Amended in Assembly January 13, 2016

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 begin delete Member Linder end delete begin insert Members Linder and Dababneh end insert

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 103526 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to vital records.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1238, as amended, Linder. Certified copies of marriage, birth, and death certificates: electronic application.

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.

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 begin delete acknowledgment, sworn under penalty of perjury, end delete begin insert acknowledgment verifying the identity of the requestor using a remote identity proofing process aligned with federal guidelines for security and privacy, and satisfying other specified requirements, ensuring end insert that the requester is an authorized person. The bill would require the begin delete 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 end delete begin insert verification end insert to comply with specified provisions and protect the personal information of the requester and guard against identity theft.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

SECTION 1.  

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

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 perjury or a faxed copy or digitized image
of a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury 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.

(2) A 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.

(3) If a request for a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage
record is made electronically, the official may accept an electronic begin delete 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 end delete begin insert acknowledgment verifying the identity of the
requestor using a remote identity proofing process ensuring that
the requester is an authorized person. The identity proofing process
shall be aligned with the federal guidelines for security and privacy
and shall include dynamic knowledge based authentication or an
identity proofing method consistent with the electronic
authentication guidelines of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology. The verification end insert 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).

(4) 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 delete

(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 delete

(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 an
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 decedent
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.