Bill Text: NY S09141 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the office of court administration, clerks, and all other records custodians to develop policies and procedures to ensure no identifying information or documentation relating to name change actions or sex designation change actions is visible or retrievable in any electronic database maintained by the state of New York or a subdivision thereof.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-30 - REFERRED TO CODES [S09141 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S09141-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9141 IN SENATE April 30, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to ensuring the priva- cy of name change actions and of sex designation change actions; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 64-a of the civil rights law is REPEALED and a new 2 section 64-a is added to read as follows: 3 § 64-a. Ensuring privacy of name change actions. 1. At no time shall 4 any paper or document filed by electronic or paper means in a name 5 change action be available for public inspection in-person, online, or 6 at any computer terminal in the courthouse or the office of the county 7 clerk, except for access by the petitioner, the person changing their 8 name if different from the petitioner, the attorney of record, or upon a 9 finding of good cause. No order of the court shall be required for a 10 petitioner, or a person whose name change a filing pertains to, to 11 access their own file. 12 2. Any entity responsible for processing and maintaining court records 13 shall ensure matters filed under this article are inaccessible to the 14 public immediately upon filing, regardless of whether a petitioner makes 15 a showing of risk and regardless of the reason for the name change. This 16 section applies to all matters filed under this article regardless of 17 whether a petitioner has made a specific request for their information 18 to be kept private and regardless of whether a court has ordered seal- 19 ing. 20 3. The office of court administration, clerks, and all other records 21 custodians shall develop policies and procedures to ensure no identify- 22 ing information or documentation relating to a matter filed under this 23 article is visible or retrievable in any electronic database maintained 24 by the state of New York or a subdivision thereof. Non-identifying 25 administrative information including but not limited to index numbers, 26 judges, courts, attorney names, information about the nature and status 27 of the action, and initialized or anonymized captions may be visible. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15341-01-4S. 9141 2 1 All custodial agencies and individuals shall ensure any platforms or 2 systems used to file or maintain court records allow for custodians to 3 input and maintain matters filed under this article consistent with this 4 section. 5 4. Within ninety days of the effective date of this section, all 6 custodial agencies and individuals maintaining existing name change 7 records shall ensure all matters filed under this article prior to the 8 effective date of this section are removed from public view in-person 9 and in online databases consistent with this section. 10 5. If a person whose name was changed by court order prior to the 11 effective date of this section discovers that information deemed private 12 under this section is publicly accessible, such person may move ex parte 13 at any time to request that information deemed private under this 14 section be removed from public view consistent with this section, 15 regardless of whether a request to seal was made at the time of the 16 original petition or the matter was previously ordered sealed. 17 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the discretion 18 of the court to order notice of a name change pursuant to this article. 19 § 2. Section 67-b of the civil rights law is REPEALED and a new 20 section 67-b is added to read as follows: 21 § 67-b. Ensuring the privacy of sex designation change actions. 1. At 22 no time shall any paper or document filed by electronic or paper means 23 in a sex designation change action be available for public inspection 24 in-person, online, or at any computer terminal in the courthouse or the 25 office of the county clerk, except for access by the petitioner, the 26 person changing their sex designation if different from the petitioner, 27 the attorney of record, or upon a finding of good cause. No order of the 28 court shall be required for a petitioner, or a person whose sex desig- 29 nation change a filing pertains to, to access their own file. 30 2. Any entity responsible for processing and maintaining court records 31 shall ensure matters filed under this article are inaccessible to the 32 public immediately upon filing, regardless of whether a petitioner makes 33 a showing of risk and regardless of the reason for the sex designation 34 change. This section applies to all matters filed under this article 35 regardless of whether a petitioner has made a specific request for their 36 information to be kept private and regardless of whether a court has 37 ordered sealing. 38 3. The office of court administration, clerks, and all other records 39 custodians shall develop policies and procedures to ensure no identify- 40 ing information or documentation relating to a matter filed under this 41 article is visible or retrievable in any electronic database maintained 42 by the state of New York or a subdivision thereof. Non-identifying 43 administrative information including but not limited to index numbers, 44 judges, courts, attorney names, information about the nature and status 45 of the action, and initialized or anonymized captions may be visible. 46 All custodial agencies and individuals shall ensure any platforms or 47 systems used to file or maintain court records allow for custodians to 48 input and maintain matters filed under this article consistent with this 49 section. 50 4. Within ninety days of the effective date of this section, all 51 custodial agencies and individuals maintaining existing sex designation 52 change records shall ensure all matters filed under this article prior 53 to the effective date of this section are removed from public view 54 in-person and in online databases consistent with this section. 55 5. If a person whose sex designation was changed by court order prior 56 to the effective date of this section discovers that information deemedS. 9141 3 1 private under this section is publicly accessible, such person may move 2 ex parte at any time to request that information deemed private under 3 this section be removed from public view consistent with this section, 4 regardless of whether a request to seal was made at the time of the 5 original petition or the matter was previously ordered sealed. 6 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
