Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend familial laws related to parents and child-custody to use gender-neutral language in New York.

Highlights:

• Amends various existing laws regarding families, domestic relations, social services, education, parentage, and other related topics by making the following wording changes (Sec. 1-71):

• Replaces “paternity” with “parentage”;

• Replaces “father” and “mother” with “parent”;

• Replaces “mother and putative father” with “parties”;

• Replaces “his or her” with “the (subject)”;

• Replaces “mother,” in certain cases, with “gestational parent”

• Replaces “filiation” with “parentage”;

• Replaces “her or she” with “they”; and

• Replaces other gendered terms with an indication of the individual’s position relative to a case.

• Defines” parentage” as a determination that a person is the legal parent of the child (Sec. 12).

• Defines “parent” as an individual who has established a parent-child relationship (Sec. 12).

• Defines “alleged parent” as an individual who has not established a parentage but either seeks to establish parentage or is the alleged parent of a child (Sec. 12).

• Authorizes an alleged parent to file a petition to establish parentage (Sec. 17).

• Authorizes support enforcement agencies, other governmental agencies, or authorized representatives of philanthropic and charitable societies to raise certain proceedings (Sec. 17).

• Requires petitions involving assisted reproduction and surrogacy to be filed in accordance with article 5-C (Sec. 18).

• Specifies that this Act takes effect on the first day of November after its passage (Sec. 72).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend familial laws related to parents and child-custody to use gender-neutral language in New York.

Highlights:

• Amends various existing laws regarding families, domestic relations, social services, education, parentage, and other related topics by making the following wording changes (Sec. 1-71):

• Replaces “paternity” with “parentage”;

• Replaces “father” and “mother” with “parent”;

• Replaces “mother and putative father” with “parties”;

• Replaces “his or her” with “the (subject)”;

• Replaces “mother,” in certain cases, with “gestational parent”

• Replaces “filiation” with “parentage”;

• Replaces “her or she” with “they”; and

• Replaces other gendered terms with an indication of the individual’s position relative to a case.

• Defines” parentage” as a determination that a person is the legal parent of the child (Sec. 12).

• Defines “parent” as an individual who has established a parent-child relationship (Sec. 12).

• Defines “alleged parent” as an individual who has not established a parentage but either seeks to establish parentage or is the alleged parent of a child (Sec. 12).

• Authorizes an alleged parent to file a petition to establish parentage (Sec. 17).

• Authorizes support enforcement agencies, other governmental agencies, or authorized representatives of philanthropic and charitable societies to raise certain proceedings (Sec. 17).

• Requires petitions involving assisted reproduction and surrogacy to be filed in accordance with article 5-C (Sec. 18).

• Specifies that this Act takes effect on the first day of November after its passage (Sec. 72).

Full Bill Text