Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1238

Introduced by Assembly Member Linder

February 27, 2015

begin delete An act to add Sections 30004 and 30112 to the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation. end delete begin insert An act to amend Section 103526 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to vital records. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1238, as amended, Linder. begin delete Cigarette and tobacco products taxes: premium cigars. end delete begin insert Certified copies of marriage, birth, and death certificates: electronic application. end insert

begin insert

Under existing law, a certified copy of a birth, death, marriage, or military service record may only be supplied by the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder to an authorized person, as defined, who submits a written, faxed, or digitized image request accompanied by a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury that the applicant is an authorized person.

end insert begin insert

This bill would, if the request for a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record is made electronically, authorize the official to accept electronic acknowledgment, sworn under penalty of perjury, that the requester is an authorized person. The bill would require the request to provide a method for the official to establish the identity of the requester electronically and would require the system or product used to process the electronic request and to establish the requester’s identity to comply with specified provisions and protect the personal information of the requester and guard against identity theft.

end insert begin delete

The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law imposes a tax on every distributor of cigarettes and tobacco products at specified rates, including additional taxes imposed under the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act of 1988 (Proposition 99) and the California Families and Children Act of 1998 (Proposition 10). That law imposes taxes on other tobacco products, including cigars, measured by wholesale cost, at a rate determined annually by the State Board of Equalization, as provided.

end delete begin delete

The Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act of 1988, and the California Families and Children Act of 1998, each requires that amendments to its provisions be consistent with the act’s purposes, and be approved, respectively, by either a 4⁄5 or 2⁄3 vote of both houses of the Legislature.

end delete begin delete

This bill would define a “premium cigar” for purposes of these taxes as any roll of tobacco spiral wrapped in leaf tobacco that does not contain a plastic or wooden filter or tip, and that weighs over 6 pounds per thousand cigars. The bill would also provide that the rate of tax imposed on the distribution of a premium cigar would not exceed $ ____.

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Vote:  begin delete ⁴⁄₅ end delete begin insert majority end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 103526 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

103526.  

(a) (1) If the State Registrar, local registrar, or county
recorder receives a written, faxed, or digitized image of a request
for a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record pursuant
to Section 103525 that is accompanied by a notarized statement
sworn under penalty of begin delete perjury, end delete begin insert perjury end insert or a faxed copy or digitized
image of a notarized statement sworn under penalty of begin delete perjury, end delete
begin insert perjury end insert that the requester is an authorized person, as defined in
this section, that official may furnish a certified copy to the
applicant pursuant to Section 103525. begin delete A end delete

begin insert end insert
begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert faxed or digitized image of the notary acknowledgment
accompanying a faxed request received pursuant to this subdivision
for a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record shall be
legible and, if the notary’s seal is not photographically
reproducible, show the name of the notary, the county of the
notary’s principal place of business, the notary’s telephone number,
the notary’s registration number, and the notary’s commission
expiration date typed or printed in a manner that is photographically
reproducible below, or immediately adjacent to, the notary’s
signature in the acknowledgment. If a request for a certified copy
of a birth, death, or marriage record is made in person, the official
shall take a statement sworn under penalty of perjury that the
requester is signing his or her own legal name and is an authorized
person, and that official may then furnish a certified copy to the
applicant.

begin insert

(3) If a request for a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage
record is made electronically, the official may accept an electronic
acknowledgment, sworn under penalty of perjury, that the requester
is an authorized person pursuant to this section. The request shall
also provide a method for the official to establish the identity of
the requester electronically, pursuant to this section. A system or
product used to process the electronic request and establish the
requester’s identity shall comply with the provisions of the
California Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and all other
applicable state and federal laws and regulations to protect the
personal information of the requester and guard against identity
theft. If a requester’s identity cannot be established electronically
pursuant to this paragraph, the requester may accompany his or
her request with a notarized statement of identity pursuant to
paragraph (1).

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  For purposes of this subdivision, “digitized image” means
an image of an original paper request for a certified copy of a birth,
death, or marriage record.

begin insert

(5) Willfully obtaining or assisting another person in obtaining
a vital record when he or she is not authorized to receive that
record is a crime pursuant to Section 530.5 of the Penal Code.

end insert

(b) (1) If the person requesting a certified copy of a birth, death,
or nonconfidential marriage record is not an authorized person or
is an authorized person who is otherwise unable to satisfy the
requirements of subdivision (a), the certified copy provided to the
applicant shall be an informational certified copy and shall display
a legend that states “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID
DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY.” The legend shall
be placed on the certificate in a manner that will not conceal
information.

(2) If the person requesting a certified copy of a confidential
marriage record is not an authorized person or is an authorized
person who is otherwise unable to satisfy the requirements of
subdivision (a), the official shall not release a certified copy of the
confidential marriage record unless otherwise authorized by law.

(c) For purposes of this section, an “authorized person” means:

(1) For purposes of requests for certified copies of confidential
marriage records, only a party to the confidential marriage.

(2) For purposes of requests for certified copies of birth, death,
or nonconfidential marriage records, a person who is any of the
following:

(A) The registrant or a parent or legal guardian of the registrant.

(B) A party entitled to receive the record as a result of a court
order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption agency seeking the
birth record in order to comply with the requirements of Section
3140 or 7603 of the Family Code.

(C) A member of a law enforcement agency or a representative
of another governmental agency, as provided by law, who is
conducting official business.

(D) A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or
domestic partner of the registrant.

(E) An attorney representing the registrant or the registrant’s
estate, or any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed
by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant’s estate.

(F) An agent or employee of a funeral establishment who acts
within the course and scope of his or her employment and who
orders certified copies of a death certificate on behalf of begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert
individual specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of
subdivision (a) of Section 7100.

(d) A person who asks the agent or employee of a funeral
establishment to request a death certificate on his or her behalf
warrants the truthfulness of his or her relationship to the begin delete decedent, end delete
begin insert decedent end insert and is personally liable for all damages occasioned by,
or resulting from, a breach of that warranty.

(e) Notwithstanding any other law:

(1) A member of a law enforcement agency or a representative
of a state or local government agency, as provided by law, who
orders a copy of a record to which subdivision (a) applies in
conducting official business shall not be required to provide the
notarized statement required by subdivision (a).

(2) An agent or employee of a funeral establishment who acts
within the course and scope of his or her employment and who
orders death certificates on behalf of individuals specified in
paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 7100
shall not be required to provide the notarized statement required
by subdivision (a).

(f) Informational certified copies of birth and death certificates
issued pursuant to subdivision (b) shall only be printed from the
single statewide database prepared by the State Registrar and shall
be electronically redacted to remove any signatures for purposes
of compliance with this section. Local registrars and county
recorders shall not issue informational certified copies of birth and
death certificates from a source other than the statewide database
prepared by the State Registrar. This subdivision shall become
operative on July 1, 2007, but only after the statewide database
becomes operational and the full calendar year of the birth and
death indices and images is entered into the statewide database
and is available for the respective year of the birth or death
certificate for which an informational copy is requested. The State
Registrar shall provide written notification to local registrars and
county recorders as soon as a year becomes available for issuance
from the statewide database.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 30004 is added to the Revenue and
Taxation Code, to read:

30004.  

“Premium cigar” means any roll of tobacco spiral
wrapped in leaf tobacco that does not contain a plastic or wooden
filter or tip, and that weighs over six pounds per thousand cigars.

end delete

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 30112 is added to the Revenue and Taxation
Code, to read:

30112.  

Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the
rate of tax imposed on the distribution of a premium cigar shall
not exceed ____($____).

end delete