1     
BIRTH CERTIFICATE AMENDMENTS

2     
2023 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Katy Hall

5     
Senate Sponsor: Michael S. Kennedy

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill enacts provisions related to the Office of Vital Records and Statistics.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     defines terms;
13          ▸     clarifies what type of information the Office of Vital Records and Statistics must
14     delete;
15          ▸     clarifies who must submit a certificate of live birth;
16          ▸     clarifies when a certificate of live birth must be submitted; and
17          ▸     makes technical changes.
18     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
19          None
20     Other Special Clauses:
21          None
22     Utah Code Sections Affected:
23     AMENDS:
24          26-2-4, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 231, 365
25          26-2-5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 349
26          26-2-8, as last amended by Laws of Utah 1995, Chapter 202
27     

28     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
29          Section 1. Section 26-2-4 is amended to read:
30          26-2-4. Content and form of certificates and reports.
31          (1) As used in this section:
32          (a) "Additional information" means information that is beyond the information
33     necessary to comply with federal standards or state law for registering a birth.
34          (b) "Diacritical mark" means a mark on a letter from the ISO basic Latin alphabet used
35     to indicate a special pronunciation.
36          (c) "Diacritical mark" includes accents, tildes, graves, umlauts, and cedillas.
37          (2) Except as provided in Subsection (8), to promote and maintain nationwide
38     uniformity in the vital records system, the forms of certificates, certification, reports, and other
39     documents and records required by this chapter or the rules implementing this chapter shall
40     include as a minimum the items recommended by the federal agency responsible for national
41     vital statistics, subject to approval, additions, and modifications by the department.
42          (3) Certificates, certifications, forms, reports, other documents and records, and the
43     form of communications between persons required by this chapter shall be prepared in the
44     format prescribed by department rule.
45          (4) All vital records shall include the date of filing.
46          (5) Certificates, certifications, forms, reports, other documents and records, and
47     communications between persons required by this chapter may be signed, filed, verified,
48     registered, and stored by photographic, electronic, or other means as prescribed by department
49     rule.
50          (6) (a) An individual may use a diacritical mark in an application for a vital record.
51          (b) The office shall record a diacritical mark on a vital record as indicated on the
52     application for the vital record.
53          (7) The absence of a diacritical mark on a vital record does not render the document
54     invalid or affect any constructive notice imparted by proper recordation of the document.
55          (8) (a) The state:
56          (i) may collect the Social Security number of a deceased individual; and
57          (ii) may not include the Social Security number of an individual on a certificate of
58     death.
59          (b) For registering a birth, the department may not require an individual to provide
60     additional information.
61          (c) The department may request additional information if the department provides a
62     written statement that:
63          (i) discloses that providing the additional information is voluntary;
64          (ii) discloses how the additional information will be used and the duration of use;
65          (iii) describes how the department prevents the additional information from being used
66     in a manner different from the disclosure given under Subsection [(6)(c)(ii)] (8)(c)(ii); and
67          (iv) includes a notice that the individual is consenting to the department's use of the
68     additional information by providing the additional information.
69          (d) (i) Beginning July 1, 2022, an individual may submit a written request to the
70     department to de-identify the individual's additional information contained in the department's
71     databases.
72          (ii) Upon receiving the written request, the department shall:
73          (A) de-identify the additional information[.]; and
74          (B) for additional information that is inherently identifying, delete the inherently
75     identifying additional information.
76          (e) The department shall de-identify or delete additional information contained in the
77     department's databases before the additional information is held by the department for longer
78     than six years.
79          Section 2. Section 26-2-5 is amended to read:
80          26-2-5. Birth certificates -- Execution and registration requirements.
81          (1) As used in this section[,]:
82          (a) "[birthing] Birthing facility" means:
83          (i) a general acute hospital as defined in Section 26-21-2; or
84          (ii) a birthing center as defined in Section 26-21-2.
85          (b) "Birthing facility administrator" means an individual who has been designated by a
86     birthing facility to submit a birth registration.
87          (2) [For each live birth occurring in the state, a certificate shall be filed with the local
88     registrar for the district in which the birth occurred within 10 days following the birth. The
89     certificate shall be registered if it is completed and filed in accordance with this chapter] The
90     office shall register a certificate filed under this section if the certificate is completed and filed
91     in accordance with this section.
92          (3) (a) For each live birth that occurs in a birthing facility[, the administrator of the
93     birthing facility, or his designee,], the birthing facility administrator, attending physician, or
94     nurse midwife shall:
95          (i) obtain and enter the information required under this chapter [on the certificate,
96     securing the required signatures, and filing the certificate] in the electronic birth registration
97     system no later than 10 days from the day the birth occurred;
98          (ii) provide the parent the opportunity to review the information to ensure accuracy;
99     and
100          (iii) submit the birth registration.
101          (b) (i) The date, time, place of birth, and required medical information shall be certified
102     by the birthing facility administrator [or his designee].
103          (ii) The attending physician or nurse midwife may sign the certificate, but if the
104     attending physician or nurse midwife has not signed the certificate within seven days of the
105     date of birth, the birthing facility administrator [or his designee] shall enter the attending
106     physician's or nurse midwife's name and transmit the certificate to the local registrar.
107          (iii) The information on the certificate about the parents shall be provided and certified
108     by the mother or father or, in their incapacity or absence, by a person with knowledge of the
109     facts.
110          (4) (a) (i) For [live births that occur] a live birth that occurs outside a birthing facility,
111     the birth certificate shall be completed and filed by the physician, physician assistant, nurse,
112     midwife, or other [person] medical professional primarily responsible for providing assistance
113     to the mother at the birth no later than 10 days from the day the birth occurred.
114          (ii) If [there is no such person] the birth occurred without assistance from an individual
115     described in Subsection (4)(a)(i), [either] the presumed or declarant father shall complete and
116     file the certificate.
117          (iii) In [his] the absence of the father, the mother shall complete and file the certificate,
118     and in the event of her death or disability, the owner or operator of the premises where the birth
119     occurred shall do so.
120          (b) The certificate shall be completed as fully as possible and shall include the date,
121     time, and place of birth, the mother's name, and the signature of the person completing the
122     certificate.
123          (5) (a) For each live birth to an unmarried mother that occurs in a birthing facility, the
124     birthing facility administrator [administrator or director of that facility, or his designee,] shall:
125          (i) provide the birth mother and declarant father, if present, with:
126          (A) a voluntary declaration of paternity form published by the state registrar;
127          (B) oral and written notice to the birth mother and declarant father of the alternatives
128     to, the legal consequences of, and the rights and responsibilities that arise from signing the
129     declaration; and
130          (C) the opportunity to sign the declaration;
131          (ii) witness the signature of a birth mother or declarant father in accordance with
132     Section 78B-15-302 if the signature occurs at the facility;
133          (iii) enter the declarant father's information on the original birth certificate, but only if
134     the mother and declarant father have signed a voluntary declaration of paternity or a court or
135     administrative agency has issued an adjudication of paternity; and
136          (iv) file the completed declaration with the original birth certificate.
137          (b) If there is a presumed father, the voluntary declaration will only be valid if the
138     presumed father also signs the voluntary declaration.
139          (c) The state registrar shall file the information provided on the voluntary declaration
140     of paternity form with the original birth certificate and may provide certified copies of the
141     declaration of paternity as otherwise provided under Title 78B, Chapter 15, Utah Uniform
142     Parentage Act.
143          (6) (a) The state registrar shall publish a form for the voluntary declaration of paternity,
144     a description of the process for filing a voluntary declaration of paternity, and of the rights and
145     responsibilities established or effected by that filing, in accordance with Title 78B, Chapter 15,
146     Utah Uniform Parentage Act.
147          (b) Information regarding the form and services related to voluntary paternity
148     establishment shall be made available to birthing facilities and to any other entity or individual
149     upon request.
150          (7) The name of a declarant father may only be included on the birth certificate of a
151     child of unmarried parents if:
152          (a) the mother and declarant father have signed a voluntary declaration of paternity; or
153          (b) a court or administrative agency has issued an adjudication of paternity.
154          (8) Voluntary declarations of paternity, adjudications of paternity by judicial or
155     administrative agencies, and voluntary rescissions of paternity shall be filed with and
156     maintained by the state registrar for the purpose of comparing information with the state case
157     registry maintained by the Office of Recovery Services pursuant to Section 62A-11-104.
158          Section 3. Section 26-2-8 is amended to read:
159          26-2-8. Birth certificates -- Delayed registration.
160          (1) When a certificate of birth [of] for a person born in this state has not been filed
161     [within] in accordance with the time provided in [Subsection 26-2-5(2)] Section 26-2-5, a
162     certificate of birth may be filed in accordance with department rules and subject to this section.
163          (2) (a) The registrar shall mark a certificate of birth as "delayed" and show the date of
164     registration if the certificate is registered one year or more after the date of birth.
165          (b) The registrar shall abstract a summary statement of the evidence submitted in
166     support of delayed registration onto the certificate.
167          (3) When the minimum evidence required for delayed registration is not submitted or
168     when the state registrar has reasonable cause to question the validity or adequacy of the
169     evidence supporting the application, and the deficiencies are not corrected, the state registrar:
170          (a) may not register the certificate; and
171          (b) shall provide the applicant with a written statement indicating the reasons for denial
172     of registration.
173          (4) The state registrar has no duty to take further action regarding an application which
174     is not actively pursued.