Amended in Assembly January 7, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1546


Introduced by Assembly Member Olsen

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Daly and Ting)

September 9, 2015


An act tobegin delete amend Section 103526.5 of, and toend delete add Section 103526.6begin delete to,end deletebegin insert toend insert the Health and Safety Code, relating to vital records, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1546, as amended, Olsen. Vital records.

Existing law prescribes specified personal information to be included on birth, death, and marriage certificates. Under existing law, a certified copy of a birth or death record may only be supplied by the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder to an authorized person, as defined, who submits a statement sworn under penalty of perjury that the applicant is an authorized person. Existing law also requires that each certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record contain specified information and be printed on sensitized security paper with specified features, including, among others, intaglio print.

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This bill would authorize a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record to include a feature other than intaglio print that provides equal or greater security protection than intaglio print.

end delete

Existing law requires the State Registrar to appoint a Vital Records Protection Advisory Committee to study and make recommendations to protect individual privacy, inhibit identity theft, and prevent fraud involving birth, death, and marriage certificates while providing needed access to the information contained in those records by persons seeking it for a legitimate purpose.

This bill would require the State Registrar, in consultation with the County Recorders’ Association of California and other stakeholders, to studybegin delete the feasibility of the continued use of intaglio print and the implementation of differentend deletebegin insert allend insert security features for paper used to print a vitalbegin delete record.end deletebegin insert record, or alternative security features that are equal to or better than those that are currently mandated.end insert The bill would require the State Registrar to submit a report to the Legislature, on or before January 1,begin delete 2017,end deletebegin insert 2018,end insert that contains the findings of that study and legislative recommendations pertaining to those findings.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 23. 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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P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 103526.5 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:

3

103526.5.  

(a) Each certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage
4record issued pursuant to Section 103525 shall include the date
5issued, the name of the issuing officer, the signature of the issuing
6officer, whether that is the State Registrar, local registrar, county
7recorder, or county clerk, or an authorized facsimile thereof, and
8the seal of the issuing office.

9(b) All certified copies of birth, death, and marriage records
10issued pursuant to Section 103525 shall be printed on chemically
11sensitized security paper that measures 812 inches by 11 inches
12and that has the following features:

13(1) Intaglio print, or another feature that provides equal or
14greater security protection.

15(2) Latent image.

16(3) Fluorescent, consecutive numbering with matching barcode.

17(4) Microprint line.

18(5) Prismatic printing.

19(6) Watermark.

20(7) Void pantograph.

21(8) Fluorescent security threads.

22(9) Fluorescent fibers.

P3    1(10) Any other security features deemed necessary by the State
2Registrar.

3(c) The State Registrar, local registrars, county recorders, and
4county clerks shall take precautions to ensure that uniform and
5consistent standards are used statewide to safeguard the security
6paper described in subdivision (b), including, but not limited to,
7the following measures:

8(1) Security paper shall be maintained under secure conditions
9so as not to be accessible to the public.

10(2) A log shall be kept of all visitors allowed in the area where
11security paper is stored.

12(3) All spoilage shall be accounted for and subsequently
13destroyed by shredding on the premises.

end delete
14

begin deleteSEC. 2.end delete
15begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

Section 103526.6 is added to the Health and Safety
16Code
, to read:

17

103526.6.  

(a) The State Registrar, in consultation with the
18County Recorders’ Association of California and other
19stakeholders, shall studybegin delete the feasibility of the continued use of
20intaglio print and the implementation of otherend delete
begin insert allend insert security features
21for paper used to print a vital record pursuant to Sectionbegin delete 103525.end delete
22begin insert 103525, or alternative security features that are equal to or better
23than those that are currently mandated.end insert

24(b) (1) On or before January 1,begin delete 2017,end deletebegin insert 2018,end insert the State Registrar
25shall submit to the Legislature a report that contains the findings
26of the study conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) and legislative
27recommendations pertaining to those findings.

28(2) A report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this
29subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
30of the Government Code.

31

begin deleteSEC. 3.end delete
32begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
33immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
34the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
35immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

36In order for the State Registrar to conduct a study regardingbegin delete the
37feasibility of continued use of intaglio print and the implementation
38of otherend delete
begin insert allend insert security features for paper used to print a vitalbegin delete recordend delete
39begin insert record, or alternative security features that are equal to or better
40than those that are currently mandated,end insert
as soon as possible, and
P4    1to ensure timely reporting of the findings of that study to the
2Legislature, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.



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