BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1546
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1546 (Olsen)
As Amended June 21, 2016
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(January 27, |SENATE: | 39-0 | (August 16, |
| | |2016) | | |2016) |
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(Vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: HEALTH
SUMMARY: Authorizes the release of comprehensive birth, death
and nonconfidential marriage record indices to the county
recorder pursuant to existing limitations; permits the
Department of Public Health (DPH) to suspend the use of security
features of a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage
record, as specified, through all-county letters, or similar
instructions; and required the State Registrar to study all
security features of paper used to print vital records and
requires a report to be submitted to the Legislature on or
before January 1, 2018.
The Senate amendments authorize the release of comprehensive
birth and nonconfidential record indices to the county recorder
and permit DPH to suspend the use of security features on
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specified vital records, as specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the Director of the DPH, acting as State Registrar,
to administer the registration of births, deaths, fetal
deaths, and marriages. Requires the Office of Vital Records
within DPH to maintain a system for the 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.
2)Requires confidentiality of vital records, and authorizes the
release vital record indices to a government agency pursuant
to specified confidentiality requirements. Requires DPH to
maintain an accurate record of all persons who are given
access to the confidential portion of certificates, as
specified.
3)Requires that each certified copy of a birth, death, or
marriage record contain specified information and be printed
on sensitized security paper with specified security features.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: According to the author, vital records are required
to be used in a myriad of important tasks, such as proving
identity and managing estates, so it is essential that
Californians have access to copies of their documents. However,
the fact that our state's security paper relies solely on one
company is an enormous risk. This bill will call upon the State
Registrar to study the feasibility of our state's vital record
security measures. To ensure that county offices can continue
to provide citizens with vital records, this bill will authorize
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the State Registrar to suspend security features in an
emergency. This bill also allows a local health registrar to
share vital records data with its local recorder for the
purposes of creating and maintaining an index of issued
certificates, and delivering these important documents quickly
and securely to the public. This bill will bring California's
vital records into the 21st century and ensure that our
constituents can receive their most precious documents.
The Assembly version of this bill required the State Registrar
to study the security features required to print vital records
and submit its findings to the Legislature on or before January
1, 2018. This bill was subsequently amended in the Senate to
clarify that the release of birth, death, and confidential
marriage indices to the county recorder comply with existing
confidentiality requirements and authorize the DPH to suspend
the use of the security features in the printing of vital
records through all-county letters or similar instructions.
This bill was substantially amended in the Senate, in which the
subject matter was not heard in an Assembly policy committee
this legislative session.
Analysis Prepared by:
Rosielyn Pulmano / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN:
0003663