BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE Senator Noreen Evans, Chair 2013-2014 Regular Session AB 464 (Daly) As Introduced Hearing Date: June 11, 2013 Fiscal: Yes Urgency: No NR SUBJECT Vital records DESCRIPTION This bill would update and clarify the law regarding vital records. Specifically, this bill: would require the use of a specific form instead of a writing "substantially in the form prescribed" by statute when an officer taking the acknowledgement of an instrument endorses or attaches a certificate; would allow digitized images, as defined, to be included as part of a request for a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record; would clarify that an informational copy of a death certificate issued by the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder may be used to prove the death of a person for real property transfers in the county which the property is located; and would delete an outdated reference to requests for military service records. BACKGROUND The Office of Vital Records is charged with the responsibility of maintaining a uniform system for registration and a permanent central registry with a comprehensive and continuous index for all birth, death, fetal death, marriage, and dissolution certificates registered for vital events which occur in California. Certified copies of these records are available from the State Registrar, the 58 county recorders, and 61 local health jurisdictions. (more) AB 464 (Daly) Page 2 of ? This bill, sponsored by the County Recorders Association of California, would make several clarifying and technical changes to the law governing the request and release of vital records. CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW 1.Existing law allows the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder to furnish a certified copy of birth, death, or marriage to applicants upon request if: the request is written or faxed and accompanied by a notarized statement, sworn under penalty of perjury, that the requester is an authorized person, as defined; or, the request is made in person, and the official takes a statement, sworn under penalty of perjury, that the requester is signing his or her own legal name and is an "authorized person." (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 103526.) Existing law defines "authorized person," for purposes of obtaining certified copies of birth, death, or marriage records, as any of the following: the person who is the subject of the record or the parent or legal guardian of that person; a party who is entitled to receive the record as a result of a court order; law enforcement or governmental agency personnel conducting official business; a child, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or grandparent of the person who is the subject of the record; an attorney or other person empowered to act on behalf of the person who is the subject of the record; or an agent or employee of a funeral establishment who orders death certificates when acting on behalf of specified individuals. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 103526 (c).) Existing law provides that, in all other cases in which the requester does not meet the requirements of an authorized person, a certified copy may be provided to the requester but the document shall be an informational certified copy and shall be redacted to remove any signatures that appear on the document. Existing law requires the certified copy to contain AB 464 (Daly) Page 3 of ? the statement "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY." (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 103526 (b).) This bill would define "digitized image" as an image of an original paper request for a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record. This bill would add digitized images to the list of appropriate ways to request a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record from the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder, and would delete an obsolete reference to requests for a military service record. 1.Existing law establishes the requirements and process for obtaining an interest in or title to property which was affected by the death of a person. (Prob. Code Sec. 200 et seq.) Existing law requires a certified copy of a record of death to accompany an affidavit of death used to prove the death of a person. (Prob. Code Sec. 210.) This bill would clarify that both an informational copy and an authentic copy of a death certificate issued by the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder are certified copies which may be attached to an affidavit of death. 2.Existing law requires an officer taking the acknowledgment of an instrument to attach a certificate substantially in the form prescribed by statute, and further provides that any certificate of acknowledgment shall be in the form provided by statute. (Civ. Code Secs. 1188, 1189.) This bill would instead require the use of the specific form provided by statute when an officer taking the acknowledgement of an instrument endorses or attaches a certificate. This bill would also provide that a certificate of execution shall be in a form provided by statute. COMMENT 1.Stated need for the bill According to the author: AB 464 makes changes in the relevant code sections that regulate proper use and access of vital records in the state. This bill allows for electronic requests for vital records, AB 464 (Daly) Page 4 of ? eliminates conflicting statutes, and creates state-wide standards for acceptable documents for recording real property. 2.Digitized, scanned images as an acceptable form of request for vital records Existing law authorizes a person to make a request for vital records in person; by mail, or by fax. This bill would add digitized, scanned images to the list of acceptable forms by which an individual may request vital records. With the evolution of technology, the facsimile is becoming obsolete. A digital scan of an image is of higher quality, and can be securely transmitted to a recipient through the Internet with less time and expense than a fax. The author writes, "the law, as currently written does not provide for technological advances, such as scanning. This bill will provide the public with an additional avenue to request copies of vital records. It is a public service benefit that Recorders can easily accommodate." Staff notes that increasingly, it is difficult for many people to locate fax machines to use, but scanners are widely available. Even when fax machines are available to the public, they are often more expensive than scanning a document. Domestic faxes typically cost between one and two dollars per page, while scans cost approximately 50 cents per page. Accordingly, including digitized images as an acceptable form of request for vital records will arguably create greater access to public records. 3.Clarifies certified death records Under existing law the proper way to transfer title upon the death of a joint tenant is to record an "affidavit of death," which requires that a certified copy of the death certificate, available from the County Records Office, is attached. Counties can issue two types of death records: (1) an informational copy where the signature and social security numbers on the certificate are redacted; and (2) an authorized copy, which is an un-redacted record available only to individuals with a certain relationship to the deceased. Both types of records are "certified copies," but some counties do not accept an informational copy attached to an affidavit of death for recording purposes. AB 464 (Daly) Page 5 of ? The author argues that it is common practice of counties to record informational copies as well as authorized copies of death records. However, it is estimated that 20 percent of counties are rejecting informational copies based on the advice of county counsel. The author asserts that, "by introducing this bill, Recorders believe that it would clarify the law and provide an easy and perfectly acceptable legal avenue for a person to transfer title upon death. The intent is an equal application of the law. Ventura County cited a case where a citizen complained they had to spend $600 to obtain a court order to record an affidavit of death in a neighboring county while Ventura County records informational copies. The probate code states 'any person' may record an affidavit of death? and this right is greatly diminished by forcing them to go to court to obtain permission to purchase an authorized copy of a death certificate." To that end, this bill would clarify that informational copies and authorized copies of death records are both certified copies for the purpose of recording an affidavit of death. Arguably this will ensure consistent application of the law between counties, and facilitate uniformity in the transfer of former joint tenancies. 4.Clarifies the form notaries must use This bill would clarify that notaries must use single form certificates, provided under statute, for acknowledgments taken in the State of California. Prior to 2006, the law only required that a certificate of acknowledgment substantially comply with the statutory form provided in the Civil Code. AB 361 (Runner, Ch. 295, Stats. 2005) instead required that notaries use the specific statutory form by removing the word "substantially." However, that bill failed to amend two other sections of the Civil Code, thereby creating some confusion. This bill would amend the two remaining sections of the Civil Code which still allow for notaries to use a "substantially similar form," thus, clarifying that the form provided under statute must be used in certificates of acknowledgment. 5.Military service records governed by Government Code AB 464 (Daly) Page 6 of ? Since 2004, the release of military service records has been governed by provisions in the Government Code. (See Gov. Code Sec. 6107; AB 1179 (Parra, Ch. 6, Stats. 2004).) This bill would delete an obsolete reference to military service records in the Health and Safety Code. Support : California Association of Clerks and Election Officials Opposition : None Known HISTORY Source : County Recorders' Association of California Related Pending Legislation : None Known Prior Legislation : AB 130 (Jeffries, Chapter 412, Statutes of 2009) extended the existing limitations on the release and access of birth and death records to marriage records in order to prevent the unauthorized use of personal information. SB 1398 (Margett and Hollingsworth, 2008) was substantially similar to SB 471. This bill died in the Senate Health Committee. SB 471 (Margett, 2007) would have required any individual, authorized by law to obtain a certified copy of a birth or death certificate, to show proof of identification when the request is made in person, except when the individual has been a victim of identity theft. This bill died in the Senate Health Committee. SB 904 (Battin, 2007) would have required the county recorder, when furnishing an informational copy of a military service record, to alter that record by masking the service member's personal information, as specified, without incurring any liability. This bill was vetoed by the Governor. AB 361 (Runner, Chapter 295, Statutes of 2005) See Comment 4. AB 1179 (Parra, Chapter 6, Statutes of 2004) prohibited county recorders from providing certified copies of military discharge papers except to specified persons and allowed county recorders AB 464 (Daly) Page 7 of ? to accept faxed, notarized documents when specified information is present and photographically reproducible. AB 247 (Speier, Chapter 914, Statutes of 2002) See Background. AB 1614 (Speier, Chapter 712, Statutes of 2002) See Background. Prior Vote : Assembly Floor (Ayes 75, Noes 0) Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 17, Noes 0) Assembly Committee on Health (Ayes 19, Noes 0) **************