BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2528
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 8, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Richard Pan, Chair
AB 2528 (Skinner) - As Amended: April 1, 2014
SUBJECT : State-issued identity documents: diacritical marks.
SUMMARY : Requires the State Registrar to ensure that
diacritical marks on English letters are properly recorded on
birth certificates, including, but not limited to, accents,
tildes, graves, umlauts, and cedillas and to develop procedures
to include other reasonable requests relating to names on birth
certificates and creates substantially similar requirements for
the Secretary of State relating to certificates of registered
domestic partnerships, and the Department of Motor Vehicles
relating to identification cards.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Proscribes the duties of the State Registrar, including, but
not limited to, furnishing all forms for birth, death, fetal
death, and marriage certificates.
2)Requires the State Registrar to appoint a Vital Statistics
Advisory Committee (VSAC) with the following duties:
a) To make recommendations to the State Registrar as to the
adequacy of procedures to assure accuracy and
confidentiality of personal health and medical information;
b) To review the findings of the Committee for the
Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS);
c) To assure that all research conducted using the data
from birth certificates is consistent with guidelines
provided by CPHS;
d) To review and make recommendations to the State
Registrar as to proposals for addition or deletion of items
on the certificate of live birth and to advise the State
Registrar on the content and format of the certificate;
and,
e) To take testimony and make recommendations to the State
AB 2528
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Registrar regarding changes in the birth registration
system.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, diacritical
marks on letters are not simply decoration; they change the
sound of the letter to which they are added and distinguish
the meaning of the words in which those letters appear. Many
parents agonize over the process of choosing names for their
children because names are symbolic, stick with a person
forever, and are often tied to cultural traditions. The
author further states that this decision should not have to
take into consideration the possible misspelling of a family
name on legal documents and it's time for the state to ensure
the proper recording of names on birth certificates.
2)BACKGROUND . Diacritical marks include, but are not limited
to: grave or acute accents (� or �) and tildes (� or �)
commonly found in Spanish language names or umlauts (� or �)
used in German and cedillas (� or _) found in French, Turkish,
and other languages.
According to the DPH Office of Vital Records Birth and Death
Registration Handbook, "diacritical marks - any of various
marks added to a letter to indicate its pronunciation or to
distinguish it in some way, e.g., �, �, �," are unacceptable
entries.
As UC Davis Law Professor, Carlton F.W. Larson notes in a 2011
article in The George Washington Law Review, "The state
operates A�o Nuevo State Park and Monta�a de Oro State Park,
both of which are labeled as such on California's State Parks
website. On Interstate 80, the state erected a sign noting
the exit for Pe�a Adobe Road. If these names are manageable
for naming parks and roads, why are they so difficult to
manage for naming people? Indeed, under California's policy,
parents cannot name their child after one of the state's own
parks."
3)SUPPORT . The American Civil Liberties Union of California and
the Council of Mexican Federations support this bill because
AB 2528
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many Californians are being denied the ability to use their
true name on legal documents.
4)RELATED LEGISLATION .
a) AB 2275 (Ridley-Thomas) would authorize the State
Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder to accept
requests for birth certificates via email. AB 2275 is
currently pending in the Assembly Health Committee.
b) AB 1951 (Gomez) would require the State Registrar to
modify birth certificates to recognize same-sex couples,
allowing for a gender neutral option on the certificate
identifying a "parent." AB 1951 is currently pending in the
Assembly Health Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Communities United Institute
Council of Mexican Federations
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Lara Flynn / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097