A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT allowing adult biological siblings of adult adoptees, adult biological half siblings of adult adoptees, ADULT family members of deceased adoptees, and ADULT family members of deceased biological parents to have access to confidential intermediary services AND to allow an agency acting as a confidential intermediary to obtain a copy of a death certificate of the person who is the subject of the search AND DELIVER IT TO THE PERSON REQUESTING SERVICES  as recommended by the house select committee on adoptee birth certificates.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 48‑1‑101 reads as rewritten:
"§ 48‑1‑101.  Definitions.
…
(5a)	"Confidential intermediary" means a licensed adoption agency staff person who may act as a third party to facilitate the sharing of information authorized by G.S. 48‑9‑104.
…
	
…."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 48‑9‑101 reads as rewritten:
"§ 48‑9‑101.  Records defined.
	For purposes of this Article, "records" means any petition, affidavit, consent or relinquishment, transcript or notes of testimony, deposition, power of attorney, report, decree, order, judgment, correspondence, document, invoice, receipt, certificate, or other printed, written, microfilmed or microfiched, video‑taped or tape‑recorded material or electronic data processing records regardless of physical form or characteristics pertaining to a proceeding for adoption under this Chapter.
	"
SECTION 3.  G.S. 48‑9‑104 reads as rewritten:
"§ 48‑9‑104.  Release of identifying information; confidential intermediary services.
(a)	Except as provided in this section or in G.S. 48‑9‑109(2) or (3), no person or entity shall release from any records retained and sealed under this Article the name, address, or other information that reasonably could be expected to lead directly to the identity of an adoptee, an adoptive parent of an adoptee, an adoptee's parent at birth, or an individual who, but for the adoption, would be the adoptee's sibling or grandparent, except upon order of the court for cause pursuant to G.S. 48‑9‑105.
(b)	A child placing agency licensed by the Department or a county department of social services may agree to act as a confidential intermediary for any of the following:
(1)	A biological parent.
(2)	An adult adoptee.
(3)	An adult biological sibling of an adult adoptee.
(4)	An adult biological half sibling of an adult adoptee.
(5)	An adult family member of a deceased biological parent.
(6)	An adult family member of a deceased adoptee.
An agency may act as a confidential intermediary without appointment by the court pursuant to G.S. 48‑9‑105 in order to obtain and share nonidentifying birth family health information or facilitate contact or share identifying information with any person listed in subdivisions (1) through (6) of this subsection with the written consent of all parties to the contact or the sharing of information. Further, an agency may agree to act as a confidential intermediary for the adoptive parents of a minor adoptee, or the guardian of a minor adoptee without appointment by the court pursuant to G.S. 48‑9‑105, to obtain and share nonidentifying birth family health information. An agency that agrees to provide confidential intermediary services may charge a reasonable fee for doing so, which fee must be pursuant to written agreement signed by the individual to be charged. The Division shall establish guidelines for confidential intermediary services.
(c)	For purposes of this section only, the term 'family member' means a spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, or grandchild.
(d)	If in the provision of confidential intermediary services a child placing agency licensed by the Department or a county department of social services determines that the person who is the subject of the search is deceased, the agency may obtain a copy of the death certificate pursuant to G.S. 130A‑93 and deliver it to the person who requested the services."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 130A‑93 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(c2)	A child placing agency licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services or a county department of social services acting as a confidential intermediary in accordance with G.S. 48‑9‑104 shall be entitled upon request to a certified copy of a death certificate."
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.