HOUSE BILL ANALYSIS

                  HB 1475

Title:  An act relating to fees charged by local registrars.

Brief Description:  Revising fees charged by the local registrars.

Sponsors:  Representative Reams.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LAW & JUSTICE

Staff:  Edie Adams (786-7180).

Background:  Local registrars are responsible for carrying out the law relating to vital records in their jurisdictions.  Vital records are records of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, dissolution, annulment, and legal separation.  A local registrar must make a record of each birth, death, and fetal death that occurs in the registrar's jurisdiction and transmit that information to the state registrar. 

The Department of Health (DOH) charges a fee of $11 for certified copies of vital records.  The entire amount of the fee is turned over to the state treasurer. 

Local registrars also charged $11 for copies of vital records.  For death certificates, local registrars charge $11 for the first copy and $6 for each additional copy ordered at the same time.  Local registrars must turn over all but $3 of the fee collected for a copy of a vital record to the local health department.  The $3 is turned over to the state treasurer.

The state treasurer must hold the $3 fee received form local registrars, and $3 of the $11 fee received from the DOH, in the death investigations account.

Summary of Bill:  The fee charged by local registrars for a death certificate is decreased from $11 to $5 for the first copy and from $6 to $3 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. 

NOTE:  The provisions of this bill conflict with HB 1269, which passed out of the committee on February 19, 1997.

Fiscal Note:  Requested March 3, 1997.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

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