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).