1     
UTAH VITAL STATISTICS ACT AMENDMENTS

2     
2019 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Merrill F. Nelson

5     
Senate Sponsor: Ralph Okerlund

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends provisions regarding the completion and amendment of a birth
10     certificate.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     defines terms;
14          ▸     amends provisions regarding the completion of a birth certificate;
15          ▸     amends provisions regarding amending a birth certificate; and
16          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
17     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18          None
19     Other Special Clauses:
20          None
21     Utah Code Sections Affected:
22     AMENDS:
23          26-2-2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapters 49 and 153
24          26-2-5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3
25          26-2-11, as last amended by Laws of Utah 1995, Chapter 202
26     

27     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28          Section 1. Section 26-2-2 is amended to read:
29          26-2-2. Definitions.
30          As used in this chapter:
31          (1) "Adoption document" means an adoption-related document filed with the office, a
32     petition for adoption, a decree of adoption, an original birth certificate, or evidence submitted
33     in support of a supplementary birth certificate.
34          (2) "Custodial funeral service director" means a funeral service director who:
35          (a) is employed by a licensed funeral establishment; and
36          (b) has custody of a dead body.
37          (3) "Dead body" or "decedent" means a human body or parts of the human body from
38     the condition of which it reasonably may be concluded that death occurred.
39          (4) "Dead fetus" means a product of human conception, other than those circumstances
40     described in Subsection 76-7-301(1):
41          (a) of 20 weeks' gestation or more, calculated from the date the last normal menstrual
42     period began to the date of delivery; and
43          (b) that was not born alive.
44          (5) "Declarant father" means a male who claims to be the genetic father of a child, and,
45     along with the biological mother, signs a voluntary declaration of paternity to establish the
46     child's paternity.
47          (6) "Dispositioner" means:
48          (a) a person designated in a written instrument, under Subsection 58-9-602(1), as
49     having the right and duty to control the disposition of the decedent, if the person voluntarily
50     acts as the dispositioner; or
51          (b) the next of kin of the decedent, if:
52          (i) (A) a person has not been designated as described in Subsection (6)(a); or
53          (B) the person described in Subsection (6)(a) is unable or unwilling to exercise the
54     right and duty described in Subsection (6)(a); and
55          (ii) the next of kin voluntarily acts as the dispositioner.
56          (7) "Female" means an individual with ovaries who is confirmed before or at birth to
57     have external anatomical characteristics that appear to have the purpose of performing the
58     natural reproductive function of providing eggs and receiving sperm from a male donor.
59          [(7)] (8) "File" means the submission of a completed certificate or other similar
60     document, record, or report as provided under this chapter for registration by the state registrar
61     or a local registrar.
62          [(8)] (9) "Funeral service director" means the same as that term is defined in Section
63     58-9-102.
64          [(9)] (10) "Health care facility" means the same as that term is defined in Section
65     26-21-2.
66          [(10)] (11) "Health care professional" means a physician, physician assistant, or nurse
67     practitioner.
68          [(11)] (12) "Licensed funeral establishment" means:
69          (a) if located in Utah, a funeral service establishment, as that term is defined in Section
70     58-9-102, that is licensed under Title 58, Chapter 9, Funeral Services Licensing Act; or
71          (b) if located in a state, district, or territory of the United States other than Utah, a
72     funeral service establishment that complies with the licensing laws of the jurisdiction where the
73     establishment is located.
74          [(12)] (13) "Live birth" means the birth of a child who shows evidence of life after the
75     child is entirely outside of the mother.
76          [(13)] (14) "Local registrar" means a person appointed under Subsection 26-2-3(3)(b).
77          (15) "Male" means an individual with testes who is confirmed before or at birth to have
78     external anatomical characteristics that appear to have the purpose of performing the natural
79     reproductive function of providing and delivering sperm to a female recipient.
80          [(14)] (16) "Nurse practitioner" means an individual who:
81          (a) is licensed to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse under Title 58,
82     Chapter 31b, Nurse Practice Act; and
83          (b) has completed an education program regarding the completion of a certificate of
84     death developed by the department by administrative rule made in accordance with Title 63G,
85     Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
86          [(15)] (17) "Office" means the Office of Vital Records and Statistics within the
87     Department of Health, operating under Title 26, Chapter 2, Utah Vital Statistics Act.
88          [(16)] (18) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice as a physician or osteopath
89     in this state under Title 58, Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act, or Title 58, Chapter 68,
90     Utah Osteopathic Medical Practice Act.
91          [(17)] (19) "Physician assistant" means an individual who:
92          (a) is licensed to practice as a physician assistant under Title 58, Chapter 70a,
93     Physician Assistant Act; and
94          (b) has completed an education program regarding the completion of a certificate of
95     death developed by the department by administrative rule made in accordance with Title 63G,
96     Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
97          [(18)] (20) "Presumed father" means the father of a child conceived or born during a
98     marriage as defined in Section 30-1-17.2.
99          [(19)] (21) "Registration" or "register" means acceptance by the local or state registrar
100     of a certificate and incorporation of the certificate into the permanent records of the state.
101          (22) "Sex" means male or female, the innate and immutable characteristics established
102     at conception and that can be confirmed before or at birth.
103          [(20)] (23) "State registrar" means the state registrar of vital records appointed under
104     Subsection 26-2-3(2)(e).
105          [(21)] (24) "Vital records" means:
106          (a) registered certificates or reports of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce,
107     dissolution of marriage, or annulment;
108          (b) amendments to any of the registered certificates or reports described in Subsection
109     [(21)] (24)(a);
110          (c) an adoption document; and
111          (d) other similar documents.
112          [(22)] (25) "Vital statistics" means the data derived from registered certificates and
113     reports of birth, death, fetal death, induced termination of pregnancy, marriage, divorce,
114     dissolution of marriage, or annulment.
115          Section 2. Section 26-2-5 is amended to read:
116          26-2-5. Birth certificates -- Execution and registration requirements.
117          (1) As used in this section, "birthing facility" means a general acute hospital or birthing
118     center as defined in Section 26-21-2.
119          (2) (a) For each live birth occurring in the state, a certificate shall be filed with the
120     local registrar for the district in which the birth occurred within 10 days [following] after the
121     day on which the birth occurs.
122          (b) The certificate shall be registered if it is completed and filed in accordance with this
123     chapter.
124          (c) The certificate shall be completed as fully as possible and include:
125          (i) the date, time, and place of birth;
126          (ii) each parent's name and address;
127          (iii) the name of the child;
128          (iv) the sex of the child as male or female or, if the sex cannot be factually determined
129     at birth, undetermined;
130          (v) other information related to the birth as required by the state registrar; and
131          (vi) the name and signature of the individual who completes the certificate.
132          (3) (a) For each live birth that occurs in a birthing facility, the administrator of the
133     birthing facility, or his designee, shall obtain and enter the information required under this
134     chapter on the certificate, securing the required signatures, and filing the certificate.
135          (b) (i) The date, time, place of birth, and required medical information shall be certified
136     by the birthing facility administrator or his designee.
137          (ii) The attending physician or nurse midwife may sign the certificate, but if the
138     attending physician or nurse midwife has not signed the certificate within seven days [of the
139     date of] after the day on which the birth occurs, the birthing facility administrator or his
140     designee shall enter the attending physician's or nurse midwife's name and transmit the
141     certificate to the local registrar.
142          (iii) The information on the certificate about the parents shall be provided and certified
143     by the mother or father or, in their incapacity or absence, by [a person] an individual with
144     knowledge of the facts.
145          (4) [(a)] For live births that occur outside a birthing facility, the birth certificate shall
146     be completed and filed by the physician, nurse, midwife, or other [person] individual primarily
147     responsible for providing assistance to the mother at the birth. If there is no such [person]
148     individual, either the presumed or declarant father shall complete and file the certificate. In his
149     absence, the mother shall complete and file the certificate, and in the event of her death or
150     disability, the owner or operator of the premises where the birth occurred shall do so.
151          [(b) The certificate shall be completed as fully as possible and shall include the date,
152     time, and place of birth, the mother's name, and the signature of the person completing the
153     certificate.]
154          (5) (a) For each live birth to an unmarried mother that occurs in a birthing facility, the
155     administrator or director of that facility, or his designee, shall:
156          (i) provide the birth mother and declarant father, if present, with:
157          (A) a voluntary declaration of paternity form published by the state registrar;
158          (B) oral and written notice to the birth mother and declarant father of the alternatives
159     to, the legal consequences of, and the rights and responsibilities that arise from signing the
160     declaration; and
161          (C) the opportunity to sign the declaration;
162          (ii) witness the signature of a birth mother or declarant father in accordance with
163     Section 78B-15-302 if the signature occurs at the facility;
164          (iii) enter the declarant father's information on the original birth certificate, but only if
165     the mother and declarant father have signed a voluntary declaration of paternity or a court or
166     administrative agency has issued an adjudication of paternity; and
167          (iv) file the completed declaration with the original birth certificate.
168          (b) If there is a presumed father, the voluntary declaration will only be valid if the
169     presumed father also signs the voluntary declaration.
170          (c) The state registrar shall file the information provided on the voluntary declaration
171     of paternity form with the original birth certificate and may provide certified copies of the
172     declaration of paternity as otherwise provided under Title 78B, Chapter 15, Utah Uniform
173     Parentage Act.
174          (6) (a) The state registrar shall publish a form for the voluntary declaration of paternity,
175     a description of the process for filing a voluntary declaration of paternity, and of the rights and
176     responsibilities established or effected by that filing, in accordance with Title 78B, Chapter 15,
177     Utah Uniform Parentage Act.
178          (b) Information regarding the form and services related to voluntary paternity
179     establishment shall be made available to birthing facilities and to any other entity or individual
180     upon request.
181          (7) The name of a declarant father may only be included on the birth certificate of a
182     child of unmarried parents if:
183          (a) the mother and declarant father have signed a voluntary declaration of paternity; or
184          (b) a court or administrative agency has issued an adjudication of paternity.
185          (8) Voluntary declarations of paternity, adjudications of paternity by judicial or
186     administrative agencies, and voluntary rescissions of paternity shall be filed with and
187     maintained by the state registrar for the purpose of comparing information with the state case
188     registry maintained by the Office of Recovery Services pursuant to Section 62A-11-104.
189          Section 3. Section 26-2-11 is amended to read:
190          26-2-11. Registration of court order and amendment of birth certificate.
191          [(1) When a person born in this state has a name change or sex change approved by an
192     order of a Utah district court or a court of competent jurisdiction of another state or a province
193     of Canada, a certified copy of the order may be filed with the state registrar with an application
194     form provided by the registrar.]
195          (1) Except as otherwise provided by statute, an individual born in this state may, by an
196     order of a Utah district court or a court of competent jurisdiction of another state or a province
197     of Canada, amend the individual's birth certificate to change:
198          (a) the individual's name; or
199          (b) any other information to correct a mistake of fact that occurred at the time the birth
200     certificate was completed or issued, as determined by the court.
201          (2) An individual seeking an amendment described in Subsection (1) shall submit an
202     application to the state registrar that includes a certified copy of the court order.
203          [(2)] (3) (a) Upon receipt of the application, a certified copy of the order, and payment
204     of the required fee, the state registrar shall review the application, and if complete, register it
205     and note the fact of the amendment on the otherwise unaltered original certificate.
206          (b) The amendment shall be registered with and become a part of the original
207     certificate, unless a court orders otherwise for good cause, and a certified copy shall be issued
208     to the applicant without additional cost.