Senator Paula Benoit
Senator Paula Benoit is currently serving her first term in the Maine Senate. She represents District 19, which includes all of Sagadahoc County and part of Lincoln County. She has also been appointed the lead Senate Republican on the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government for the 123rd Legislature.
Senator Benoit has been a small business owner for over 30 years. She is currently the owner of Magnolia Gift store and Baby Magnolia children's store in downtown Bath.
An active member of her community, the Senator serves on the Chocolate Church Arts Center Advisory Board, the Bath Area YMCA Endowment Board and the Midcoast Cross Community Committee, which focuses on the prevention of underage drinking. She is a Big Brother/Big Sister mentor and active in Home to Home - Safe Exchange for children. She is also the Chairperson for Caring Ministries of Phippsburg Congregational Church.
Senator Benoit lives in Phippsburg with her husband, Joe. They have three children.
A Conversation About LD 1084
Session 1: 10:30-11:30 a.m.
LD 1084, " An Act to Provide Adult Adoptees Access to Their Original Birth Certificates," was signed into law by Maine Governor John Baldacci on 25 June 2007. Senator Benoit describes this as " a huge first step to equal rights for adoptees who for years have not been able to to have their original birth certificates."
This act, scheduled to take effect 1 Jan 2009, established a process by which an adult adopted person may obtain a copy of that person's original, unaltered birth certificate. The bill also allows a birth parent to include with the child's original birth certificate a form that indicates whether the parent wishes to be contacted by the child and a medical history form.
Senator Benoit, an adoptee herself, was a co-sponsor of this landmark legislation. She will discuss the history leading up to the Act, the hows and requirements of accessing these records, and what the bill means to genealogists.
The Portland Press Herald ran a story, New law personal for Maine adoptee, which discusses Senator Benoit's quest for her birth family. It discusses some surprising discoveries that came to light when she was able to access her original birth certificate. Click here to read that article.
