AN ACT Relating to vital statistics; amending RCW 70.58.200; adding new sections to chapter 70.58 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The certificate of live birth for any live birth occurring on or after the effective date of this section shall contain public information necessary to establish the fact of the birth which shall consist of only the following items:

(1) Full name and sex of child;

(2) Date of birth, including month, day, hour, and year;

(3) Place of birth;

(4) Full name of father, birthplace, and age of father;

(5) Full birth name of mother, birthplace, and age of mother;

(6) Multiple births and birth order of multiple births;

(7) Signature, and relationship to child, of a parent or other informant, and date signed;

(8) Name, degree or title, address, signature, date, and certification of live birth by attending physician or principal attendant;

(9) Date accepted for registration and signature of local registrar;

(10) A state birth certificate number and local registration district and number;

(11) A blank space for entry of date of death with a caption reading "date of death;"

(12) Residence address of the father; and

(13) Residence address of the mother.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) After public hearing, the state registrar shall adopt rules specifying items for a confidential section in addition to those listed in section 1 of this act for inclusion in the certificate of live birth. The state registrar shall adopt uniform forms listing such information and shall supply the forms to hospitals and local registrars. The contents of the confidential section shall be limited to the medical, health, or social data necessary to evaluate or improve maternal and child health, as determined by the state registrar. No questions relating to drug or alcohol abuse may be asked.

All the information collected under this section shall be: (a) Confidential; (b) clearly labeled "confidential information for public health use only"; and (c) exempt from disclosure under chapter 42.17 RCW.

(2) The two sections of the birth certificate shall be separated and the confidential section destroyed before the remaining section is stored.

(3) All information collected, that was confidential under RCW 70.58.200 prior to the effective date of this section shall continue to be confidential.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) All confidential information shall be completed by the physician, or physician's designee. The parent or informant shall be informed of the purposes for collecting the information adopted under section 2 of this act, its confidential nature, and that completing the specific items is voluntary.

(2) If the department of social and health services has issued uniform worksheets to facilitate completion of the certificate, the physician or physician's designee shall insert in the space provided on the confidential portion of the certificate the appropriate information from the worksheet. The worksheet shall be destroyed after the transfer of information occurs. All information transferred from the worksheet to the certificate shall be fully explained to the mother prior to her signing the certificate.

(3) Either parent may make objections to the furnishing of any requested information within ten days of the child's birth by notifying the physician or physician's designee. When objection is made, the information shall not be entered. No information may be turned over by a physician or hospital administrator, or such person's designee to the state or local registrar until ten days after the date of birth.

(4) The mother, father, and child shall not be identified by name or any other means in the confidential portion of the certificate of live birth.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Information included in the certificate of birth under section 2 of this act shall be confidential. Access to such portion of any certificate of live birth shall be limited to the following:

(a) The department of social and health services staff;

(b) The local registrar's staff and local health department staff when approved by the local registrar or local health officer, respectively;

(d) The person named on the certificate; and

(e) Any person who has petitioned to adopt the person named on the certificate, subject to chapter 26.33 RCW.

(2) The department of social and health services shall maintain an accurate record of all persons who are given access to the confidential portion of the certificate. Such record shall include: (a) The name of the person authorizing access; (b) the name, title, and organizational affiliation of persons given access; (c) the dates of access; and (d) the specific purpose for which information is to be used.

(3) All research proposed to be conducted using the confidential medical and social information on the birth certificate shall first be reviewed by the appropriate committee constituted for the protection of human subjects which is approved by the federal department of health and human services and has a general assurance pursuant to Part 46 of Title 45 of the code of federal regulations. No information may be released until the request for information has been reviewed by the committee and the committee has recommended to the state registrar that that information be released.

(4) When the original forms of certificates of live birth furnished by the state registrar contain a printed section at the bottom containing medical and social data or labeled "confidential information for public health use only," that section shall not be reproduced in a certified or uncertified copy of the certificate except as specifically authorized in this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) Any person who releases a copy of the confidential portion of the certificate of live birth, except as specifically provided by this chapter, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. Such criminal penalty shall not preclude suit for damages by any individuals harmed by the unauthorized release.

(2) Any person who is the subject of, or the source of information for, a birth certificate, who has reason to believe there has been linkage of confidential information with his or her identity and disclosure of such confidential information to a person not specified in section 4(1) of this act has a civil right of action against the person releasing such information and may seek punitive damages.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The state registrar shall instruct all local registrars to collect the information specified in sections 1 and 2 of this act with respect to certificates of live birth. Such information shall be transcribed on the certificate of live birth in use at such time and shall be limited to the information specified in sections 1 and 2 of this act.

Sec. 7. Section 6, chapter 159, Laws of 1945 as last amended by section 2, chapter 162, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 70.58.200 are each amended to read as follows:

The forms of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, and decrees of divorce, annulment, or separate maintenance certificates filed with the state registrar of vital statistics shall include the items required by the respective standard certificate as recommended by the federal agency responsible for national vital statistics, except that no information shall be required on the certificate of divorce relative to the date the couple separated or the number of children under eighteen years of age: PROVIDED, That none of the information contained in the confidential section of the forms of marriage, divorce, annulment or separate maintenance shall be required((: PROVIDED FURTHER, That no information shall be required on the certificate of live birth relative to the education of the parents of the child. The Washington state board of health by regulation may require additional pertinent information relative to the birth and manner of delivery as it may deem necessary for statistical study. This information shall be placed in a confidential section of the birth certificate form and shall not be subject to the view of the public or for certification purposes except upon order of a court)): PROVIDED, That the state board of health may eliminate from the forms any such items that it determines are not necessary for statistical study.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 70.58 RCW.