BILL NUMBER: AB 2636 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 2, 2016
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, repeal, and add Section 103526 of, and to add and
repeal Section 103527.5 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, until January 1, 2021, if the request for a
certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record is made
electronically, authorize the official to accept an electronic
acknowledgment verifying the identity of the applicant using a
multilayered remote identity proofing process. If an applicant's
identity cannot be established electronically, the bill would require
the applicant to 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 applicant and guard against identity
theft. The bill would require a the State
Registrar and any city or county that fulfills electronic
requests without a notarized statement of identity to report to the
Attorney General and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2019,
regarding the number and types of requests and the availability of
consumer protection mechanisms, as specified.
This bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health to
implement its procedures relating to electronic verification through
an all-county letter or similar instruction from the State Registrar
without taking regulatory action. The bill would specifically
authorize the department to accept an electronic verification of
identity accompanied by an electronic statement sworn under penalty
of perjury for the above purposes. By expanding the crime of perjury,
the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
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, an
electronic verification of identity accompanied by an electronic
statement sworn under penalty of perjury, or a faxed copy or
digitized image of a notarized statement sworn under penalty of
perjury, perjury that the 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
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
verification authenticating the identity of the applicant using
a multilayered remote identity proofing process 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.
(g) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code),
the department may implement and administer the changes made to this
section by the act that added this subdivision through an all-county
letter or similar instructions from the State Registrar without
taking regulatory action.
(g)
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later
enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or
extends that date.
SEC. 2. Section 103526 is added to the Health and Safety Code, 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 perjury, or a faxed copy or
digitized image of a notarized statement sworn under penalty of
perjury, 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. 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 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.
(2) 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 any 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.
(g) This section shall become operative January 1, 2021.
SEC. 3. Section 103527.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
103527.5. (a) On or before January 1, 2019, a
the State Registrar and any city or county that fulfills
electronic requests for certified copies of birth, death, or marriage
records without being provided a notarized statement that the
requester is an authorized person shall report the following
information to the Attorney General, the Assembly and Senate
Judiciary Committees, Committee on Judiciary,
and the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection:
(1) All of the following nonpersonally identifiable information:
(A) The total number of written, electronic, faxed, or in-person
requests that include a notarized statement that the requester is an
authorized person.
(B) The total number of electronic requests utilizing the
multilayered remote identity proofing process described in Section
103526 that do not include a notarized statement.
(C) The total number of electronic requests denied while using the
multilayered remote identity proofing process due to insufficient
information or failed authentication.
(D) The total number of repeat electronic requests using the
multilayered remote identity proofing process for the same record and
the same individual.
(2) A description of the mechanism and process, if any, by which
consumers who have been victims of identity theft may temporarily
limit electronic access to certified vital records, including all of
the following:
(A) The number of consumers who have utilized this mechanism and
process.
(B) The total number of electronic requests that utilize the
multilayered remote identity proofing process, without a notarized
statement, requesting records of consumers who have used the
temporary limited access mechanism and process.
(C) The total number of electronic requests for records of
consumers who have utilized this temporary limited access mechanism
and process that were denied while using the multilayered remote
identity proofing process.
(3) A description of the mechanism and process by which a consumer
may report identity theft resulting from an alleged fraudulent
records request, as well as the number of consumers who have used
this mechanism and process.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.