C.S.S.B. 861 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.S.B. 861
By: Janek
State Affairs
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Medicaid abuse drives up costs for Texans truly in need of assistance.
The Health and Human Services Commission and the Office of the Attorney
General recapture millions of dollars in fraud and overpayment every year.
One tool available to persons who commit fraud is "breeder" documents;
that is, documents used to fraudulently apply for state benefits.
Certified birth records are a prime example of breeder documents.
Currently, the public can access a person's birth records after that
person's 50th birthday.   

The purpose of C.S.S.B. 861 is to make public access to birth records
available after a person's 75th birthday, making it harder to obtain
records that can be used to commit fraud. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

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

ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 861 amends Section 552.115(a), Government Code, by changing the
date upon which a person's birth record becomes public information from
the 50th anniversary of the date of birth to the 75th anniversary of the
date of birth.  The bill provides a qualified exception relating to the
microfilming agreement entered into between the Genealogical Society of
Utah and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. 

C.S.S.B. 861 makes conforming amendments to Section 191.004(c), Local
Government Code, consistent with the purposes of the bill. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The substitute adds a provision prohibiting the Genealogical Society of
Utah from selling or otherwise making available a birth record to which
the society gains access under its microfilming agreement.