SF 441 (LSB 2599SV (2) 87)

SENATE FILE 441

BY  COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1129)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the issuance of birth certificates and providing for a repeal.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 144.13A, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2017, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  The state registrar shall charge the parent a fee of twenty dollars for the registration of a certificate of birth as follows:
   a.  Beginning July 1, 2003, and ending June 30, 2005, a fee of fifteen dollars.
   b.  Beginning July 1, 2005, a fee of twenty dollars.
   2.  The state registrar shall charge the parent a separate fee established under section 144.46 for a certified copy of the certificate.  The certified copy shall include all of the information included in the original certificate of birth and shall be letter-sized. The certified copy shall be mailed to the parent by the state registrar. The mailing of a certified copy of the certificate to a biological parent shall not be precluded by the execution of a release of custody under chapter 600A, and, upon request, a biological parent shall be provided with a certified copy of the certificate unless the parental rights of the biological parent are terminated.
    Sec. 2.  Section 144.13A, Code 2017, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  a.  If, during the period between May 1993 and October 2009, a parent was issued a smaller than letter-sized certified copy of the certificate of birth under this section, which did not include all of the information included in the original certificate of birth, upon request of a parent, the department shall mail to the parent a single letter-sized certified copy replacement that includes all of the information provided in the original certificate of birth. A parent shall not be required to exchange the smaller certified copy for the larger certified copy replacement, but may retain the smaller certified copy.
   b.  Notwithstanding the amount of the fee charged under subsection 2, the state registrar shall not charge a fee for the issuance of a single letter-sized certified copy of the certificate of birth requested by a parent under this subsection.
   c.  This subsection shall not apply if a new certificate of birth was substituted for the original certificate of birth pursuant to section 144.24.
   d.  The department shall post the application form and instructions for requesting a letter-sized certified copy replacement as specified in this subsection on the department’s internet site. This paragraph is repealed June 30, 2022.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the certified copy of a certificate of birth mailed to a parent by the state registrar following registration of the certificate of birth.
   The bill updates outdated language relating to the fee charged a parent for registration of a certificate of birth by eliminating the reference to the fee charged during the period ending June 30, 2005, and retaining the current fee which is $20.
   The bill provides that the certified copy of a certificate of birth sent to a parent shall include all information included in the original certificate of birth and be letter-sized. Additionally, if a parent was issued a certified copy of the certificate of birth that is smaller than letter-sized and does not include all of the information provided in the original certificate of birth during the period between May 1993 and October 2009, upon request of the parent, the state registrar shall mail to the parent one letter-sized certified copy that includes all of the information provided in the original certificate of birth. Notwithstanding the amount of the fee regularly charged for the certificate of birth issued to a parent, the bill directs that the state registrar shall not charge the parent a fee for the certified copy requested by and mailed to the parent under the bill.
   The bill directs the department of public health to post the application form and the instructions for requesting the replacement certified copy on the department’s internet site. This provision is repealed June 30, 2022.