Bill Text: CA AB1238 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1238 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Certified copies of marriage, birth, and death certificates: electronic application.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1238 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1238-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 1238	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 13, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly  Member   Linder
  Members   Linder   and Dababneh


                        FEBRUARY 27, 2015

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


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1238, 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, sworn under
penalty of perjury,   acknowledgment verifying the
identity of the requestor 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
 request to provide a method for the official to establish
the identity of the requester electronically and would require the
system or product used to process the electronic request and to
establish the requester's identity   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 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.
   (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 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) If a request for a certified copy of a birth, death, or
marriage record is made electronically, the official may accept an
electronic  acknowledgment, sworn under penalty of perjury,
that the requester is an authorized person pursuant to this section.
The request shall also provide a method for the official to establish
the identity of the requester electronically, pursuant to this
section. A system or product used to process the electronic request
and establish the requester's identity   acknowledgment
verif   ying the identity of the requestor 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 provisions of the
California 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).
   (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. 
   (5) Willfully obtaining or assisting another person in obtaining a
vital record when he or she is not authorized to receive that record
is a crime pursuant to Section 530.5 of the Penal Code. 
   (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.