LSL S.B. 444 75(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


PUBLIC HEALTH
S.B. 444
By: Zaffirini (Berlanga)
3-12-97
Committee Report (Unamended)


BACKGROUND 

Currently, copies of vital statistics are permanently preserved in local
registrar offices as local records.  The requirement to keep hard copy
files is very costly, inefficient, and cumbersome for the 600 local
registrars and 254 county clerks across the state. The electronic
reporting of births presently saves the Texas Department of Health more
than $100,000 per year in data entry costs alone.  

PURPOSE

SB 444 would allow for the destruction of permanent local records by the
local registrar after a certain period, provided that the registrar has
access to electronic records maintained by the Bureau of Vital Statistics. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or
institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Subsection (d), Section 191.025, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to add that information required on a certificate must be written
in blue or black ink or may be filed and registered by photographic,
electronic, or other means as prescribed by the state registrar. 

SECTION 2. Subsection (c), Section 191.026, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to conform to Subsection (e).  Subsection (e) is added to allow
the local registrar, after the first anniversary of the date of
registration of a birth, death, or fetal death, to destroy these permanent
vital statistics records maintained by the local registrar if: 

(1) the local registrar has access to electronic vital statistics records
maintained by the bureau of vital statistics; and  

(2) before destroying the records, the local registrar certifies to the
state registrar that each record maintained by the local office that is to
be destroyed has been verified against the records in the bureau's
database, and that each record is included in the database or otherwise
accounted for.   

SECTION 3. Repeals  Section 191.035, Health and Safety Code, regarding
compensation of the local registrar and county clerk. 

SECTION 4. Emergency clause.  Effective immediately upon passage.