BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
AB 1951 (Gomez)
As Amended May 1, 2014
Hearing Date: June 17, 2014
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
NR
SUBJECT
Vital records: birth certificates
DESCRIPTION
This bill would require the State Registrar to modify the
certificate of live birth to contain two lines that both read
"Name of Parent" and contain, next to each parent's name, three
check boxes with the options of "mother," "father," and
"parent," and would make the relevant statute gender neutral
where appropriate. This bill would also require that all local
registrars, deputy registrars, and sub-registrars use the
modified certificate of live birth, update all forms to
incorporate the modification, and discard all forms in use
before the modification. This bill would provide that these
provisions become operative on January 1, 2016, and would make
other conforming changes.
BACKGROUND
A birth certificate has always contained private personal
information that is unique to the person who owns the
certificate. For example, a birth certificate issued in
California in the late 1960's indicates the name and sex of the
newborn; whether the child was a single birth or one of multiple
births; the date and hour of birth; the city and county of
birth; the name, state of birth, and age of the mother; the
name, state of birth, and age of the father; and, in the "second
half" of the certificate, other health, social and medical
information provided by the person filling out the form and by
the attending doctor. The second section of information is kept
confidential and is accessed only for "public health use." The
(more)
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information required to be contained in a certificate is revised
by the State Registrar based on recommendations by the Vital
Statistics Advisory Committee every ten years.
The information gathered from certificates of live birth is used
to identify emerging health concerns and trends and to provide
measures of health status that are used at the local, state,
and federal levels. The information gathered also provides
significant empirical medical and social data for government and
policy-makers.
The birth certificate also names the child's parent or parents.
When a child is born to a male and female couple, the birth
certificate poses no problems because they may write their names
in the provided "mother" and "father" name fields. Children
born to same sex couples, however, cannot accurately identify
themselves or each parent's relationship to the child. Assembly
Bill 205 (Goldberg, Ch. 421, Stats. 2003) established the
California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act
which gave equal consideration to birth mothers with
state-registered domestic partners. Then in 2007, the State
Registrar revised the Certificate of Live Birth to be in
compliance with AB 2580 (Goldberg, Ch. 947, Stats. 2004) which
required all revised state-issued forms to be gender neutral.
As a result, the "father" and "mother" name fields were revised
to include "parent," so that the fields read: "mother/parent"
and "father/parent."
This bill, sponsored by Equality California, seeks to allow each
parent to self-identify as a mother, father, or parent on a
child's birth certificate, thereby allowing same sex couples to
accurately identify each parent and his or her relationship to
the child. This bill would also make changes to the relevant
statute to ensure that the information collected for a birth
certificate is gender neutral where appropriate.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law provides the duties of the State Registrar
including furnishing all forms for birth, death, fetal death,
and marriage certificates. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 102100 et
seq.)
Existing law requires information, including the following, to
be included in the certificate of live birth:
full name and sex of the child;
date and place of birth, as specified;
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the name, birthplace, and birthdate of the mother and father;
and
name, title and address of attending physician. (Health & Saf.
Code Sec. 102425(a).)
Existing law requires specified social and medical information,
including the following, to be on the certificate of live birth,
provided that the information is kept confidential and is
clearly labeled "Confidential Information for Public Health Use
Only:"
birth weight;
pregnancy history, as specified;
race and ethnicity of the mother and father;
education level of mother and father;
mother's and father's occupations; and
principal source of payment for prenatal care. (Health & Saf.
Code Sec. 102425(b).)
Existing law provides that if a parent objects to furnishing
information about his or her race, ethnicity, occupation, or the
hearing screen results for his or her infant, that information
is not required to be entered on that portion of the certificate
of live birth. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 102150.)
This bill would revise and recast the required information for
the live certificate of birth to make the requirements gender
neutral where appropriate.
This bill would require the State Department of Vital Statistics
to modify the certificate of live birth to do both of the
following with regard to identification of the parents:
contain two lines that both read "name of parent;" and
contain, next to each parent's name, three checkboxes to
choose from with the following options to describe the
parent's relationship to the child: (1) mother; (2) father;
and (3) parent.
This bill would require all local registrars, deputy registrars,
and sub-registrars to update forms to incorporate the above
modifications and to discard all forms previously in use.
This bill would delay the operative date of the above two
provisions until January 1, 2016.
COMMENT
1.Stated need for the bill
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According to the sponsor:
Birth certificates establish real rights and responsibilities
for all parents and children. The recognition of legal
parenthood gives a child the right of support from his or her
parents as well as access to health insurance, benefits, and
inheritance rights. Birth certificates are also widely used as
identity documents for numerous purposes, including proving
age, obtaining other forms of government identification, and
demonstrating eligibility for employment.
Current birth certificates in California designate the
parent(s) of a child as "mother/
parent" and "father/parent." Some counties in California still
use remaining copies of older birth certificate forms that
designate parents as just "mother" and "father,"
regardless of the gender(s) of the parent(s). These
designations are confusing, often
inaccurate, and do not reflect the realities of modern
families.
AB 1951 would require the Department of Public Health to
modify birth certificates to allow parents to self-designate
as "father," "mother," or "parent." This would make it
possible for birth certificates to reflect accurately families
with two mothers and two fathers, as well as creating a
gender-neutral "parent" option.
2.Updating certificate of live birth as proposed under this bill
in line with laws regarding parentage
This bill would allow parents to self-designate gender and
relationship to a child on the child's birth certificate.
Questions have been raised as to how this would affect the
existing parentage framework in California. The Uniform
Parentage Act (UPA), provides a number of ways a person may be
legally considered a parent of a child, or establish a parent
and child relationship. These presumptions of parentage can
arise by nature of giving birth, a biological connection to the
child, because of one's marital status, or a person's status as
a domestic partner. California law also presumes that a person
is a parent if he or she has received a child into his or her
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home and has openly held that child out as his or her own, and
allows a man who signs a voluntary declaration of paternity to
be presumed a legal father. (Fam. Code. Secs. 7573, 7574, 7611.)
Subsequent to its enactment, the UPA has been interpreted by
the courts to apply neutrally regarding gender, and has been
used to determine parentage in cases with surrogates and donors
of genetic material. (See e.g., Elisa B. v. Superior Court
(2005) 37 Cal.4th 108; Johnson v. Calvert (1993) 5 Cal.4th 84;
K.M. v. E.G. (2005) 37 Cal.4th 130.) Last year, the Legislature
enacted AB 1403 (Assembly Judiciary Committee, Ch. 510, Stats.
2013) which updated statutory terms within the UPA to conform
with case law and other statutory provisions.
Thus, courts are familiar with the process of determining
parentage in same-sex situations, and gender is typically not
part of the analysis. Even in situations where a gestational
carrier (i.e., surrogate) gives birth to a child, it is the
intended parents whose names go on the birth certificate, not
the surrogate. Accordingly, allowing a parent to self-designate
his or her gender and/or relationship on a birth certificate
will not affect a parentage determination, nor will the
production of birth certificate with same-sex parents or a
gender-neutral "parent" designation. In support of this bill,
the Williams Institute writes:
Census 2010 data show that there are more than 98,000 same-sex
couples in California, of whom approximately 15,700 are
raising children under age 18. Data from the 2011-2012
California Health Interview Survey suggest that, in addition
to these same-sex couples, an estimated 45,000 single lesbian,
gay, and bisexual (LGB) Californians are raising children
under age 18. LGB Californians raising children reflect the
racial and ethnic diversity of the state. More than a third
(34 percent) are Latino or Latina, 11 percent are
African-American, and 12 percent are Asian or Pacific
Islanders. More than one in ten (11 percent) LGB Californians
raising children live in a rural part of the state.
Research shows that children of same-sex couples are thriving.
Across a variety of measures, the children are doing as well
as their peers raised by different-sex parents. They are
happy, healthy, psychologically well-adjusted, perform well in
school, and have good relationships with their parents. AB
1951 would benefit same-sex couples and their children by
ensuring that both parents can be recognized as mothers and
fathers on their children's birth certificates. This change
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would be consistent with the multitude of California laws that
grant equal parenting rights to same-sex co-parents.
3.Does not alter confidential information collected by
Department of Vital Statistics
Existing law requires a parent or parents to give specified
information when a child is born. Some of the information
(e.g., name and sex of child; names and addresses of parents) is
included on the child's birth certificate. Other information
(e.g., the race, occupation, and education of the parents;
medical information about the child; information about the
mother's pregnancy history) is confidential and used for public
health purposes. Certain information (e.g., the parent's race,
ethnicity, and occupation), may be withheld by the parent if he
or she chooses not to furnish it. (Health & Saf. Code Sec.
102150.)
The Health and Safety Code was amended nearly a decade ago to
require the state to collect information related to hearing
screen results, but the corresponding code section was not
updated, thereby creating confusion as to what information is
voluntary and what is mandatory. (See AB 1278, Emmerson, Ch.
430, Stats. 2005.) The following amendments would
appropriately exempt a parent's education level, instead of the
child's hearing screen results, from the information required to
be collected at the time of birth. The amendments would also
include the "voluntary" items in the same code section, thereby
eliminating any confusion as to what information a parent is
required to give, and what information may be given on a
voluntary basis.
Author's amendments:
1. Page 3, line 22 after "(4)" insert " If applicable, the
full name of the birth mother, birthplace, date of birth
including day, month, and year, and"
2. Page 4, after line 10 insert "(c) When objection is made
by either parent to the furnishing of information requested
in items (3), (10), and (11) in the confidential portion of
the certificate of live birth, specified in subdivision (b)
of Section 102425, this information shall not be required
to be entered on that portion of the certificate of live
birth.
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(d) A parent is not required to disclose his or her social
security number as required by paragraph (14) of
subdivision (b) of Section 102425 if the parent has good
cause for not disclosing his or her social security number.
Good cause shall be defined by regulations adopted by the
State Department of Social Services. "
3. Repeal Health & Safety Code Section 102150.
4.Opposition's concerns
In opposition, the Pacific Justice Institute argues that this
bill advances neither parental nor constitutional rights. The
Pacific Justice Institute writes, " We urge you to reconsider
the effects that this redefinition of family and
state-sanctioned self-identification of parents will have on all
Californians-not just LGBT lobbyists." Staff notes that this
bill would not change existing parentage laws or the information
that is collected for public health purposes, but would simply
revise the statutory code provision dealing with those
requirements to be gender neutral where appropriate. In
addition to providing same-sex couples with the opportunity to
self-identify, thereby creating accurate birth certificates,
this bill would provide necessary clarification to couples using
a surrogate which are used by same-sex and opposite-sex couples
alike.
Support : American Academy of Pediatrics, California; American
Civil Liberties Union; American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, (AFSCME, AFL-CIO); California Association
of Marriage and Family Therapists; California Coalition for
Youth; California Communities United Institute; California
Psychological Association; City and County of San Francisco;
City of Los Angeles; City of West Hollywood; Courage Campaign;
Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar
(FLEXCOM); Eric Garcetti, Mayor, City of Los Angeles; Gay &
Lesbian Center; Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of
Orange County; Glover-Silva Foster Family Home; Growing
Generations; Steve Hansen, Sacramento City Councilmember,
District Four; L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center; LGBT Community Center
of the Desert; National Association of Social Workers -
California Chapter; National Center for Lesbian Rights; Our
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Family Coalition; Planned Parenthood of California; Sacramento
LGBT Community Center; Stonewall Democratic Club; The Williams
Institute; Transgender Law Center; numerous individuals
Opposition : California Right to Life Committee; Pacific Justice
Institute
HISTORY
Source : Equality California
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation :
SB 1403 (Assembly Judiciary Committee, Chapter 510, Statutes of
2013) made technical and clarifying changes to the Uniform
Parentage Act (UPA) to codify case law, and make the Act's
provisions gender neutral where appropriate.
SB 115 (Hill) would clarify that any interested party may bring
an action for the purpose of determining a parent and child
relationship at any time. This bill was held in the Assembly
Judiciary Committee.
AB 2580 (Goldberg, Chapter 947, Statutes of 2004) See
Background.
Assembly Bill 205 (Goldberg, Chapter 421, Statutes of 2003) See
Background.
Prior Vote :
Assembly Floor (Ayes 53, Noes 14)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 13, Noes 4)
Assembly Health Committee (Ayes 16, Noes 1)
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