P R E S S  R E L E A S E S

12-16-02

The California legislature to protect the integrity of vital records

The California legislature has recognized the need to protect the integrity of vital records by preventing unauthorized access to personal birth and death information. Senate Bill 1614, chapter 712 was passed and becomes effective on January 1, 2003.

The new law will prohibit the Recorder from displaying the mother's maiden name and social security number in the indexes. Further, the law will prohibit the display of vital records indexes on the Internet.

Effective January 1, 2003 the San Bernardino County Recorder will not have indexes available to the public due to the fact that we have not yet developed the non-comprehensive index mandated by law.

As the custodian of the vital records maintained in this office, I have the responsibility to safeguard our records from misuse on behalf of the citizens of San Bernardino County.

Senate Bill 247, chapter 914 was also adopted and a portion of it becomes operative on January 1, 2003. This portion of the bill added $2.00 to existing certified copy fees for birth and death certificates per Health and Safety Code Section 103525.5.