Revision: Jan. 8, 2019, 9:28 a.m.
HB 446 - AS INTRODUCED
2019 SESSION
19-0762
05/01
HOUSE BILL 446
AN ACT relative to initiating amendments and corrections to birth records.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cannon, Straf. 18; Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. Butler, Carr. 7; Rep. Bunker, Rock. 18; Rep. Le, Rock. 31; Rep. MacKay, Merr. 14; Rep. Muscatel, Graf. 12; Sen. Watters, Dist 4
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
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ANALYSIS
This bill provides a procedure for an individual to obtain a new birth certificate based on a change of gender identity.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
19-0762
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
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 RSA 5-C:87, V is repealed and reenacted to read as follows: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 certificate reflecting a gender identity other than that which was assigned a birth, a new birth record shall be prepared to reflect a change in the individual's gender identity upon receipt of a certification affirming the individual's gender identity by a licensed and qualified health care provider.
(a) The written certification shall be signed by a licensed and qualified health care provider under the penalty of unsworn falsification pursuant to RSA 641:3. 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 identity is (1) male, (2) female, or (3) nonbinary, 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 unsworn falsification pursuant to RSA 641:3. This signature shall certify that the request for change of gender is for the purpose of ensuring that the applicant's birth certificate accurately reflects his, her, or their gender identity, and that the request is not for any fraudulent or unlawful purpose.
(c) The applicant shall surrender his, her, or their birth certificate.
(d) The department of health and human services and the town or city clerk shall not charge a fee for updating a birth certificate pursuant to this paragraph.
(e) In this paragraph, "licensed and qualified health care provider" means a treating and licensed physician, psychologist, advanced practice registered nurse, clinical social worker, or clinical mental health counselor.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.