Bill Text: IA HF23 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to vital statistics certificates or records and vital statistics fees collected by the state and county registrars of vital statistics. (See Cmte. Bill HF 369) (See Cmte. Bill HF 662)

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-01-26 - Passed subcommittee. [HF23 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF23-Introduced.html

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House File 23 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  PETTENGILL and JONES

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to vital statistics certificates or records
  2    and vital statistics fees collected by the state and county
  3    registrars of vital statistics.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 144.45, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  1  2 follows:
  1  3    144.45  Certified copies == other copies.
  1  4    1.  The state registrar and the county registrar shall,
  1  5 upon written request from any applicant entitled to a record,
  1  6 issue a certified copy of any certificate or record in the
  1  7 registrar's custody or of a part of a certificate or record.
  1  8 Each copy issued shall show the date of registration; and
  1  9 copies issued from records marked "delayed", "amended", or
  1 10 "court order" shall be similarly marked and show the effective
  1 11 date.
  1 12    2.  A certified copy of a certificate, or any part thereof,
  1 13 shall be considered for all purposes the same as the original
  1 14 and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated,
  1 15 provided that the evidentiary value of a certificate or record
  1 16 filed more than one year after the event, or a record which
  1 17 has been amended, shall be determined by the judicial or
  1 18 administrative body or official before whom the certificate is
  1 19 offered as evidence.
  1 20    3.  The national division of vital statistics may be
  1 21 furnished copies or data which it requires for national
  1 22 statistics, provided that the state be reimbursed for the cost
  1 23 of furnishing data, and provided further that data shall not
  1 24 be used for other than statistical purposes by the national
  1 25 division of vital statistics unless so authorized by the state
  1 26 registrar.
  1 27    4.  Federal, state, local, and other public or private
  1 28 agencies may, upon written request, be furnished copies or data
  1 29 for statistical purposes upon terms or conditions prescribed
  1 30 by the department.
  1 31    5.  a.  No person shall prepare or issue any certificate
  1 32 which purports to be an original, or certified copy, or copy of
  1 33 a certificate of birth, death, fetal death, or marriage except
  1 34 as authorized in this chapter.
  1 35    b.  No person, in the person's capacity as an employee or
  2  1 agent of the state or a political subdivision of the state,
  2  2 shall prepare or issue any certificate which purports to be a
  2  3 copy of a certificate of birth, death, fetal death, or marriage
  2  4 except as necessary in the scope of the person's employment or
  2  5 agency or as otherwise authorized in this chapter.
  2  6    Sec. 2.  Section 144.46, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code
  2  7 2015, is amended by striking the paragraph.
  2  8    Sec. 3.  Section 144.46, Code 2015, is amended by adding the
  2  9 following new subsection:
  2 10    NEW SUBSECTION.  3.  The department shall not establish
  2 11 or maintain, and neither the state registrar nor the county
  2 12 registrar is authorized to collect, a fee for a search of the
  2 13 files or records when no copy is made, or when no record is
  2 14 found on file.
  2 15                           EXPLANATION
  2 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 17 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 18    This bill relates to vital statistics fees collected by the
  2 19 state and county registrars of vital statistics.
  2 20    Under current law, no person is allowed to prepare or
  2 21 issue an original, certified copy, or copy of a certificate
  2 22 of birth, death, fetal death, or marriage except as provided
  2 23 in Code chapter 144. The bill maintains these restrictions
  2 24 for originals and certified copies. For other copies, the
  2 25 bill provides that no person, in the person's capacity as an
  2 26 employee or agent of the state, or a political subdivision
  2 27 of the state, shall prepare or issue any certificate which
  2 28 purports to be a copy of such a certificate except as necessary
  2 29 in the scope of the person's employment or agency or as
  2 30 provided in Code chapter 144.
  2 31    Under current law, the department of public health is also
  2 32 required to establish a vital statistics fee, based on average
  2 33 administrative costs, for searches of files or records when a
  2 34 copy of the file or record is not made or when the record is not
  2 35 found. Current law also requires that the fee be collected by
  3  1 the state registrar and county registrars (county recorders).
  3  2 The bill strikes the authorization for establishing and
  3  3 collecting this vital statistics fee and prohibits establishing
  3  4 or collecting such a fee.
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