ROAR! 2013 – Restore Ohio Adoptee Rights in 2013

We are excited to announce that the Ohio Adoptee Access to Records Bills were introduced today!

Senate Bill 23
Primary Sponsors: Senators Bill Beagle (R) and Dave Burke (R)
Cosponsors, Senators:
1. Frank LaRose (R)
2. Cliff Hite (R)
3. Troy Balderson (R)
4. Michaeil J. Skindell (D)
5. Tom Patton (R)
6. Bill Seitz (R)
7. Shannon Jones (R)
8. Charleta B. Tavares (D)
9. Randy Gardner (R)
10. Keith Faber (R)

House Bill 61
Primary Sponsors: Representatives Dorothy Pelanda (R) and Nickie Antonio (D)
Cosponsors, Representatives:
1. Terry Blair (R)
2. Michael Stinziano (D)
3. Ron Young (R)
4. Mike Foley (D)
5. Connie Pillich (D)
6. Stephen Slesnick (D)
7. Dale Mallory (D)
8. Debbie Phillips (D)
9. Gerald L. Stebelton (R)
10. Robert F. Hagan (D)
11. Bob D. Hackett (R)
12. Doug Green (R)
13. John Becker (R)
14. Louis Terhar (R)
15. Ronald V. Gerberry (D)
16. Denise Driehaus (D)
17. Brian Hill (R)
18. Stephanie Kunze (R)
19. Ron Maag (R)
20. Fred Strahorn (D)
21. Robert Sprague (R)
22. Lynn R. Watchmann (R)
23. Mike Ashford (D)
24. Matt Lundy (D)
25. Margaret Ann Ruhl (R)

It is wonderful to have over a third of the Senate (including Senate President Keith Faber) and almost a third of the House signed on as sponsors/cosponsors of these bills, and to see the strong bi-partisan support! Thank you to ALL of you who contacted your legislators — the results are evidence that it worked!

About the legislation:
Ohio Senate Bill 23, sponsored by Senators Beagle and Burke, and House Bill 61, sponsored by Representatives Pelanda and Antonio, were introduced February 12, 2013. Senate Bill 23 was assigned to the Senate Medicaid, Health and Human Services Committee and House Bill 61 was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

The bills will allow:
• Ohio adoptees adopted 1964 to 1996* access to their Original Birth Certificate upon request at age 18, starting one year from bill passage date.
• Ohio birthparents to file a Contact Preference Form specifying if and how they would like contact.
• Ohio birthparents to complete and put on file an updated medical history for the adoptee.
(*Adult adoptees from before 1964 in Ohio already have this right, as do the vast majority of adoptees after 1996.)

To find your legislator, visit: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/
For more information, visit: www.adoptionequityohio.org/