BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1546
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Date of Hearing: January 21, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1546 (Olsen) - As Amended January 7, 2016
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Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires State Registrar, in consultation with the
County Recorders' Association of California and other
stakeholders, to study all security features for paper used to
print a vital record pursuant to requirements in existing law,
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or alternative security features that are equal to or better
than those that are currently mandated.
It also contains an urgency clause.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor and absorbable costs to the California Department of
Public Health (CDPH) to complete the report (Health Statistics
fund).
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill is intended to ensure California's vital
records use appropriate security features. Given recent
events, the author suggests it is prudent to assess the
state's security requirements.
2)Background. Both the state and counties issue certified copies
of vital records, including birth, death, and marriage
certificates. Current law mandates certified copies contain
certain security features. One mandated feature is a type of
printing called "Intaglio printing," which uses special paper.
In 2015, the only U.S. supplier of this special paper
suddenly went out of business, leading to shortages of paper
and rationing by some counties of certified copies of vital
records. A previous version of this bill suspended the
requirement for Intaglio printing on an urgency basis to deal
with this problem. Although the acute situation has since been
resolved by locating new suppliers, the situation exposed that
the state's vital records system was vulnerable to such
disruptions, and that it would potentially be beneficial to
assess the security features used in California against other
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available technologies.
3)Urgency. Though it seems reasonable to require a study, the
urgency of the study seems unclear.
Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)
319-2081