HB 435: Enact the Right to Know Act
This bill aims to require institutions to offer genetic testing to confirm paternity when a child is born to unwed parents. The test will be provided free of charge to the mother and child. If the mother or father decline the test, they will be offered the opportunity to sign an acknowledgment of paternity affidavit. The institution will not withhold the affidavit based on the results of the genetic test. The bill also clarifies the procedures for registering births in institutions and outside institutions, including the use of acknowledgment of paternity affidavits.<br>This act allows for the issuance of a new birth record if the parents acknowledge the child as their own, or if the child was born out of wedlock. The new record will have the same appearance as the original, with the department providing the necessary handwriting if required. The original record will cease to be a publi…
| Sep. 15, 2025 | Referred to committee: Judiciary |
| Sep. 09, 2025 | Introduced |
H. B. No. 435
As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session
2025-2026
Representatives Williams, Miller, M.
Cosponsors: Representatives McClain, Deeter, Johnson
To amend sections 3705.01 and 3705.09 of the 1
Revised Code to require an institution to offer 2
genetic testing to confirm paternity when a 3
child is born to unwed parents and to name this 4
act the Right to Know Act. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3705.01 and 3705.09 of the 6
Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3705.01. As used in this chapter:
7(A) "Live birth" means the complete expulsion or 9
extraction from its mother of a product of human conception that 10
after such expulsion or extraction breathes or shows any other 11
evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the 12
umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, 13
whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta 14
is attached.
15(B) (1) "Fetal death" means death prior to the complete 16
expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human 17
conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which 18
after such expulsion or extraction does not breathe or show any 19
other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation ..... 20
of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary ..... 21
muscles.
22(2) "Stillborn" means that an infant of at least twenty ..... 23
weeks of gestation suffered a fetal death.
24(C) "Dead body" means a human body or part of a human body ..... 25
from the condition of which it reasonably may be concluded that ..... 26
death recently occurred.
27(D) "Physician" means a person licensed pursuant to ..... 28
Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine or ..... 29
surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery.
30(E) "Attending physician" means the physician in charge of ..... 31
the patient's care for the illness or condition that resulted in ..... 32
death.
33(F) "Institution" means any establishment, public or ..... 34
private, that provides medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or ..... 35
treatment, or domiciliary care, to two or more unrelated ..... 36
individuals, or to persons committed by law.
37(G) "Funeral director" has the meaning given in section ..... 38
4717.01 of the Revised Code.
39(H) "State registrar" means the head of the office of ..... 40
vital statistics in the department of health.
41(I) "Medical certification" means completion of the ..... 42
medical certification portion of the certificate of death or ..... 43
fetal death as to the cause of death or fetal death.
44(J) "Final disposition" means the interment, cremation, ..... 45
removal from the state, donation, or other authorized ..... 46
disposition of a dead body or a fetal death. ..... 47
48(K) "Interment" means the final disposition of the remains of a dead body by burial or entombment.
49(L) "Cremation" means the reduction to ashes of a dead 50
body.
51(M) "Donation" means gift of a dead body to a research 52
institution or medical school.
53(N) "System of vital statistics" means the registration, 54
collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of vital 55
records, the collection of other reports required by this 56
chapter, and activities related thereto.
57(O) "Vital records" means certificates or reports of 58
birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, dissolution of 59
marriage, annulment, and data related thereto and other 60
documents maintained as required by statute.
61(P) "File" means the presentation of vital records for 62
registration by the office of vital statistics.
63(Q) "Registration" means the acceptance by the office of 64
vital statistics and the incorporation of vital records into its 65
official records.
66(R) "Birth record" means a birth certificate that has been 67
registered with the office of vital statistics; or, if 68
registered prior to March 16, 1989, with the division of vital 69
statistics; or, if registered prior to the establishment of the 70
division of vital statistics, with the department of health or a 71
local registrar.
72(S) "Certification of birth" means a document issued by 73
the director of health or state registrar or a local registrar 74
under division (B) of section 3705.23 of the Revised Code.
H. B. No. 435
As Introduced
As Introduced
75(T) "Certified nurse-midwife" has the same meaning as in ..... 76
section 4723.01 of the Revised Code. ..... 77
78(U) "Genetic testing" has the same meaning as in section ..... 78
3111.09 of the Revised Code. ..... 79
Sec. 3705.09. (A) A birth certificate for each live birth ..... 80
in this state shall be filed in the registration district in ..... 81
which it occurs within ten calendar days after such birth and ..... 82
shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in ..... 83
accordance with this section. ..... 84
85(B) When a birth occurs in or en route to an institution, ..... 85
the person in charge of the institution or a designated ..... 86
representative shall obtain the personal data, prepare the ..... 87
certificate, and complete and certify the facts of birth on the ..... 88
certificate within ten calendar days. The physician or certified ..... 89
nurse-midwife in attendance shall be listed on the birth record. ..... 90
91(C) When a birth occurs outside an institution, the birth ..... 91
certificate shall be prepared and filed by one of the following ..... 92
in the indicated order of priority: ..... 93
(1) The physician or certified nurse-midwife in attendance ..... 94
at or immediately after the birth; ..... 95
(2) Any other person in attendance at or immediately after ..... 96
the birth; ..... 97
(3) The father; ..... 98
(4) The mother; ..... 99
(5) The person in charge of the premises where the birth ..... 100
occurred. ..... 101
102(D) Either of the parents of the child or other informant ..... 102
shall attest to the accuracy of the personal data entered on the ..... 103
birth certificate in time to permit the filing of the ..... 104
certificate within the ten days prescribed in this section. ..... 105
106(E) When a birth occurs in a moving conveyance within the ..... 106
United States and the child is first removed from the conveyance ..... 107
in this state, the birth shall be registered in this state and ..... 108
the place where it is first removed shall be considered the ..... 109
place of birth. When a birth occurs on a moving conveyance while ..... 110
in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or ..... 111
its air space and the child is first removed from the conveyance ..... 112
in this state, the birth shall be registered in this state but ..... 113
the record shall show the actual place of birth insofar as can ..... 114
be determined. ..... 115
116(F) (1) If the mother of a child was married at the time of ..... 116
either conception or birth or between conception and birth, the ..... 117
child shall be registered in the surname designated by the ..... 118
mother, and the name of the husband shall be entered on the ..... 119
certificate as the father of the child. The presumption of ..... 120
paternity shall be in accordance with section 3111.03 of the ..... 121
Revised Code. ..... 122
123(2) (2) (a) If the mother was not married at the time of ..... 123
conception or birth or between conception and birth, the child ..... 124
shall be registered by the surname designated by the mother. The ..... 125
Subject to division (F) (2) (b) of this section, the name of the ..... 126
father of such child shall also be inserted on the birth ..... 127
certificate if both the mother and the father sign an ..... 128
acknowledgment-acknowledgment of paternity affidavit before the ..... 129
birth record has been sent to the local registrar. ..... 130
131(b) When a birth occurs in or en route to an institution, ..... 131
the institution shall do the following before providing an ..... 132
acknowledgment of paternity affidavit for the mother and father ..... 133
to sign:
134(i) Offer to conduct genetic testing on the child and ..... 135
father to confirm the father's status as the father of the ..... 136
child, to be provided free of charge;
137(ii) If the mother or father decline genetic testing, ..... 138
provide an acknowledgment of the offer to conduct genetic ..... 139
testing at no cost, to be signed by both the mother and father. ..... 140
141(c) An institution shall not withhold an acknowledgment of ..... 141
paternity affidavit upon request from the mother or father ..... 142
regardless of the results of any genetic testing conducted under ..... 143
division (F) (2) (b) of this section. ..... 144
145(d) (i) An institution shall not bill either the mother or ..... 145
father for any cost associated with the provision of genetic ..... 146
testing under division (F) (2) (b) of this section. ..... 147
148(ii) Notwithstanding division (F) (2) (d) (i) of this ..... 148
section, an institution may bill any health benefit plan ..... 149
covering the mother, father, or child for any cost associated ..... 150
with the provision of genetic testing under division (F) (2) (b) ..... 151
of this section. ..... 152
153(iii) Any reimbursement made by a health plan issuer shall ..... 153
be considered payment in full, and the institution shall not ..... 154
bill either the mother or father for any difference between the ..... 155
reimbursement and the institution's charge for the genetic ..... 156
testing. ..... 157
158(iv) As used in division (F) (2) (d) of this section, ..... 158
"health benefit plan" and "health plan issuer" have the same ..... 159
meanings as in section 3922.01 of the Revised Code. ..... 160
161(3) If the father is not named on the birth certificate pursuant to division (F) (1) or (2) of this section, no other information about the father shall be entered on the record.
162(G) When a man is presumed, found, or declared to be the father of a child, according to section 2105.26 , sections 3111.01 to 3111.18 , former section 3111.21 , or sections 3111.38 to 3111.54 of the Revised Code, or the father has acknowledged the child as his child in an acknowledgment of paternity, and the acknowledgment has become final pursuant to section 2151.232, 3111.25, or 3111.821 of the Revised Code, and documentary evidence of such fact is submitted to the department of health in such form as the director may require, a new birth record shall be issued by the department which shall have the same overall appearance as the record which would have been issued under this section if a marriage had occurred before the birth of such child. Where handwriting is required to effect such appearance, the department shall supply it. Upon the issuance of such new birth record, the original birth record shall cease to be a public record. Except as provided in division (C) of section 3705.091 of the Revised Code, the original record and any documentary evidence supporting the new registration of birth shall be placed in an envelope which shall be sealed by the department and shall not be open to inspection or copy unless so ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
191(H) Every birth certificate filed under this section on or after July 1, 1990, shall be accompanied by all social security numbers that have been issued to the parents of the child, unless the division of child support in the department of job and family services, acting in accordance with regulations prescribed under the "Family Support Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 2353, 42 U.S.C.A. 405, as amended, finds good cause for not requiring that the numbers be furnished with the certificate. ..... 192
The parents' social security numbers shall not be recorded on ..... 193
the certificate. No social security number obtained under this ..... 194
division shall be used for any purpose other than the purposes ..... 195
specified in division (B) (1) of section 3705.07 of the Revised ..... 196
Code. ..... 197
Section 2. That existing sections 3705.01 and 3705.09 of ..... 198
the Revised Code are hereby repealed. ..... 199
Section 3. This act shall be known as the Right to Know ..... 200
Act. ..... 201
H. B. No. 435 - Right to Know Act