Minnesota Agencies

The commissioner of human services was asked to appoint a task force to review the Uniform Parentage Act adopted by the Uniform Laws Commission in 2000 and to make recommendations to the legislature on whether Minnesota should enact all or part of the Uniform Parentage Act, whether portions of that act should be amended, and when it should be effective if it is enacted.

The task force was required to submit a report and recommendations to the chairs of the committees in the house of representatives and senate with jurisdiction over family and parentage issues by January 15, 2002. The task force expires on January 15, 2002.

The Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) is model legislation developed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). During the 2001 legislative session two bills (see S.F. 617/H.F. 831 and S.F. 2335/H.F. 2478) were introduced in the Minnesota legislature that contained some provisions of the Uniform Parentage Act. Several provisions of the UPA would constitute a significant change to existing law or introduce controversial new laws in specific policy areas such as assisted reproduction and gestational agreements. The legislature directed the Minnesota Department of Human Services to appoint a task force to review the Uniform Parentage Act and make recommendations to the legislature on whether Minnesota should enact all or part of the Uniform Parentage Act.

The task force conducted most of its work in three subcommittees, representing each major policy area addressed in the UPA; specifically adoption, paternity, and assisted reproduction and gestational agreements. Typically, the subcommittees met weekly. In addition, there were six full Task Force meetings throughout fall 2001 and winter 2002. The analytic framework used by the task force and the subcommittees was to review and analyze the UPA looking for concepts, policies, or mechanisms that would improve Minnesota law or create better public policy for Minnesota residents.

(Note: paragraphs above are excerpted from the executive summary of the task force's final report, see link below for full report).

The task force was to include representatives of 20 different groups including, the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, adoption agencies, lawyers, judges, children's advocates, and parent organizations. See pages 39-42 of the report below for a list of members.