PRINTER'S NO. 3393
No. 2575 Session of 1980
INTRODUCED BY BRANDT, CESSAR, PICCOLA, LEVI, PETERSON, BOWSER
AND MANMILLER, MAY 21, 1980
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 21, 1980
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 29, 1953 (P.L.304, No.66), entitled "An
2 act providing for the administration of a statewide system of
3 vital statistics; prescribing the functions of the State
4 Department of Health, the State Advisory Health Board and
5 local registrars; imposing duties upon coroners,
6 prothonotaries, clerks of orphans' court, physicians,
7 midwives and other persons; requiring reports and
8 certificates for the registration of vital statistics;
9 regulating the disposition of dead bodies; limiting the
10 disclosure of records; prescribing the sufficiency of vital
11 statistics records as evidence; prescribing fees and
12 penalties; and revising and consolidating the laws relating
13 thereto," eliminating the office of local registrar, further
14 providing for birth registration and records and the
15 amendment thereof, for the preparation, registration and
16 amendment of death certificates, providing for institutional
17 records and further providing for the disposition, disclosure
18 and copying of records.
19 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
20 hereby enacts as follows:
21 Section 1. Sections 201, 202 and 203, act of June 29, 1953
22 (P.L.304, No.66), known as the "Vital Statistics Law of 1953,"
23 are amended to read:
24 Section 201. Department: General Powers and Duties.--The
25 department shall, pursuant to the provisions of the act,
1 approved the ninth day of April, one thousand nine hundred
2 twenty-nine (Pamphlet Laws 177), as amended, cited as "The
3 Administrative Code of 1929":
4 (1) Administer and enforce the provisions of this act and
5 the regulations made pursuant thereto.
6 (2) Install and maintain a statewide system of vital
7 statistics.
8 (3) Be the custodian of all vital statistics files and
9 records collected, created or compiled under the provisions of
10 this act.
11 [(4) Have supervisory power over all local registrars
12 appointed under the provisions of this act.]
13 Section 202. Department: [Bureau of] Unit for Vital
14 Statistics.--The Secretary of Health may create, staff and equip
15 [a bureau of] an organizational unit for vital statistics and
16 such other administrative organizations within the department as
17 shall be suitable for the execution of the powers and duties
18 conferred upon the department by this act.
19 Section 203. Department: State Registrar of Vital
20 Statistics.--The Secretary of Health may designate the head or
21 chief of [a bureau of] an organizational unit for vital
22 statistics as the State Registrar of Vital Statistics.
23 Section 2. Sections 301, 302, 303, 304 and 305 of the act
24 are repealed.
25 Section 3. Sections 401 and 402 of the act are amended to
26 read:
27 Section 401. Birth Registration: General Provisions.--A
28 certificate of each birth occurring in this Commonwealth shall
29 be filed [with the local registrar of the district in which the
30 birth occurs] with the organizational unit for vital statistics
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1 within [a period prescribed] five (5) days of the date of birth
2 or as otherwise directed by regulations of the Advisory Health
3 Board. The certificate shall be prepared, signed and filed by
4 the attending physician or licensed midwife, except that when
5 there is no attending physician or licensed midwife the
6 certificate shall be prepared, signed and filed [(1) by the
7 father, or (2) in the event of his death, disability or absence,
8 by the mother, or (3) in the event of her death or disability,
9 by the householder of the premises or superintendent of the
10 institution in which the birth occurs, or (4) in the event of
11 the absence or disability of all persons heretofore named, then
12 by such person acquainted with the facts as the local registrar
13 shall designate.] (1) by a person delegated to perform such a
14 duty by the person in charge of the institution in which the
15 birth occurs; or (2) by the father or mother; or (3) in the
16 event of the absence or disability of the above persons, then by
17 such person acquainted with the facts as the unit for vital
18 statistics shall designate.
19 Section 402. Birth Registration: Foundling Registration.--
20 The birth of each child of unknown parentage discovered within
21 this Commonwealth shall be registered on a form prescribed by
22 the department and within such period of time following the
23 discovery of the child as the regulations of the Advisory Health
24 Board shall prescribe. The person in charge of the agency or
25 institution or such other person into whose care the child is
26 first delivered shall file the registration form with the [local
27 registrar of the district in which the child is discovered.]
28 unit for vital statistics. Such registration shall be acceptable
29 for all purposes in lieu of a certificate of birth.
30 Section 4. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
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1 Section 404. Birth Registration: Supplemental Reports on
2 Original Records.--The Advisory Health Board shall adopt
3 regulations for the purpose of obtaining information omitted
4 from original certificates filed with the unit for vital
5 statistics. Supplemental reports filed within the time
6 prescribed therefor shall be considered a part of the original
7 record and certificates or records so completed shall not be
8 considered as "delayed," "amended" or "corrected."
9 Section 405. Birth Registration: "Delayed" Registrations.--
10 (a) When the birth of a person born in this Commonwealth has
11 not been registered, a delayed certificate may be filed with the
12 unit for vital statistics in accordance with regulations of and
13 subject to evidentiary standards to substantiate the facts of
14 birth as prescribed by the Advisory Health Board.
15 (b) Delayed certificates of birth registered one (1) year or
16 more after the date of occurrence shall be marked "delayed" and
17 show on their face the date of the delayed registration.
18 (c) A summary statement of the evidence submitted in support
19 of a "delayed" registration shall be endorsed on the
20 certificate.
21 Section 406. Birth Registration: Correction of Records.--
22 The acceptance of an application to correct an alleged error in
23 any birth certificate or record filed with the unit for vital
24 statistics under this act shall be subject to such regulations
25 as the Advisory Health Board may deem necessary and proper to
26 preserve the integrity of vital statistics records.
27 Section 407. Birth Registration: Amendment of Certificates
28 for Change in Civil Status.--(a) Any person born in this
29 Commonwealth (1) whose birth is registered as illegitimate but
30 who is legitimated by the subsequent marriage of his natural
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1 parents, or (2) whose parentage is determined by a court of
2 competent jurisdiction, or (3) who is adopted under the laws of
3 this Commonwealth or of any other state or territory of the
4 United States of America, or (4) whose name is changed by order
5 or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction may request the
6 department to prepare an amended certificate of birth on the
7 basis of proof of the new status.
8 (b) The person involved if he has attained majority and is
9 not incompetent, or his parent, guardian or legal
10 representative, shall file an application making such request
11 and shall submit such proof as the Advisory Health Board may by
12 its regulations require.
13 (c) After the amended certificate is prepared, any
14 information disclosed from the record shall be from the amended
15 certificate; and access to the original certificate of birth and
16 to the documents of proof on which the amended certificate is
17 based shall be authorized only upon request of the person
18 involved if he has attained majority and is not incompetent, or
19 upon request of his parent, guardian or legal representative, or
20 upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
21 Section 408. Birth Registration: Amendment of Certificates
22 for Change in usage of name.--(a) Upon application, the unit
23 for vital statistics may amend a record to show the name that
24 the applicant is actually using upon proof of at least fifteen
25 (15) years of usage of that name by the applicant. Satisfactory
26 proof of usage shall be determined by regulation of the Advisory
27 Health Board. For children under fifteen (15) years of age,
28 satisfactory proof shall be determined by regulation of the
29 Advisory Health Board.
30 Section 409. Birth Registration: Judicial Procedure to
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1 Establish Facts of Birth.--(a) Any person alleging to have been
2 born in this Commonwealth and for whom there is no record of
3 birth on file with the unit for vital statistics, or whose
4 request to establish a record has been rejected by the unit for
5 vital statistics or whose request to amend or correct a record
6 is rejected, may petition the court of common pleas where he or
7 she resides for an order establishing a record of the date and
8 place of the birth and the parentage of his or her birth or
9 other facts to establish a factual record of birth.
10 (b) The court shall fix a time and place for hearing on the
11 petition and shall give the State registrar of vital statistics
12 at least thirty (30) days notice of said hearing together with a
13 copy of the petition.
14 (c) The State registrar of vital statistics or his
15 representative shall be given an opportunity to appear and
16 testify at the hearing.
17 (d) If the court finds from the evidence presented that the
18 person was born in this Commonwealth, it shall make findings as
19 to the place and date of birth, the parentage and such other
20 facts of birth as the case may require and shall issue an order
21 to establish a record of birth. This order shall include the
22 birth date to be registered, a description of the evidence
23 presented and the date of the court's action.
24 (e) The clerk of the court shall forward each such order to
25 the State registrar of vital statistics. The order shall be
26 registered by the State registrar of vital statistics and shall
27 constitute the record of birth from which certified copies may
28 be issued.
29 Section 5. Section 501 of the act, amended July 9, 1971
30 (P.L.213, No.38), is amended to read:
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1 Section 501. Death and Fetal Death Registration:
2 Certificates to be Filed.--(a) A certificate of each death or
3 fetal death which occurs in this Commonwealth shall be filed
4 within ninety-six (96) hours after the death or fetal death or
5 within ninety-six (96) hours after the finding of a dead body or
6 fetal remains. In every instance, the certificate shall be filed
7 prior to the issuance of a permit for interment or other
8 disposition of the dead body or fetal remains. The person in
9 charge of interment or of removal of the dead body or fetal
10 remains [from the registration district] shall file the
11 certificate with [any local registrar who shall be authorized to
12 issue certified copies of such death.] the organizational unit
13 for vital statistics.
14 (b) If the place of death is unknown but the body or fetal
15 remains are found in this State, the place where the body is
16 found shall be shown as the place of death. If the date of death
17 is unknown, it shall be determined by approximation, and the
18 certificate shall indicate that the date is an approximation.
19 (c) When death occurs in a moving conveyance in the United
20 States and the body or fetal remains are first removed from the
21 conveyance in this Commonwealth, the death shall be registered
22 in this Commonwealth and the place where it is first removed
23 shall be considered the place of death. When a death occurs on a
24 moving conveyance while in international waters or air space or
25 in a foreign country or its air space and the body or fetal
26 remains are first removed from the conveyance in this
27 Commonwealth, the death shall be registered in this Commonwealth
28 but the certificate shall show the actual place of death insofar
29 as can be determined.
30 Section 6. Sections 502 and 503 of the act, amended November
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1 21, 1967 (P.L.516, No.250), are amended to read:
2 Section 502. Death and Fetal Death Registration: Information
3 for Certificates.--In preparing a certificate of death or fetal
4 death, the person in charge of interment or of removal of a dead
5 body or fetal remains [from the registration district] shall
6 [obtain the required information] file the certificate with the
7 unit for vital statistics, as follows: [The following persons
8 shall supply the information certified by their respective
9 signatures:
10 (1) Personal information concerning the deceased or the
11 fetal death shall be supplied by the person best acquainted with
12 the facts.
13 (2) The medical certification, except in the event of a
14 referral to the coroner pursuant to section five hundred three
15 of this act, shall be supplied (i) in the case of a death, by
16 the physician or (ii) dentist who is a staff member of an
17 approved hospital who attended the deceased during the last
18 illness, provided the death occurs in the hospital and the
19 deceased had been admitted on the dental service, and (iii) in
20 the case of a fetal death, by the attending physician.]
21 (1) The funeral director or other lawfully acting person who
22 first assumes custody of the dead body shall file the
23 certificate of death. He or she shall obtain the personal data
24 from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source
25 available and shall obtain the medical or dental certification
26 from the person responsible therefor.
27 (2) The medical certification shall be completed, signed and
28 returned to the funeral director or other lawfully acting person
29 within forty-eight (48) hours after death:
30 (i) by the physician in charge of the patient's care for the
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1 illness or condition which resulted in death;
2 (ii) in the absence of said physician or with his or her
3 approval the certificate may be completed and signed by his or
4 her associate, the chief medical officer of the institution in
5 which death occurred, or the physician who performed an autopsy
6 upon the decedent, provided such individual has access to the
7 medical history of the case, views the deceased at or after
8 death and death is due to natural causes;
9 (iii) dentist who is a staff member of an approved hospital
10 who attended the deceased during the last illness, provided the
11 death occurs in the hospital and the deceased has been admitted
12 on the dental service;
13 (iv) by other persons specified by the Advisory Health Board
14 under circumstances established by regulations of the Advisory
15 Health Board.
16 (3) When a death is presumed to have occurred within this
17 Commonwealth but the body cannot be located, a death certificate
18 may be prepared by the State registrar of vital statistics upon
19 receipt of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, which
20 shall include the finding of facts required to complete the
21 death certificate. Such a death certificate shall be marked
22 "Presumptive" and shall show on its face the date of
23 registration and shall identify the court and the date of
24 decree.
25 Section 503. Death and Fetal Death Registration: Coroner
26 Referrals.--The [local] State registrar or person in charge of
27 interment or other person having knowledge of the death or fetal
28 death shall refer to the coroner the following cases: (1) where
29 no physician or dentist who is a staff member of an approved
30 hospital was in attendance during the last illness of the
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1 deceased or in the case of a fetal death where there was no
2 attending physician, or (2) where the physician or dentist who
3 is a staff member of an approved hospital in attendance during
4 the last illness of the deceased or the attending physician in
5 the case of a fetal death is physically unable to supply the
6 necessary data, or (3) where the circumstances suggest that the
7 death was sudden or violent or suspicious in nature or was the
8 result of other than natural causes. In every instance of a
9 referral under this section, the coroner shall make an immediate
10 investigation and shall supply the necessary data, including the
11 medical certification of the death or fetal death.
12 Section 7. Section 504 of the act, amended July 9, 1971
13 (P.L.213, No.38), is amended to read:
14 Section 504. Death and Fetal Death Registration: Permits
15 Concerning Dead Bodies and Fetal Remains.--(a) No person shall
16 dispose of a dead body or fetal remains until [a local
17 registrar] the unit for vital statistics issues a permit
18 therefor. [The local registrar shall issue the permit] The
19 permit shall be issued only after the person in charge of
20 interment or removal has filed with the [local registrar] unit
21 for vital statistics a certificate of death or fetal death and
22 has complied with all regulations with respect to the issuance
23 of the permit.
24 (b) The sexton or other person in charge of any premises in
25 which bodies are interred or cremated shall not allow the
26 interment or cremation of any dead body or fetal remains unless
27 a permit issued under this section is presented to him. The
28 sexton or other person in charge of such premises shall indorse
29 upon each permit presented to him the date of interment or
30 cremation, over his signature, and shall return the permit so
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1 indorsed to the [local registrar of his district within ten days
2 from the date of interment or cremation.] unit for vital
3 statistics.
4 Section 8. Section 505 of the act is amended, and the act is
5 amended by adding sections to read:
6 Section 505. Death and Fetal Death Registration: Out-of-
7 State Permits.--When a death or fetal death occurs outside of
8 this Commonwealth and the dead body or fetal remains are
9 accompanied by a permit for burial, removal or other
10 disposition, issued in accordance with the law and regulations
11 in force where the death or fetal death occurred, the permit
12 shall authorize transportation into or through this Commonwealth
13 and burial or other disposition of the dead body or fetal
14 remains within this Commonwealth, without the indorsement of [a
15 local registrar of this Commonwealth.] the unit for vital
16 statistics.
17 Section 507. Death and Fetal Death Registration:
18 Supplemental Reports on Original Records.--The Advisory Health
19 Board shall adopt regulations for the purpose of obtaining
20 information omitted from original certificates filed with the
21 unit for vital statistics. Supplemental reports filed within the
22 time prescribed therefor shall be considered a part of the
23 original record and certificates or records so completed shall
24 not be considered as "delayed," "amended" or "corrected."
25 Section 508. Death and Fetal Death Registration: Late
26 Registration.--When a death or fetal death occurring in this
27 Commonwealth has not been registered, a late certificate may be
28 filed in accordance with regulations of the Advisory Health
29 Board.
30 Section 509. Death and Fetal Death Registration: Correction
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1 of Records.--The acceptance of an application to correct an
2 alleged error in any certificate or record filed with the unit
3 for vital statistics under this act shall be subject to such
4 regulations as the Advisory Health Board may deem necessary and
5 proper to preserve the integrity of vital statistics records.
6 Section 9. Section 603, the article heading of Article VII,
7 sections 701, 702 and 703 of the act are repealed.
8 Section 10. The act is amended by adding an article to read:
9 Article VII-A
10 Institutional Records
11 Section 701-A. Institutional Records Required.--All
12 superintendents, managers and other persons in charge of
13 hospitals, maternity homes, homes for the aged and public and
14 private institutions to which persons resort for medical care or
15 to which persons are committed by process of law, shall obtain
16 and record as to each inmate, at the time of his admittance, all
17 personal information required in the certificates prescribed by
18 the department. Each inmate shall supply such information at the
19 time of admittance, but if the inmate is unable personally to
20 supply the information a relative of the inmate or other person
21 acquainted with the facts shall do so.
22 Section 11. Section 801 of the act is amended to read:
23 Section 801. Records: Disclosure in General.--The vital
24 statistics records of the department and of [local registrars]
25 the unit for vital statistics shall not be open to public
26 inspection except as authorized by the provisions of this act
27 and the regulations of the Advisory Health Board. Neither the
28 department nor [local registrars] the unit for vital statistics
29 shall issue copies of or disclose any vital statistics record or
30 part thereof created under the provisions of this or prior acts
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1 except in compliance with the provisions of this act and the
2 regulations of the Advisory Health Board.
3 Section 12. Sections 802, 803, 804, 805, 806, 806.1, 807,
4 808, 809 and 810 of the act are repealed.
5 Section 13. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
6 Section 802.1. Records: Transfer from Former Office of
7 Local Registrars.--Any records previously maintained by local
8 registrars under provisions of prior acts shall be transferred
9 to the unit for vital statistics and are subject to all
10 provisions of this act with regard to disclosure.
11 Section 803.1. Records: Reports to County Registration
12 Commissions.--The department shall report monthly in writing to
13 the registration commission of each county the deaths of
14 residents of such counties, except residents less than eighteen
15 (18) years of age, for the preceding month. Said report shall
16 contain the full name of the decedent, his last address, the
17 date of his birth if available and the date of his death.
18 Section 804.1. Records: Copies of Marriage Registration and
19 Court Report Records.--The department shall not issue any
20 copies, certified or otherwise, of records heretofore or
21 hereafter transmitted to the department which consist of (1)
22 marriage license certificates or transcripts of marriage license
23 records, (2) certificates of court orders or decrees of adoption
24 or annulment of adoption, or (3) certificates of divorce or
25 annulment of marriage. Persons requiring copies of such records
26 shall apply to the court or county office which issued the
27 order, decree or marriage license upon which any such record is
28 based.
29 Section 805.1. Records: Disclosure of Illegitimacy of
30 Birth.--The department shall issue certified copies of or
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1 disclose a record from which illegitimacy of birth can be
2 ascertained only upon (1) an order of a court of competent
3 jurisdiction specifying the record sought and holding that such
4 record is necessary for the determination of personal or
5 property rights, or (2) a finding by an officer of the
6 department designated by the Secretary of Health that the
7 applicant therefor has attained majority and is not incompetent
8 and is the person to whom the record relates or the mother or
9 legal representative of the person to whom the record relates
10 and further that the information contained in the record is
11 necessary for the determination of person or property rights.
12 Section 806.2. Records: Disclosure of Other Records.--
13 Except for records described in sections eight hundred four and
14 eight hundred five of this act, the department shall issue
15 certified copies of or disclose a vital statistics record or
16 part thereof if an officer of the department designated by the
17 Secretary of Health finds that the applicant therefor has a
18 direct interest in the content of the record and that the
19 information contained therein is necessary for the determination
20 of personal or property rights.
21 Section 807.1. Records: Disclosure for research purposes.--
22 The department may permit the use of vital statistics records or
23 parts thereof for research, subject to strict supervision by the
24 department to insure that the use of the records is limited to
25 research purposes.
26 Section 808.1. Records: Disclosure to Governmental
27 Agencies.--The department may disclose information or data from
28 vital statistics records to Federal, State or municipal agencies
29 of government which request such information or data in the
30 interest of conduct of official duty.
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1 Section 809.1. Records: Fees for Copies.--(a) Except as
2 otherwise provided in this act, the Advisory Health Board shall
3 prescribe the fees to be paid by applicants for copies of vital
4 statistics records or parts thereof.
5 (b) Federal, State and municipal agencies of government may
6 obtain copies of records or certifications of data from records
7 without payment of fees, provided that the department and the
8 Commonwealth incur no expense in connection therewith.
9 (c) No fee shall be charged for certified copies of records
10 or parts thereof furnished members of the Armed Forces of the
11 United States and their dependents during their term of active
12 service and after their death in service or honorable discharge
13 therefrom.
14 Section 810.1. Records: Accounting for Fees.--The
15 department shall keep an account of all fees received by it
16 pursuant to the provisions of this act and shall retain the fee
17 for use by the department.
18 Section 811. Records: Evidentiary Sufficiency.--Any record
19 or duly certified copy of a record or part thereof which is (1)
20 filed with the department in accordance with the provisions of
21 this act and the regulations of the Advisory Health Board and
22 which (2) is not a "delayed" record filed under section four
23 hundred five of this act or a record "corrected" under section
24 four hundred six and four hundred nine of this act shall
25 constitute prima facie evidence of its contents, except that in
26 any proceeding in which paternity is controverted and which
27 affects the interests of an alleged father or his successors in
28 interest no record or part thereof shall constitute prima facie
29 evidence of paternity unless the alleged father is the husband
30 of the mother of the child.
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1 Section 14. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith
2 are hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency.
3 Section 15. This act shall take effect in six months.
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