63. Order. If the court to which the petition is presented is satis-
6 fied thereby, or by the affidavit and certificate presented therewith,
7 that the petition is true, and that there is no reasonable objection to
8 the change of name proposed, and if the petition be to change the name
9 of an infant, that the interests of the infant will be substantially
10 promoted by the change, the court shall make an order authorizing the
11 petitioner to assume the name proposed. The order shall further recite
12 the date and place of birth of the applicant and, if the applicant was
13 born in the state of New York, such order shall set forth the number of
14 [his] the applicant's birth certificate or that no birth certificate is
15 available. The order shall be directed to be entered and the papers on
16 which it was granted to be filed [prior to the publication hereinafter
17 directed] in the clerk's office of the county in which the petitioner
18 resides if [he be] they are an individual, or in the office of the clerk
19 of the civil court of the city of New York if the order be made by that
20 court. [Such order shall also direct the publication, at least once,
21 within sixty days after the making of the order, in a designated newspa-
22 per in the county in which the order is directed to be entered and if
23 the petition is made by a person subject to the provisions of subdivi-
24 sion two of section sixty-two of this article, in a designated newspaper
25 in any county wherein such person was convicted if different from the
26 county in which the order is otherwise directed to be entered, of a
27 notice in substantially the following form: Notice is hereby given that
28 an order entered by the ............ court,............ county, on the
29 ...... day of......., bearing Index Number..........., a copy of which
30 may be examined at the office of the clerk, located at
31 ................., in room number......., grants me the right to assume
32 the name of ................... The city and state of my present
33 address are .........................; the month and year of my birth
34 are ................; the place of my birth is ....................; my
35 present name is .................................]
36 § 4. Section 64 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 258 of
37 the laws of 2006, and the closing paragraph as separately amended by
38 chapters 258, 320 and 481 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
39 follows:
40 § 64. Effect. 1. If the order [shall be fully complied with, and with-
41 in ninety days after the making of the order, an affidavit of the publi-
42 cation thereof shall be filed in the office in which the order] is
43 entered, the petitioner shall be known by the name which is thereby
44 authorized to be assumed. If the surname of a parent be changed as
45 provided in this article, any minor child of such parent at the time of
46 such change may thereafter assume such changed surname.
47 [Upon compliance with the order and the filing of the affidavit of the
48 publication, as provided in this section, the clerk of the court in
49 which the order has been entered shall certify that the order has been
50 complied with; and, if] 2. (a) If the petition states that the petition-
51 er stands convicted of a violent felony offense as defined in section
52 70.02 of the penal law or a felony defined in article one hundred twen-
53 ty-five of such law or any of the following provisions of such law
54 sections 130.25, 130.30, 130.40, 130.45, 255.25, 255.26, 255.27, article
55 two hundred sixty-three, 135.10, 135.25, 230.05, 230.06, subdivision two
56 of section 230.30 or 230.32, [such] the clerk of the court in which the
S. 4402--B 3
1 order has been entered [(1)] shall deliver, by first class mail, a copy
2 of such certified order to the division of criminal justice services at
3 its office in the county of Albany and [(2) upon the clerk of the court
4 reviewing the petitioner's application for name change and subsequent
5 in-court inquiry, may, in the clerk's discretion, deliver, by first
6 class mail, the petitioner's new name with such certified order to the
7 court of competent jurisdiction which imposed the orders of support.
8 Such certification shall appear on the original order and on any certi-
9 fied copy thereof and shall be entered in the clerk's minutes of the
10 proceeding] (b) if the petition states that the petitioner is responsi-
11 ble for spousal support or child support obligations pursuant to court
12 order, upon review of the petitioner's application for name change and
13 subsequent inquiry, the court may, in its discretion, order the peti-
14 tioner to deliver by first class mail, the petitioner's new name with
15 such certified order to the court of competent jurisdiction which
16 imposed the orders of support. Such certification shall appear on the
17 original order and on any certified copy thereof and shall be entered in
18 the court's minutes of the proceeding.
19 3. A name change order or other documentation of name change shall be
20 sufficient to change the petitioner's name on any document or record
21 issued or maintained by the state of New York or any subdivision there-
22 of, or any private entity, including but not limited to, all school
23 records for current and past students, archival records and marriage
24 certificates. Failure of a public or private entity to comply with such
25 a request may constitute a violation of section two hundred ninety-six
26 of the executive law, section forty-c of this chapter and any applicable
27 local non-discrimination law and may be the basis for a complaint to the
28 New York state division of human rights and any other applicable
29 enforcement entity.
30 § 5. Section 64-a of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 241
31 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
32 § 64-a. [Exemption from publication requirements] Sealing name change
33 papers. 1. If the court shall find that [the publication] open record of
34 an applicant's change of name would jeopardize such applicant's personal
35 safety, based on totality of the circumstances [the provisions of
36 sections sixty-three and sixty-four of this article requiring publica-
37 tion shall be waived and shall be inapplicable. Provided, however, the
38 court shall not deny such waiver soley on the basis that the applicant
39 lacks specific instances of or a personal history of threat to personal
40 safety. The], the court shall, at the request of the applicant or sua
41 sponte, order the records of such change of name proceeding [to] be
42 sealed, to be opened only by order of the court for good cause shown or
43 at the request of the applicant. For the purposes of this section,
44 "totality of the circumstances" shall include, but not be limited to, a
45 consideration of the risk of violence or discrimination against the
46 applicant, including such applicant's status as transgender or as the
47 subject of domestic violence. The court shall not deny such sealing
48 request solely on the basis that the applicant lacks specific instances
49 of or a personal history of threat to personal safety.
50 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, pending such a finding
51 in subdivision one of this section where an applicant seeks relief under
52 this section, the court shall immediately order the applicant's current
53 name, proposed new name, residential and business addresses, telephone
54 numbers, and any other information contained in any pleadings or papers
55 submitted to the court to be safeguarded and sealed in order to prevent
S. 4402--B 4
1 their inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure while the matter is
2 pending.
3 § 6. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new article 6-A to
4 read as follows:
5 ARTICLE 6-A
6 CHANGE OF SEX DESIGNATION
7 Section 67. Petition to change of sex designation.
8 67-a. Order.
9 67-b. Sealing change of sex designation papers.
10 § 67. Petition to change of sex designation. 1. A petition for leave
11 to change sex designation may be made by a resident of the state to the
12 county court of the county or the supreme court in the county in which
13 such resident resides, or, if such resident resides in the city of New
14 York, either to the supreme court or to any branch of the civil court of
15 the city of New York, in any county of the city of New York. The peti-
16 tion to change the sex designation of an infant may be made by the
17 infant through either of such infant's parents, or by such infant's
18 general guardian or by the guardian of such infant's person.
19 2. When an individual petitions the court to recognize their gender
20 identity or to amend the sex designation on an identity document, the
21 court shall issue such an order upon receipt of an affidavit from such
22 individual attesting to their gender identity or reason for the change.
23 No additional medical evidence shall be required to grant such request.
24 No such order shall be required to amend an identity document issued
25 within New York state. No such order shall be required to otherwise
26 recognize the gender of an individual and treat them consistent with
27 their gender identity within New York state or under New York state law.
28 No fee shall be charged for a request for judicial intervention associ-
29 ated with a petition to change sex designation.
30 3. Such request may be made simultaneously with a petition for change
31 of name pursuant to section sixty or sixty-five of this chapter or on
32 its own.
33 § 67-a. Order. If the court to which the petition is presented is
34 satisfied thereby, or by the affidavit and certificate presented there-
35 with, that the petition is true, and that there is no reasonable
36 objection to the change of sex designation proposed, and if the petition
37 be to change the sex designation of an infant, that the interests of the
38 infant will be substantially promoted by the change, the court shall
39 make an order authorizing the petitioner to assume the sex designation
40 proposed.
41 § 67-b. Sealing change of sex designation papers. 1. Upon request of
42 the applicant or sua sponte, the court shall order the records of such
43 change of sex designation proceeding to be sealed, to be opened only by
44 order of the court for good cause shown or at the request of the appli-
45 cant.
46 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, pending such a finding
47 in subdivision one of this section where an applicant seeks relief under
48 this section, the court shall immediately order the applicant's current
49 name, sex designation, proposed new sex designation, residential and
50 business addresses, telephone numbers, and any other information
51 contained in any pleadings or papers submitted to the court to be safe-
52 guarded and sealed in order to prevent their inadvertent or unauthorized
53 use or disclosure while the matter is pending.
54 § 7. Subdivision 2 of section 490 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
55 amended by chapter 465 of the laws of 2012, the third undesignated para-
S. 4402--B 5
1 graph as amended by chapter 248 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read
2 as follows:
3 2. Application. (a) Any person to whom a driver's license or learner's
4 permit has not been issued by the commissioner, or whose driver's
5 license or learner's permit is expired, suspended, revoked or surren-
6 dered, may make application to the commissioner for the issuance of an
7 identification card. The commissioner shall ensure that space is
8 provided on the application so that the applicant shall register or
9 decline registration in the donate life registry for organ and tissue
10 donations pursuant to section forty-three hundred ten of the public
11 health law and that the following is stated on the application in clear
12 and conspicuous type:
13 "You must fill out the following section: Would you like to be added
14 to the Donate Life Registry? Check box for 'yes' or 'skip this ques-
15 tion'."
16 The commissioner of health shall not maintain records of any person
17 who checks "skip this question". Except where the application is made in
18 person or electronically, failure to check a box shall not impair the
19 validity of an application, and failure to check "yes" or checking "skip
20 this question" shall not be construed to imply a wish not to donate. In
21 the case of an applicant under eighteen years of age, checking "yes"
22 shall not constitute consent to make an anatomical gift or registration
23 in the donate life registry, except as otherwise provided pursuant to
24 the provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section forty-
25 three hundred one of the public health law. Where an applicant has
26 previously consented to make an anatomical gift or registered in the
27 donate life registry, checking "skip this question" or failing to check
28 a box shall not impair that consent or registration.
29 (b) The identification card shall display the sex designation of M, F,
30 or X as certified by the applicant, with no additional documentation
31 required. The applicant may amend the sex designation of their identifi-
32 cation card upon request.
33 § 8. Subdivision 1 of section 502 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
34 amended by chapter 487 of the laws of 2012, is REPEALED.
35 § 9. Subdivision 1 of section 502 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
36 amended by chapter 37 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
37 follows:
38 1. Application for license. Application for a driver's license shall
39 be made to the commissioner. The fee prescribed by law may be submitted
40 with such application. The applicant shall furnish such proof of identi-
41 ty, age, and fitness as may be required by the commissioner. With
42 respect to a non-commercial driver's license or learner's permit which
43 does not meet federal standards for identification, in addition to the
44 acceptable proofs of age and identity approved by the commissioner as of
45 January first, two thousand nineteen, acceptable proof of identity shall
46 also include, but not be limited to, a valid, unexpired foreign passport
47 issued by the applicant's country of citizenship (which shall also be
48 eligible as proof of age), a valid, unexpired consular identification
49 document issued by a consulate from the applicant's country of citizen-
50 ship, or a valid foreign driver's license that includes a photo image of
51 the applicant and which is unexpired or expired for less than twenty-
52 four months of its date of expiration, as primary forms of such proof.
53 Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be deemed to preclude the
54 commissioner from approving additional proofs of identity and age. The
55 license shall display the sex designation of M, F, or X as certified by
56 the applicant, with no additional documentation required. The applicant
S. 4402--B 6
1 may amend the sex designation of their driver's license upon request.
2 Upon amendment of the sex designation, the change shall be made consist-
3 ent through all affiliated records within the control of the department.
4 The commissioner may also provide that the application procedure shall
5 include the taking of a photo image or images of the applicant in
6 accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner. In
7 addition, the commissioner also shall require that the applicant provide
8 [his or her] such applicant's social security number or, in lieu there-
9 of, with respect to an application for a non-commercial driver's license
10 or learner's permit which does not meet federal standards for identifi-
11 cation, an affidavit signed by such applicant that they have not been
12 issued a social security number. The commissioner also shall provide
13 space on the application so that the applicant may request a notation
14 upon such license that such applicant is a veteran of the United States
15 armed forces, and space on the application so that the applicant may
16 register in the New York state organ and tissue donor registry under
17 section forty-three hundred ten of the public health law with the
18 following stated on the application in clear and conspicuous type:
19 "You must fill out the following section: Would you like to be added
20 to the Donate Life Registry? Check box for 'yes' or 'skip this ques-
21 tion'."
22 The commissioner of health shall not maintain records of any person
23 who checks "skip this question". Except where the application is made in
24 person or electronically, failure to check a box shall not impair the
25 validity of an application, and failure to check "yes" or checking "skip
26 this question" shall not be construed to imply a wish not to donate. In
27 the case of an applicant under eighteen years of age, checking "yes"
28 shall not constitute consent to make an anatomical gift or registration
29 in the donate life registry, except as otherwise provided pursuant to
30 the provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section forty-
31 three hundred one of the public health law. Where an applicant has
32 previously consented to make an anatomical gift or registered in the
33 donate life registry, checking "skip this question" or failing to check
34 a box shall not impair that consent or registration. In addition, an
35 applicant for a commercial driver's license who will operate a commer-
36 cial motor vehicle in interstate commerce shall certify that such appli-
37 cant meets the requirements to operate a commercial motor vehicle, as
38 set forth in public law 99-570, title XII, and title 49 of the code of
39 federal regulations, and all regulations promulgated by the United
40 States secretary of transportation under the hazardous materials trans-
41 portation act. In addition, an applicant for a commercial driver's
42 license shall submit a medical certificate at such intervals as required
43 by the federal motor carrier safety improvement act of 1999 and Part
44 383.71(h) of title 49 of the code of federal regulations relating to
45 medical certification and in a manner prescribed by the commissioner.
46 For purposes of this section and sections five hundred three, five
47 hundred ten-a, and five hundred ten-aa of this title, the terms "medical
48 certificate" and "medical certification" shall mean a form substantially
49 in compliance with the form set forth in Part 391.43(h) of title 49 of
50 the code of federal regulations. Upon a determination that the holder of
51 a commercial driver's license has made any false statement, with respect
52 to the application for such license, the commissioner shall revoke such
53 license.
54 § 10. Section 4132 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
55 subdivision 5 to read as follows:
S. 4402--B 7
1 5. Each parent of the child may choose to be designated on the
2 original certificate of birth or by amendment as "father" or "mother" or
3 "parent".
4 § 11. The section heading and paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of
5 section 4138 of the public health law, the section heading as amended by
6 chapter 201 of the laws of 1972 and paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 as
7 amended by section 9 of part L of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, are
8 amended and a new paragraph (f) is added to subdivision 1 to read as
9 follows:
10 Birth certificate; new certificate in case of subsequent marriage of
11 unwed parents; adoption; adjudication of parentage; change of name of
12 registrant or parent; gender transition of registrant or parent.
13 (e) the certificate of birth of a child born out of wedlock as defined
14 in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section four thousand one hundred
15 thirty-five of this article has been filed without entry of the name of
16 the signatory other than the person who gave birth and the commissioner
17 thereafter receives the acknowledgment of parentage pursuant to section
18 one hundred eleven-k of the social services law or section four thousand
19 one hundred thirty-five-b of this article executed by the person who
20 gave birth and the other signatory which authorizes the entry of the
21 name of such other signatory, and which may also authorize a conforming
22 change in the surname of the child[.]; or
23 (f) any person born in New York state who submits an application to
24 change the gender on the birth certificate and an affidavit attesting
25 under penalty of perjury that the request for a change of gender to
26 (female, male, or X) is to conform the person's documents and records to
27 the person's gender identity and is not made for any fraudulent purpose.
28 A sex designation of X shall not be a required sex designation of any
29 individual. Upon receipt of the documentation, the commissioner shall
30 establish a new birth certificate reflecting the gender stated in the
31 application and any change in name, if accompanied by a court order for
32 a change of name. If such application is made on behalf of a person
33 younger than seventeen, such affidavit shall be signed by the person's
34 parent, legal guardian, mental health or medical provider, or social
35 services provider.
36 § 12. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
37 after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,
38 amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
39 implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be
40 made and completed on or before such effective date.