BILL NUMBER: AB 2636 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 16, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Linder and Dababneh
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Brough, Chang, Chávez, Cristina
Garcia, Kim, Lackey, Mathis, Mullin, Obernolte, O'Donnell, and Olsen)
(Coauthor: Senator Hertzberg)
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 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 acknowledgment verifying the identity
of the requester applicant using a
multilayered remote identity proofing process aligned
with federal that includes guidelines for
security and privacy, and satisfying other specified requirements,
ensuring that the requester applicant
is an authorized person. If an applicant's identity cannot be
established electronically, the applicant shall include with his or
her request a statement of identity notarized
pursuant to existing law. The bill would require the
verification to comply with specified provisions and protect the
personal information of the requester
applicant 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, electronic, 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 applicant
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 applicant 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) (A) 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 applicant
using a multilayered 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). that complies with all of the following
requirements:
(i) Meets or exceeds the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) electronic authentication guideline for
multilayered remote identity proofing.
(ii) (I) Verifies all of the following information provided by the
applicant:
(ia) A valid government-issued identification number.
(ib) A financial or utility account number.
(II) The verification pursuant to this subparagraph shall occur
through record checks with the state or local agency or a credit
reporting agency or similar database and shall confirm that the name,
date of birth, address, or other personal information in the record
checks are consistent with the information provided by the applicant.
(iii) Meets or exceeds the information security requirements of
the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Title 2.5 (commencing with
Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) and the
Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (Public Law
107-347) and all other applicable state and federal laws and
regulations to protect the personal information of the applicant and
guard against identity theft.
(iv) Retains for each electronic verification, as required by the
NIST electronic authentication guideline, a record of the applicant
whose identity has been verified and the steps taken to verify the
identity.
(B) If an applicant's identity cannot be established
electronically pursuant to this paragraph, the applicant shall
include with his or her request a statement of identity notarized
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.
(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.