CHAPTER 160
HOUSE BILL No. 2718
An Act concerning the department of health and environment;
relating to vital statistics;
amending K.S.A. 23-110, 65-2417 and 65-2434 and K.S.A. 2001 Supp.
65-2418, 65-
2422d and 65-2423 and repealing the existing sections; also
repealing K.S.A. 2001 Supp.
65-2418a.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 23-110 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 23-
110. The secretary of health and environment shall index all
records re-
ceived pursuant to K.S.A. 23-109 and amendments thereto and,
upon
request, shall issue a certified copy or abstract of them
which in all courts
and for all purposes shall be prima facie evidence of the facts
stated in
them. For each certified copy or abstract a fee shall be
paid to the sec-
retary in an amount prescribed in accordance with, and disposed of
in
the manner provided by, K.S.A. 65-2418 and amendments thereto.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 65-2417 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 65-
2417. (a) Subject to the requirements of K.S.A. 65-2421,
65-2422, 65-
6422d and 65-2423 and amendments thereto, the state
registrar shall,
upon request, furnish to any applicant a certified copy or a
certified ab-
stract of any certificate, or any part thereof.
(b) Copies or abstracts of the
contents of any certificate on file or
any part thereof, certified by the state registrar shall be
considered for
all purposes the same as the original subject to the requirements
of K.S.A.
65-2421, 65-2422, 65-2422d and 65-2423.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 65-2418
is hereby amended to read as
follows: 65-2418. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section,
the
secretary shall fix and charge the fees, if any, to be paid for
certified copies
or abstracts of certificates or for search of the files or
records when no
certified copy or abstract is made. Fees for certified
copies or abstracts
of certificates shall be fixed by rules and regulations of the
secretary ex-
cept that the fee for the first copy of a birth or death
certificate or abstract
shall include a $3 surcharge and the fee for each additional copy
of the
same birth or death certificate or abstract requested at the
same time
shall include a $1 surcharge. The secretary shall not charge any
fee for a
certified copy of a certificate or abstract or for a search
of the files or
records if the certificate, abstract or search is requested
by a person who
exhibits correspondence from the United States veterans
administration
department of veterans affairs or the Kansas commission on
veterans'
affairs which indicates that the person is applying for benefits
from the
United States veterans administration
department of veterans affairs and
that such person needs the requested information to obtain such
benefits,
except that, for a second or subsequent certified
copy of a certificate,
abstract or search of the files requested by the person, the
usual fee shall
be charged. The secretary may provide by rules and regulations for
ex-
emptions from such fees.
(b) Subject to K.S.A. 65-2420, and
amendments thereto, the national
office of vital statistics may be furnished copies or data it
requires for
national statistics. The state shall be reimbursed for the cost of
furnishing
the data. The data shall not be used for other than statistical
purposes by
the national office of vital statistics unless so authorized by the
state reg-
istrar of vital statistics.
(c) (1) The secretary shall remit
all moneys received by or for the
secretary from fees, charges or penalties to the state treasurer in
accord-
ance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments
thereto.
Upon receipt of each such remittance, other than remittances for
fees
for birth certificates or abstracts, the state treasurer
shall deposit the
entire amount in the state treasury to the credit of the state
general fund.
(2) Upon receipt of any such remittance
of a fee for a birth certificate
or abstract, $3 of each such fee for the first copy of a
birth certificate or
abstract and $1 of each such fee for each additional copy of
the same
birth certificate or abstract requested at the same time
shall be remitted
to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A.
75-4215,
and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the
state
treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to
the credit
of the permanent families account of the family and children
investment
fund created by K.S.A. 38-1808, and amendments thereto. Upon
receipt
of any such remittance of a fee for a death certificate or
abstract, $3 of
each such fee for the first copy of a death certificate or
abstract and $1
of each such fee for each additional copy of the same death
certificate or
abstract requested at the same time shall be remitted to the
state trea-
surer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and
amend-
ments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the state
treasurer
shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the credit
of the
district coroners fund created by K.S.A. 22a-245, and
amendments
thereto. The balance of the money received for a fee for a birth
certificate
or abstract shall be remitted to the state treasurer in
accordance with the
provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt
of
each such remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire
amount
in the state treasury to the credit of the state general fund.
(d) Upon receipt of any fee for a
certified copy or abstract of a birth,
death, fetal death, marriage or divorce certificate, $1 of each
such fee shall
be remitted to the state treasurer who shall deposit the entire
amount of
each such remittance in the state treasury and credit it to the
vital statis-
tics maintenance fee fund created under K.S.A. 2001 Supp.
65-2418b, and
amendments thereto. For the purposes of the vital statistics
maintenance
fee fund, the secretary of health and environment shall adopt
rules and
regulations providing for an increase of $1 in the fees charged
by the state
registrar for providing a certified copy or abstract of a birth,
death, fetal
death, marriage or divorce certificate.
Sec. 4. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 65-2422d
is hereby amended to read as
follows: 65-2422d. (a) The records and files of the division of
health per-
taining to vital statistics shall be open to inspection, subject to
the pro-
visions of this act and rules and regulations of the secretary. It
shall be
unlawful for any officer or employee of the state to disclose data
contained
in vital statistical records, except as authorized by this act and
the secre-
tary, and it shall be unlawful for anyone who possesses, stores or
in any
way handles vital statistics records under contract with the state
to disclose
any data contained in the records, except as authorized by law.
(b) No information concerning the birth
of a child shall be disclosed
in a manner that enables determination that the child was born out
of
wedlock, except upon order of a court in a case where the
information is
necessary for the determination of personal or property rights and
then
only for that purpose.
(c) The state registrar shall not permit
inspection of the records or
issue a certified copy or abstract of a certificate or part
thereof unless the
state registrar is satisfied the applicant therefor has a direct
interest in
the matter recorded and the information contained in the record is
nec-
essary for the determination of personal or property rights. The
state
registrar's decision shall be subject, however, to review by the
secretary
or by a court in accordance with the act for judicial review and
civil
enforcement of agency actions, subject to the limitations of this
section.
(d) The secretary shall permit the use of
data contained in vital sta-
tistical records for research purposes only, but no identifying use
of them
shall be made.
(e) Subject to the provisions of this
section the secretary may direct
the state registrar to release birth, death and stillbirth
certificate data to
federal, state or municipal agencies.
(f) On or before the 20th day of each
month, the state registrar shall
furnish to the county election officer of each county, without
charge, a
list of deceased residents of the county who were at least 18 years
of age
and for whom death certificates have been filed in the office of
the state
registrar during the preceding calendar month. The list shall
include the
name, age or date of birth, address and date of death of each of
the
deceased persons and shall be used solely by the election officer
for the
purpose of correcting records of their offices.
(g) No person shall prepare or issue any
certificate which purports to
be an original, certified copy or abstract or copy of a
certificate of birth,
death or fetal death, except as authorized in this act or rules and
regu-
lations adopted under this act.
(h) Records of births, deaths or
marriages which are not in the cus-
tody of the secretary of health and environment and which were
created
before July 1, 1911, pursuant to chapter 129 of the 1885 Session
Laws of
Kansas, and any copies of such records, shall be open to inspection
by
any person and the provisions of this section shall not apply to
such re-
cords.
(i) Social security numbers furnished
pursuant to K.S.A. 65-2409 65-
2409a and amendments thereto shall only be used as permitted
by title
IV-D of the federal social security act and amendments thereto or
as
permitted by section 7(a) of the federal privacy act of 1974 and
amend-
ments thereto. The secretary shall make social security numbers
fur-
nished pursuant to K.S.A. 65-2409 65-2409a
and amendments thereto
available to the department of social and rehabilitation services
for pur-
poses permitted under title IV-D of the federal social security
act.
(j) Fact of death information may be
disseminated to state and federal
agencies administering benefit programs. Such information shall be
used
for file clearance purposes only.
Sec. 5. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 65-2423
is hereby amended to read as
follows: 65-2423. (a) In cases of adoption the state registrar upon
receipt
of a certified decree of adoption, or a similar document or
documents
which evidences finalization of the adoption in the foreign
country, and
the report of adoption form shall prepare a supplementary
certificate or
abstract in the new name of the adopted person and seal and
file the
original certificate of birth with such certified copy or
abstract attached
thereto. Such sealed documents may be opened by the state registrar
only
upon the demand of the adopted person if of legal age or by an
order of
court. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a court order of
annulment of
adoption the state registrar shall restore the original certificate
to its orig-
inal place in the files.
(b) For any child born in a foreign
country but adopted in Kansas or
born and adopted in a foreign country and such adoption is filed
and
entered pursuant to K.S.A. 59-2144, and amendments thereto, the
state
registrar, upon request, shall complete and register a birth
certificate
upon receipt of a certified copy of the decree of adoption, or a
similar
document or documents which evidences finalization of the adoption
in
the foreign country, the report of adoption form and proof of the
date
and place of the child's birth. The certificate shall show the new
name of
the child as specified in the decree of adoption, or a similar
document or
documents which evidences finalization of the adoption in the
foreign
country, and such further information concerning the adopting
parents
as may be necessary to complete the birth certificate. The
certificate shall
show the true country of birth and the date of birth of the child,
and that
the certificate is not evidence of United States citizenship.
Sec. 6. K.S.A. 65-2434 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 65-
2434. (1) Any person who willfully makes or alters any certificate
or,
certified copy thereof or abstract provided for in this act,
except in ac-
cordance with the provisions of this act, shall be fined
not more than
$1,000, or be imprisoned not exceeding six months, or both
fined and
imprisoned guilty of a class B
misdemeanor.
(2) Any person who knowingly transports
or accepts for transporta-
tion, a dead body located in this state to a location outside the
boundaries
of this state without an accompanying permit issued in accordance
with
the provisions of K.S.A. 65-2428a, shall be fined not more
than $500
guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
(3) Except where a different penalty is
provided in this section, any
person who violates any of the provisions of this act or neglects
or refuses
to perform any of the duties imposed upon such person by this act,
shall
be fined not more than $100 $200.
Sec. 7. K.S.A. 23-110, 65-2417 and 65-2434 and
K.S.A. 2001 Supp.
65-2418, 65-2418a, 65-2422d and 65-2423 are hereby repealed.
Sec. 8. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the Kansas register.
Approved May 17, 2002.
Published in the Kansas Register May 23, 2002.
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