HBA-JEK C.S.H.B. 761 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 761 By: Coleman Public Health 4/17/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The bureau of vital statistics (bureau) of the Texas Department of Health records all births, deaths, marriages, and divorces in Texas (vital records). The information maintained by the bureau is used to plan and evaluate public health programs and to identify specific problem areas. Each year, the bureau registers almost 750,000 documents and the public requests more than 200,000 searches for documents. As Texas is the fastest growing state in the nation, the volume of vital records in the state has increased. A more efficient electronic system could better support the large volume of vital records and search requests. C.S.H.B. 761 raises the fees related to birth and death certificates and authorizes fees collected under the provisions of this bill to be used only for the development of an electronic reporting system to maintain records. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 761 amends the Health and Safety and Local Government codes to increase the fee that the bureau of vital statistics is required to charge for issuing a certified copy of a certificate of a birth, issuing a wallet-sized certification of birth, or conducting a search for a certificate of birth from $2 to $5. The bill requires $2 of this fee to be credited to the general revenue fund and $3 to be credited to the vital statistics fund. C.S.H.B. 761 requires the bureau to collect an additional $2 fee for issuing a certified copy of a death certificate for deposit in the state treasury to the credit of the vital statistics fund. C.S.H.B. 761 requires a local registrar or county clerk who collects a fee for a certified copy of a birth certificate to retain $1.40 and to remit $3.60 to the comptroller, half to be deposited in the general revenue fund and half to be deposited in the vital statistics fund. The bill also requires a local registrar or county clerk to remit $1 of the fee charged for a certified copy of a death certificate to the comptroller for deposit in the vital statistics fund. The bill authorizes a local registrar or county clerk to use retained fees only for administrative costs, the management and preservation of records, and the improvement of vital statistics systems and programs. The bill authorizes the bureau to use vital statistics fund fees collected under the provisions of this bill only for certain systems, developments, improvements, and enhancements of electronic reporting systems. C.S.H.B. 761 authorizes a local registrar to issue copies of certain records without a fee. The bill repeals law establishing the work and family policies fund. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 761 differs from the original bill by omitting the provisions that created the vital statistics enhancement fund for the purpose of improving and developing an electronic reporting system to maintain records, and instead provides that vital statistics fund fees collected under the provisions of this bill only be used for these purposes. The substitute repeals law establishing the work and family policies fund. The substitute increases from $4 to $5 the fee that the bureau of vital statistics (bureau) is required to charge for issuing a certified copy of a certificate of a birth, issuing a wallet-sized certification of birth, or conducting a search for a certificate of birth. The substitute requires $2 of this fee to be credited to the general revenue fund and $3 to be credited to the vital statistics fund, and requires the bureau to collect an additional $2 fee, rather than a $1 fee, for issuing a certified copy of a death certificate for deposit in the state treasury to the credit of the vital statistics fund. C.S.H.B. 761 changes from 40 cents to $1.40 the amount that a local registrar or county clerk is authorized to retain from the collection of a fee for a certified copy of a birth certificate, and authorizes a local registrar or county clerk to use retained fees only for administrative costs, the management and preservation of records, and the improvement of vital statistics systems and programs. The substitute conforms to Texas Legislative Council style and format.