BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 464| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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to prove the death of a person for real property transfers in the county which the property is located; and deletes an outdated reference to requests for military service records.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 CONTINUED AB 464 Page 2 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." CONTINUED AB 464 Page 3 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 CONTINUED AB 464 Page 4 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 **** END **** CONTINUED AB 464 Page 5 CONTINUED