S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  9409

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             April 29, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to limiting the  scope
  of information disclosed in a published notice of change of name

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 63 of the civil rights law, as amended  by  chapter
258 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
  S 63. Order. If the court to which the petition is presented is satis-
fied  thereby,  or by the affidavit and certificate presented therewith,
that the petition is true, and that there is no reasonable objection  to
the  change  of name proposed, and if the petition be to change the name
of an infant, that the interests of the  infant  will  be  substantially
promoted  by  the  change, the court shall make an order authorizing the
petitioner to assume the name proposed. The order shall  further  recite
the  date  and place of birth of the applicant and, if the applicant was
born in the state of New York, such order shall set forth the number  of
his  OR HER birth certificate or that no birth certificate is available.
The order shall be directed to be entered and the papers on which it was
granted to be filed prior to the publication hereinafter directed in the
clerk's office of the county in which the petitioner resides  if  he  OR
SHE  be  an individual, or in the office of the clerk of the civil court
of the city of New York if the order be made by that court.  Such  order
shall  also  direct  the  publication,  at least once, within sixty days
after the making of the order, in a designated newspaper in  the  county
in which the order is directed to be entered and if the petition is made
by  a  person  subject  to  the provisions of subdivision two of section
sixty-two of this article, in a designated newspaper in any county wher-
ein such person was convicted if different from the county in which  the
order  is otherwise directed to be entered, of a notice in substantially
the following form:
  Notice is hereby given that  an  order  entered  by  the  ............
court,............  county,  on  the ...... day of......., bearing Index
Number..........., a copy of which may be examined at the office of  the

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD14710-02-4

A. 9409                             2

clerk,  located  at  ................., in room number......., grants me
the right to assume the name of ................... [My]  THE  CITY  AND
STATE  OF  MY  present  address  [is] ARE .........................; the
[date]  MONTH  AND YEAR of my birth [is] ARE ................; the place
of   my   birth   is   ....................;   my   present   name    is
.................................
  S 2. Section 64-a of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 83 of
the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
  S 64-a. Exemption from publication requirements. 1. If the court shall
find  that  the publication of an applicant's change of name would jeop-
ardize such applicant's personal safety OR IF THE PETITION FOR A  CHANGE
OF NAME ALLEGES A REASON OR CIRCUMSTANCE DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF
THIS  SECTION,  the provisions of sections sixty-three and sixty-four of
this article requiring publication shall be waived and shall be inappli-
cable. The court shall order the records of such change of name proceed-
ing to be sealed, to be opened only by order of the court for good cause
shown or at the request of the applicant.
  2. THE PROCEDURE DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION  APPLIES
TO PETITIONS ALLEGING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING REASONS OR CIRCUMSTANCES:
  (A) TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL OF OR ACTUAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, PURSUANT TO
ARTICLE EIGHT OF THE FAMILY COURT ACT,
  (B)  TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL OF OR ACTUAL STALKING, PURSUANT TO SECTION
120.45, 120.50, 120.55 OR 120.60 OF THE PENAL LAW,
  (C) TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL OF OR AN ACTUAL BIAS RELATED CRIME, INCLUD-
ING THE PROVISIONS AND COVERAGE OF THE HATE CRIMES ACT OF 2000  CODIFIED
IN ARTICLE FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE OF THE PENAL LAW,
  (D) TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL OF OR AN ACTUAL SEXUAL ASSAULT, PURSUANT TO
ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY OF THE PENAL LAW,
  (E) THE PETITIONER IS, OR IS FILING ON BEHALF OF, A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, STALKING, HATE CRIME OR SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR
  (F)  THE  PETITIONER  IS, OR IS FILING ON BEHALF OF A PERSON SEEKING A
CHANGE OF NAME TO CONFORM NAME TO HIS OR HER GENDER IDENTITY  OR  GENDER
EXPRESSION.
  3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, pending such a finding
in subdivision one OR TWO OF  THIS  SECTION  where  an  applicant  seeks
relief  under this section, the court shall immediately order the appli-
cant's  current  name,  proposed  new  name,  residential  and  business
addresses, telephone numbers, and any other information contained in any
pleadings  or papers submitted to the court to be safeguarded and sealed
in order to prevent their inadvertent or unauthorized use or  disclosure
while the matter is pending.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.