New York S 2431: Relates to ensuring the privacy of name change actions and of sex designation change actions; repealer

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S02431 Summary:

BILL NOS02431 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS A03925

&nbsp

SPONSORHOYLMAN-SIGAL

&nbsp

COSPNSRCLEARE, FAHY, MAY

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Rpld & add §§64-a & 67-b, Civ Rts L

&nbsp

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.

Go to top S02431 Actions:

BILL NOS02431 

&nbsp

01/17/2025REFERRED TO CODES

Go to topS02431 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS02431 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS02431 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 2431

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 January 17, 2025
 ___________

 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 Section 64-a of the civil rights law is REPEALED and a new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

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD06096-01-5

 S. 2431 2

 1 administrative information including but not limited to index numbers,
 2 judges, courts, attorney names, information about the nature and status
 3 of the action, and initialized or anonymized captions may be visible.
 4 All custodial agencies and individuals shall ensure any platforms or
 5 systems used to file or maintain court records allow for custodians to
 6 input and maintain matters filed under this article consistent with this
 7 section.
 8 4. Within ninety days of the effective date of this section, all
 9 custodial agencies and individuals maintaining existing name change
 10 records shall ensure all matters filed under this article prior to the
 11 effective date of this section are removed from public view in-person
 12 and in online databases consistent with this section.
 13 5. If a person whose name was changed by court order prior to the
 14 effective date of this section discovers that information deemed private
 15 under this section is publicly accessible, such person may move ex parte
 16 at any time to request that information deemed private under this
 17 section be removed from p