HB 1225: Vital records; requiring certificates of birth to contain accurate biological sex designations; clarifying certain requirement and prohibitions; emergency. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transitioned from the House to the Senate floor, resulting in the addition of co-sponsors and a more detailed legislative history. Substantively, the Senate version expanded the scope of the bill to include clarifications on gender identity, explicitly stating that birth certificates must contain only biological sex designations (male or female) and prohibiting changes based on gender identity or nonbinary designations. It also added specific provisions regarding gestational surrogacy and clarified the process for determining paternity in cases where the mother was unmarried.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly address gender identity and surrogacy, moving from a focus on name changes and paternity to a broader mandate on biological sex designations.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit language requiring birth certificates to contain only biological sex designations (male or female) and prohibiting alterations based on gender identity or nonbinary designations.

Added specific provisions for gestational surrogacy, detailing how original and new birth certificates should be filed for intended parents.

ELIGIBILITY

Added co-sponsors (Woolley and Bergstrom) to the bill, indicating Senate support and potential amendments.

TECHNICAL

Updated the legislative history to reflect the Senate floor version and included a detailed finding that previous legislation did not constitute an acquiescence to unauthorized changes.

Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill → Floor (House) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly shortened and simplified. The original version contained extensive findings, detailed rules for amending birth certificates (including paternity and surrogacy), and specific prohibitions on changing biological sex designations. The new version removes most of these procedural details and findings, focusing solely on amending Section 1-321 to prohibit changing the biological sex designation on birth certificates and setting a new effective date of November 1, 2026.

Scope change

The scope was reduced from a comprehensive amendment of multiple vital records sections to a single amendment of Section 1-321 regarding the amendment of certificates.

REQUIREMENT

Removed detailed findings and declarations regarding the unauthorized practice of changing biological sex designations and the history of previous legislation.

Deleted specific procedures for amending birth certificates for paternity, name changes, and surrogacy cases.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date from April 26, 2022 to November 1, 2026.

SCOPE

Condensed the bill from multiple sections covering various vital record amendments to a single section focused on prohibiting changes to biological sex designations.

House Committee Substitute → Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a 'Committee Substitute' to an 'Engrossed' version, indicating it has passed both legislative chambers and is ready for final action. The substantive text remains largely consistent, though the new version includes additional clarifying findings regarding the protection of biological sex designations on birth certificates and references to previous legislative intent.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; it continues to govern the amendment of vital records and the designation of biological sex on birth certificates in Oklahoma.

TECHNICAL

The document type was updated from 'Committee Substitute' to 'Engrossed,' reflecting that the bill has been approved by both the House and Senate.

The list of sponsors was expanded to include Senator Bergstrom, indicating her addition to the bill's sponsorship.

The summary of the bill's purpose was updated to include new findings and declarations regarding the protection of biological sex designations and the clarification of previous legislative intent.

Engrossed → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from an 'Engrossed' version to a 'Committee Substitute,' indicating it was revised by the House Committee before moving to the Senate. The primary substantive change is the update of the legal citation for the section being amended, referencing a 2022 law instead of a 2025 law. Additionally, the effective date of the act was changed from November 1, 2026, to April 26, 2022.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on amending Oklahoma vital records laws, specifically regarding amendments to birth certificates and death records.

TECHNICAL

The legal citation for the amended statute was updated to reference Section 4, Chapter 87, O.S.L. 2022, replacing the previous reference to Section 10, Chapter 58, O.S.L. 2025.

The header information was updated to reflect the document as a 'Committee Substitute' rather than an 'Engrossed' bill, with the sponsor listed as Kevin West alone.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the act was changed from November 1, 2026, to April 26, 2022.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 29, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to remove a Senate proposal that sought to clarify existing laws regarding birth certificates and explicitly prohibit changing biological sex designations to reflect gender identity. The final version retains the original House language, which focuses on updating statutory references, ensuring accurate biological sex designations, and clarifying requirements for amending birth records for name changes or paternity.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on vital records and birth certificates, but the specific legislative intent was altered by removing the Senate's attempt to address gender identity designations and unauthorized practices in courts.

REQUIREMENT

Removed Senate language that explicitly prohibited amending biological sex designations to represent a person's gender identity and addressed nonbinary designations.

Removed Senate findings declaring that private parties were wrongly asserting in court that previous laws constituted an acquiescence to unauthorized practices.

SCOPE

Changed the title and enacting clause to reflect the original House version rather than the Senate's amended version.

TECHNICAL

Adjusted page numbering and formatting to align with the original House bill structure.

Enrolled (final version) → Amended And Engrossed · 3 edits · Apr 29, 2026

MINOR

The bill was amended to change its title and scope, shifting focus from a broad update to vital records to specifically prohibiting amendments to biological sex on birth certificates. The substantive text of the bill, which details requirements for filing birth certificates and determining paternity, remains unchanged. This amendment clarifies that the legislation is intended to prevent the alteration of biological sex designations to reflect gender identity or nonbinary statuses.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed in its description to explicitly prohibit changing biological sex designations on birth certificates, though the operative legal text governing birth certificate procedures remains the same.

SCOPE

The bill's title and summary were updated to explicitly state that it prohibits amendments to biological sex on birth certificates, whereas the original version had a broader focus on updating statutory language and clarifying requirements.

TECHNICAL

The bill was reclassified from an 'Enrolled House Bill' to an 'Engrossed Senate Amendment,' reflecting its procedural status after Senate consideration.

The Senate coauthor was added to the bill's metadata.

Introduced → Enrolled (final version) · 5 edits · Mar 12, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was transitioned from an introduced draft to its final enrolled version, adding sponsors and updating the effective date. The core policy changes include clarifying that birth certificates must strictly reflect biological sex (male or female) and prohibiting gender identity or nonbinary designations. The bill also updates procedures for filing delayed registrations and ensures unmarried parents have equal rights to determine paternity on birth certificates.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include specific findings and declarations regarding the intent to clarify existing law rather than alter its substance, and it now explicitly references recent legislative amendments to other sections of the vital records code.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new section explicitly stating that birth certificates must contain only biological sex designations (male or female) and cannot display gender identity or nonbinary symbols like 'X'.

Revised the rules for delayed birth registrations to require a 'delayed' mark and a summary of evidence submitted to support the late filing.

Included new provisions for gestational surrogacy, specifying that the original birth certificate lists the delivering mother while a new certificate is created for the intended parents upon court order.

TIMELINE

Updated the effective date for the biological sex designation requirement from April 26, 2022 to April 25, 2022, and set the general effective date for the act to November 1, 2025.

SCOPE

Added findings and declarations explaining that the bill clarifies previous laws to prevent unauthorized changes to biological sex designations based on gender identity.

Vital records; requiring certificates of birth to contain accurate biological sex designations; clarifying certain requirement and prohibitions; emergency.

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