Legal Protections for Dignity of Minors

The bill requires the court to suppress a record associated with a petition seeking to change the name of a petitioner who is less than 18 years of age unless the petitioner was previously convicted of a felony. The bill authorizes the court to use the suppressed court record for administrative purposes, but the court is prohibited from publishing the petitioner's name or the petitioner's new name online. The bill authorizes an individual to access a suppressed court record without a court order if the individual obtains verbal consent from a party to the case and submits an affidavit to the court, upon penalty of perjury, that the individual has obtained the verbal consent.

In determining parenting time and the allocation of decision-making responsibility, the bill requires the court to consider whether the parties recognize the child's identity as it relates to a protected class.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)