Current law states that when a birth occurs in an institution, the person in charge of the institution or that person's designee is required to obtain the personal data, prepare the certificate, obtain the required signatures of the informant and attendant and file the certificate with the designated registrar. Laws 1996, Chapter 251 allowed for the electronic filing of birth, death and fetal death certificates with a designated registrar. Some hospitals now transmit birth records electronically to the state registrar while other hospitals continue to physically transmit the records to the local or county registrars. Currently, a registration district may only issue certified copies of a vital record if the original record is in the custody by the registration district. SB 1303 allows a Class A registration district to use electronic filings to issue certified copies of birth certificates instead of requiring the county to have physical possession of the original certificate.
Provisions Defines the term electronic .
Modifies the definitions of physician and vital statistics . Allows the local registrar to accept electronically filed unsigned birth certificates. Physical certificates or records shall continue to be signed by both the informant and the attendant, and the certificate filed with the designated registrar. Allows a Class A registration district to issue a certified copy of a birth certificate if the original record is not in the custody of the registration district. A registration district may issue certified copies of birth, death and fetal death certificates if the original record is in the custody of the registration district.