Bill Text: CA AB1951 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Vital records: birth certificates.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-15 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 334, Statutes of 2014. [AB1951 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1951-Amended.html
Bill Title: Vital records: birth certificates.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-15 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 334, Statutes of 2014. [AB1951 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1951-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1951 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2014 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gomez FEBRUARY 19, 2014 An act to amend Section 102425 of, and to add Section 102425.1 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to vital records. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1951, as amended, Gomez. Vital records: birth certificates. Existing law prescribes the duties of the State Registrar of Vital Statistics and local registrars of births and deaths with respect to the registration of a live birth. Under existing law, a certificate of live birth is required to contain, among other things, the full name, birthplace, and date of birth of both the father and mother of a child, except as provided. Existing law provides for the Vital Statistics Advisory Committee, which, among other things, is required 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 advise the State Registrar on the content and format of the certificate. Existing law requires the State Registrar to publish within 30 days of receipt of recommendations by the committee, both a list of the recommendations adopted and a list of the recommendations not adopted, with reasons for the action. This bill would instead require the State Registrar, with regard to identification of the parents, to modify the certificate of live birth to contain 2 lines that both read "Name of Parent" and contain, next to each parent's name, 3 check boxes with the options of mother, father, and parent to describe the parent's relationship to the child.The bill would require the State Registrar to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the modification within 30 days of the action.The bill would also require that all local registrars, deputy registrars, and subregistrars use the modified certificate of live birth, update all forms to incorporate the modification, and discard all forms in use before the modification. The bill would make conforming changes. 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 102425 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 102425. (a) The certificate of live birth for any live birth occurring on or after January 1, 1980, shall contain those items necessary to establish the fact of the birth and shall contain only the following information: (1) Full name and sex of the child. (2) Date of birth, including month, day, hour, and year. (3) Place of birth. (4) Full name, birthplace, and date of birth of each parent, including month, day, and year, and the relationship of the parent to the child. (A) The full name of the mother shall be the birth name of the mother. (B) If the parents are not married to each other, the father's name shall not be listed on the birth certificate unless the father and the mother sign a voluntary declaration of paternity at the hospital before the birth certificate is prepared. The birth certificate may be amended to add the father's name at a later date only if paternity for the child has been established by a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction or by the filing of a voluntary declaration of paternity. (5) Multiple births and birth order of multiple births. (6) Signature, and relationship to the child, of a parent or other informant, and date signed. (7) Name, title, and mailing address of the attending physician and surgeon or principal attendant, signature, and certification of live birth by the attending physician and surgeon or principal attendant or certifier, date signed, and name and title of the certifier if other than the attending physician and surgeon or principal attendant. (8) Date accepted for registration and signature of local registrar. (9) A state birth certificate number and local registration district and number. (10) A blank space for entry of the date of death with a caption reading "Date of Death." (b) In addition to the items listed in subdivision (a), the certificate of live birth shall contain the following medical and social information, provided that the information is kept confidential pursuant to Sections 102430 and 102447 and is clearly labeled "Confidential Information for Public Health Use Only": (1) Birth weight. (2) Pregnancy history. (3) Race and ethnicity of each parent. (4) Residence address of the birth mother. (5) A blank space for entry of census tract for the birth mother's address. (6) Date of first prenatal care visit, the number of prenatal care visits, and commencing January 1, 2007, the date of last prenatal care visit. (7) Date of last normal menses and, commencing January 1, 2007, an obstetric estimate of completed weeks of gestation at delivery. (8) Description of complications and procedures of pregnancy and concurrent illnesses, congenital malformation, and any complication or procedure of labor and delivery, including surgery, provided that this information is essential medical information and appears in total on the face of the certificate. (9) Commencing January 1, 2007, hearing screen results. (10) Each parent's occupations and kind of business or industry. (11) Education level of each parent. (12) Principal source of payment for prenatal care, which shall include the following: Medi-Cal, private insurance, self-pay, other sources, and any other categories as may be determined by the State Department of Public Health. (13) Expected principal source of payment for delivery, which shall include the following: Medi-Cal, private insurance, self-pay, other sources, and any other categories as may be determined by the State Department of Public Health. (14) An indication of whether or not the child's parent desires the automatic issuance of a social security number to the child. (15) On and after January 1, 1995, the social security numbers of each parent, unless subdivision (b) of Section 102150 applies. (c) Paragraph (8) of subdivision (b) shall be completed by the attending physician and surgeon or the attending physician and surgeon's designated representative. The names and addresses of children born with congenital malformations who require followup treatment, as determined by the child's physician and surgeon, shall be furnished by the physician and surgeon to the local health officer, if permission is granted by either parent of the child. (d) The parent shall only be asked to sign the form after both the public portion and the confidential medical and social information items have been entered upon the certificate of live birth. (e) (1) The State Registrar shall instruct all local registrars to collect the information specified in this section with respect to certificates of live birth. The information shall be transcribed on the certificate of live birth in use at the time and shall be limited to the information specified in this section. (2) Information relating to concurrent illnesses, complications and procedures of pregnancy and delivery, and congenital malformations shall be completed by the physician and surgeon, or the physician and surgeon's designee, who shall insert in the space provided on the confidential portion of the certificate the appropriate number or numbers listed on the VS-10A supplemental worksheet. The VS-10A supplemental form shall be used as a worksheet only and shall not in any manner be linked with the identity of the child or the birth mother, nor submitted with the certificate to the State Registrar. All information transferred from the worksheet to the certificate shall be fully explained to the parent or other informant prior to the signing of the certificate. Questions relating to drug or alcohol abuse shall not be asked. (f) (1) The Vital Statistics Advisory Committee, in accordance with Section 102465, shall conduct a review of the contents of the certificate of live birth to coincide with decennial revisions by the National Center for Health Statistics to the United States Standard Certificate of Live Birth. The Vital Statistics Advisory Committee shall make recommendations to the State Registrar regarding the adoption of modifications to the state certificate of live birth that are similar to those made to the federal certificate. (2) Notwithstanding Section 102470, the State Registrar shall review the Vital Statistics Advisory Committee recommendations and, at the State Registrar's discretion, shall submit to the Legislature, for approval, additions or deletions to the certificate of live birth. SEC. 2. Section 102425.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 102425.1. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 102465 and 102470, the State Registrar of Vital Statistics, with regard to identification of the parents, shall modify the certificate of live birth to do both of the following: (1) Contain two lines that both read "Name of Parent." (2) 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: (A) Mother. (B) Father. (C) Parent.(b) Notwithstanding Section 102470, the State Registrar shall submit a report to the Legislature regarding the modification within 30 days of the action.(c) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.(d)(b) (1) The certificate of live birth, as described in subdivision (a), shall be used by all local registrars, deputy registrars, and subregistrars. (2) The local registrars, deputy registrars, and subregistrars shall update all forms to incorporate the modification and discard all forms in use before the modification described in subdivision (a).