California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2636

Introduced by Assembly Members Linder and Dababneh

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Kim, Mathis, O'Donnell, and Olsen)

February 19, 2016

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

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2636, as introduced, 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 acknowledgment verifying the identity of the requester using a remote identity proofing process aligned with federal guidelines for security and privacy, and satisfying other specified requirements, ensuring that the requester is an authorized person. The bill would require the verification 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 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 (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 verifying the identity of the requester 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 shall comply with the 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.

(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.