BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1121 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 1121 (Atkins) - As Amended: April 22, 2013 Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:9-1 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill modifies requirements to obtain a name change and a new birth certificate as these requirements pertain to transgender individuals. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires the State Registrar, upon receipt of required documentation and a statutory fee, to issue a new birth certificate, without a court order, for a person who has undergone gender transition. 2)Exempts from newspaper publication requirements any petition for change of name to conform the petitioner's name to his or her gender identity, and requires the petition and court order to indicate the proposed name is confidential rather than reciting the name. 3)Provides that, upon request by the petitioner, the current legal name of the petitioner shall be kept confidential by the court and not published in any court records or public forum or media, as specified, when the petition is sought to conform the petitioner's name to his or her gender identity. 4)Requires, rather than permits, the court to grant an uncontested name change petition without a hearing. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Minor costs to the State Registrar, covered by an existing $11 fee for issuance of a new birth certificate. 2)Negligible fiscal impact to the courts. AB 1121 Page 2 COMMENTS Purpose . This bill, co-sponsored by the Transgender Law Center and Equality California, establishes an administrative procedure that transgender persons born in California may use to obtain a new birth certificate reflecting changes to their sex and name. The bill also makes several changes to reduce burdens on and protect privacy for transgender persons seeking to obtain an order for a legal name change through the current court process. Among other things, these changes include requiring the court in uncontested cases to grant a petition for a name change without a hearing, and enhancing privacy protections for the names of transgender persons within various court records. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081