BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 464|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 464
Author: Daly (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/11/13
AYES: Evans, Walters, Anderson, Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vital records
SOURCE : County Recorders Association of California
DIGEST : This bill updates and clarifies the law regarding
vital records. This bill requires the use of a specific form
instead of writing substantially in the form prescribed by
statute when an officer taking the acknowledgement of an
instrument endorses or attaches a certificate; allows digitized
images, as defined, to be included as part of a request for a
certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record; clarifies
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 deletes an
outdated reference to requests for military service records.
ANALYSIS : Existing law allows the State Registrar, local
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registrar, or county recorder to furnish a certified copy of
birth, death, or marriage to applicants upon request if:
1.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,
2.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."
Existing law defines "authorized person," for purposes of
obtaining certified copies of birth, death, or marriage records,
as any of the following:
1.The person who is the subject of the record or the parent or
legal guardian of that person;
2.A party who is entitled to receive the record as a result of a
court order;
3.Law enforcement or governmental agency personnel conducting
official business;
4.A child, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or
grandparent of the person who is the subject of the record;
5.An attorney or other person empowered to act on behalf of the
person who is the subject of the record; or
6.An agent or employee of a funeral establishment who orders
death certificates when acting on behalf of specified
individuals.
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
the statement "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH
IDENTITY."
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This bill defines "digitized image" as an image of an original
paper request for a certified copy of a birth, death, or
marriage record. This bill adds 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 deletes an obsolete reference to requests
for a military service record.
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.
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.
This bill clarifies 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.
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.
This bill requires 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 also
provides that a certificate of execution shall be in a form
provided by statute.
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.
This bill makes several clarifying and technical changes to the
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law governing the request and release of vital records.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/24/12)
County Recorders' Association of California (source)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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, eliminates conflicting statutes, and creates
state-wide standards for acceptable documents for recording
real property.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy
AL:nl 6/25/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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