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From: "Sue Silver" <>
Subject: [CASANFRA] Re: California Senate Bill 1614 - Public Records
Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 14:06:27 -0700
References: <JMEALHBNDMIHCCAFGGBDKEGJCKAA.granny@liquidgravity.org>


Judie Cook has asked for more information on this Bill. According to the
previously amended language for SB 1614:

"This bill would require the comprehensive index described above,
and birth and death record indices prepared or maintained by local
registrars and county recorders, to be kept confidential, except that
these indices may be disclosed to government agencies as prescribed
by law. This bill would exempt these indices from disclosure under
the California Public Records Act. This bill would prohibit a
government agency from selling or releasing these indices except as
authorized by law. This bill would also prohibit specified entities
and individuals from releasing any of the information contained in a
comprehensive index purchased from the State Registrar prior to
December 31, 2001, to a 3rd party. This bill would authorize the
department to assess an unspecified civil penalty to enforce this
provision against individuals and other specified entities.
"This bill would require, on or before an unspecified date, the
State Registrar to establish separate noncomprehensive electronic
indices of all California birth and death records and make the
indices continuously, electronically available to county recorders'
offices statewide.
"This bill would require the noncomprehensive indices to be
available at the State Registrar's office and in county recorders'
offices for public inspection and viewing only at computer
terminals designated for this purpose , by individuals who have
signed a standard form certifying, under penalty of perjury, that
the information they view will not be used for criminal purposes. By
expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, and by increasing the
duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
"The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
"This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
"With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
"Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes."

As amended on May 30, 2002, SB 1614 has been reduced to the following:

"SB 1614, as amended, Speier. Public records: vital statistics.

"Existing law requires the Director of Health Services, as the
State Registrar of Vital Statistics, to administer the registration
of births, deaths, fetal deaths, and marriages. Existing law
requires the State Registrar to arrange and permanently preserve the
certificates in a systematic manner and to prepare and maintain a
comprehensive and continuous index of all certificates registered.

"This bill would declare the intent of Legislature to enact
legislation to protect the confidentiality of birth and death record
indices.

"Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no .
State-mandated local program: no.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to protect the confidentiality of birth and death record
indices."

Margie Campbell of San Joaquin County commented that it was probably a
combination of Senator Speier and others receiving opposition correspondence
and the present state of California's budget deficit and further impending
financial woes. While this might be true, the fact that the Bill was not
pulled entirely by Senator Speier tends to make me believe, as Phil VanCamp
noted to me, that we need continue to be vigilant. If not, they could slip
this through packaged with something else that would pass before we know it.

As I said, for the work that we do we use the vital statistics information
to identify any family members who may be buried in unmarked graves in our
over 200 historic cemeteries. The information often gives us another clue
as to how to contact family descendants to advise them of the condition of
the cemetery where their loved ones are at rest. In many respects, we have
acted as ex-officio family genealogists for hundreds of our county's pioneer
residents.

PLEASE don't contact me with genealogy requests, the other half of our
battle is to protect the unmarked graves in the cemeteries from being
desecrated by current interments AND convincing our county of the vested
(prescriptive) PUBLIC title to the vast majority of the cemeteries. We have
recently received a free website hosted by US GenNet and will be producing
pages about what is happening in our county. It is not a pretty tale... IF
you have a genealogy inquiry, please us the US GenWeb site for El Dorado
County. We frequently check those postings and respond with whatever
information we may have.

Let's stay vigilant on this access to public vital statistics. The internet
is a valuable and powerful tool to use in order for our voices to be heard.

Sue Silver
El Dorado County Pioneer Cemeteries Commission





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