HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
991 |
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE DISCLOSURE OF VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The purpose
of this Act is to:
(1) Enable the department of health to disclose
vital statistics records for public health and law enforcement purposes; and
(2) Update the categories of those who are able to
access otherwise confidential vital statistics records.
SECTION 2.
Section 338-18, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§338-18 Disclosure of records. (a) To
protect the integrity of vital statistics records, to ensure their proper use,
and to ensure the efficient and proper administration of the vital statistics
system, it shall be unlawful for any person to permit inspection of, or to
disclose information contained in vital statistics records, or to copy or issue
a copy of all or part of any such record, except as authorized by this part or
[by] in a manner consistent with rules adopted by the department
of health.
(b) The department shall not permit inspection of public health statistics records, or issue a certified copy of any such record or part thereof, unless it is satisfied that the applicant has a direct and tangible interest in the record. The following persons or agencies shall be considered to have a direct and tangible interest in a public health statistics record:
(1) The registrant;
(2) The spouse of the registrant;
(3) A parent of the registrant;
(4) A descendant of the registrant;
(5) A person having a common ancestor with the registrant;
(6) A legal guardian of the registrant;
(7) A person or agency acting on behalf of the registrant;
(8) A personal representative of the registrant's estate;
(9) A person whose right to inspect or obtain a certified copy of the record is established by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction;
(10) Adoptive parents who have filed a petition for adoption and who need to determine the death of one or more of the prospective adopted child's natural or legal parents;
(11) A person who needs to determine the marital status of a former spouse in order to determine the payment of alimony;
(12) A person or
agency who needs to determine the death of a [nonrelated] co-owner
of property; [purchased under a joint tenancy agreement; and
(13) A person who
needs a death certificate for the determination of payments under a credit
insurance policy.]
(13) A person or agency
who needs vital statistics records for a public health purpose, as reviewed by
the department institutional review committee and approved by the director of health;
and
(14) A government
law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in the State that needs vital
statistics records for a law enforcement purpose.
(c) The department may permit the use [[]of[]]
the data contained in public health [statistical] statistics records
for research purposes only, but no identifying use thereof shall be made. For the purposes of this section, research
purposes shall be limited to those that have been reviewed by the department institutional
review committee and approved by the department's institutional review
committee and director of health.
[(d) Index data consisting of name and sex of the
registrant, type of vital event, and such other data as the director may
authorize shall be made available to the public.
(e)] (d) The department may permit persons working on
genealogy projects access to microfilm or other copies of vital records of
events that occurred more than seventy-five years prior to the current year.
[(f) Subject to this section, the department may
direct its local agents to make a return upon filing of birth, death, and fetal
death certificates with them, of certain data shown to federal, state,
territorial, county, or municipal agencies. Payment by these agencies for these services
may be made as the department shall direct.
(g)] (e) The department shall not issue a verification
in lieu of a certified copy of any such record, or any part thereof, unless it
is satisfied that the applicant requesting a verification is:
(1) A person who has a direct and tangible interest in the record but requests a verification in lieu of a certified copy;
(2) A [governmental]
government agency that, for a legitimate government purpose, maintains
and needs to update official lists of persons in the ordinary course of the agency's
activities. Notwithstanding other
provisions of this section, upon request from a [governmental] government
agency of the State [of Hawaii] or its political subdivisions, the
department may further disclose to that [governmental] government
agency the date of the vital event that has been verified;
(3) A [governmental
agency, or] government, private, social, or educational agency or
organization that seeks confirmation of a certified copy of any such record
submitted in support of or information provided about a vital event relating to
any such record and contained in an official application made in the ordinary
course of the agency's or organization's activities by an individual seeking
employment with, entrance to, or the services or products of the agency or
organization;
(4) A private or government attorney who seeks to confirm information about a vital event relating to any such record that was acquired during the course of or for purposes of legal proceedings; or
(5) An individual
employed, endorsed, or sponsored by a [governmental agency, or] government,
private, social, or educational agency or organization who seeks to confirm
information about a vital event relating to preparation of reports or
publications by the agency or organization for research or educational
purposes.
SECTION 3. Section 338-18.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.
["[§338-18.5] Sharing of vital statistics records with
department of health program employees for approved research purposes. (a) Notwithstanding section 338-18, the
department may disclose public health statistics records to persons who are employed
by department of health programs, acting within the scope of their employment,
who need to use a public health statistics record for research purposes, as
approved by the department of health's institutional review committee. Upon the institutional review committee's
approval, the department may disclose the following to department employees as
specified in this section:
(1) Names,
addresses, and contact information in the record for the purpose of contacting
persons identified in the record to request informed consent to use additional
specified information in the record.
Upon confirmation of informed consent, the additional specified
information in the record may be disclosed and used for approved research
purposes; and
(2) Information in
the record as approved by the institutional review committee without informed
consent of persons identified in the record; provided that the institutional
review committee:
(A) Identifies
the information in the record for which disclosure is sought;
(B) Determines
that obtaining informed consent is not practicable; and
(C) Determines
that there is a public health purpose for the approved research that
substantially outweighs the confidentiality interest of persons identified
in the record.
(c) Requirements for informed consent shall be
determined by the department's institutional review committee as part of its
approval of the research purposes for which the information in the record will
be disclosed and used.
(d) Information disclosed pursuant to this section
may only be re-disclosed:
(1) With
authorization from the institutional review committee; or
(2) If the record
has been redacted of identifying personal information.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "department"
means the department of health."]
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed
and stricken. New statutory material is
underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2060.
Report Title:
Vital Statistics Records; Disclosure; Public Health and Law Enforcement Purposes
Description:
Authorizes the department of health to disclose vital statistics records for public health and law enforcement purposes. Updates eligibility requirements for access to confidential vital statistics records. Effective 7/1/2060. (HD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.