Gov nixes adopt-records bill

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo on Friday vetoed legislation intended to give adoptees a path to obtain their birth records.

Cuomo said the bill, which was adopted by the Legislature in June, created too cumbersome a process that “may only add to an adoptee’s hardship.” Instead, he directed the Health Department to study the issue and report its findings by April 30.

The bill would have allowed adoptees to petition a judge for access to their birth certificates and gave the Health Department 120 days upon the receipt of the petition to contact the birth parents and seek their consent to release the information.

If the birth parents agreed or if they could not be located, the courts would have been empowered to order the release of the unredacted birth certificate.

In vetoing the bill, Cuomo satisfied the wishes of many adoptee advocates who want the absolute right to see their birth records.

Cuomo, meanwhile, did sign into law a bill sought by city officials to make it easier to award small contracts to businesses owned by minorities and women.