GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 844

Short Title:  Amend Vital Records Law.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Barbee; McMahan and Buchanan.

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Referred to:  State Government.

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April 12, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE VITAL RECORDS LAW.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 130A-26 is repealed.
Sec. 2.  Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new section to read:
"§ 130A-26A.  Violations of Article 4.
(a)	A person who commits any of the following acts shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor:
(1)	Willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in a certificate, record, or report required by Article 4 of this Chapter;
(2)	Removes or permits the removal of a dead body of a human being without authorization provided in Article 4 of this Chapter;
(3)	Refuses or fails to furnish correctly any information in the person's possession or furnishes false information affecting a certificate or record required by Article 4 of this Chapter;
(4)	Fails, neglects, or refuses to perform any act or duty required by Article 4 of this Chapter or by the instructions of the State Registrar prepared under authority of the Article.
(5)	Charges a fee for performing any act or duty required by Article 4 of this Chapter or by the State Registrar pursuant to Article 4 of this Chapter, other than fees specifically authorized by law.
(b)	A person who commits any of the following acts shall be guilty of a Class I felony:
(1)	Willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in an application for a certified copy of a vital record, or who willfully and knowingly supplies false information intending that the information be used in the obtaining of any copy of a vital record;
(2)	Without lawful authority and with the intent to deceive makes, counterfeits, alters, amends, or mutilates a certificate, record, or report required by Article 4 of this Chapter or a certified copy of the certificate, record, or report;
(3)	Willfully and knowingly obtains, possesses, sells, furnishes, uses, or attempts to use for any purpose of deception, a certificate, record, or report required by Article 4 of this Chapter or a certified copy of the certificate, record, or report, which is counterfeited, altered, amended, or mutilated, or which is false in whole or in part or which relates to the birth of another person, whether living or deceased;
(4)	When employed by the Vital Records Section of the Department or designated under Article 4 of this Chapter, willfully and knowingly furnishes or processes a certificate of birth, death, marriage, or divorce, or certified copy of a certificate of birth, death, marriage, or divorce with the knowledge or intention that it be used for the purposes of deception;
(5)	Without lawful authority possesses a certificate, record, or report required by Article 4 of this Chapter or a certified copy of the certificate, record, or report knowing that it was stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained;
(6)	Willfully alters, except as provided by G.S. 130A-118, or falsifies a certificate or record required by Article 4 of this Chapter; or willfully alters, falsifies, or changes a photocopy, certified copy, extract copy, or any document containing information obtained from an original or copy of a certificate or record required by Article 4 of this Chapter; or willfully makes, creates, or uses any altered, falsified or changed record, reproduction, copy or document for the purpose of attempting to prove or establish for any purpose whatsoever any matter purported to be shown on it;
(7)	Without lawful authority, manufactures or possesses the seal of:  (i) the Vital Records Section, (ii) a county register of deeds, or (iii) a county health department, or without lawful authority, manufactures or possesses a reproduction or a counterfeit copy of the seal;
(8)	Without lawful authority prepares or issues any certificate which purports to be an official certified copy of a vital record;
(9)	Without lawful authority, manufactures or possesses Vital Records Section, county register of deeds, or county health department vital records forms or safety paper used to certify births, deaths, marriages, and divorces, or reproductions or counterfeit copies of the forms or safety paper; or
(10)	Willfully and knowingly furnishes a certificate of birth or certified copy of a record of birth with the intention that it be used by an unauthorized person or for an unauthorized purpose."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 130A-101 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A-101.  Birth registration.
(a)	A certificate of birth for each live birth, regardless of the gestation period, which occurs in this State shall be filed with the local registrar of the county in which the birth occurs within five days after the birth and shall be registered by the registrar if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this Article and the rules.
(b)	When a birth occurs in a hospital or other medical facility, the person in charge of the facility shall obtain the personal data, prepare the certificate, secure the signatures required by the certificate and file it with the local registrar within five days after the birth.  The physician or other person in attendance shall provide the medical information required by the certificate. 
(c)	When a birth occurs outside a hospital or other medical facility, the certificate shall be prepared and filed by one of the following in the indicated order of priority:
(1)	The physician in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in the absence of such a person;
(2)	Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in the absence of such a person;
(3)	The father, the mother or, in the absence or inability of the father and the mother, the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred.
(d)	When a birth occurs on a moving conveyance and the child is first moved from the conveyance in this State, the birth shall be registered in the county where the child is first removed from the conveyance, and that place shall be considered the place of birth.
(e)	If the mother was married at the time of either conception or birth, or between conception and birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on the certificate as the father of the child, unless paternity has been otherwise determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of the father as determined by the court shall be entered.  
(f)	If the mother was unmarried at all times from date of conception through date of birth, the name of the father shall not be entered on the certificate unless the child's mother and father complete an affidavit acknowledging paternity which contains the following:
(1)	A sworn statement by the mother consenting to the assertion of paternity by the father and declaring that the father is the child's natural father;
(2)	A sworn statement by the father declaring that he believes he is the natural father of the child;
(3)	Information explaining in plain language the effect of signing the affidavit, including a statement of parental rights and responsibilities and an acknowledgment of the receipt of this information; and
(4)	The social security numbers of both parents.
The State Registrar, in consultation with the Child Support Enforcement Section of the Division of Social Services, shall develop and disseminate a form affidavit for use in compliance with this section, together with an information sheet that contains all the information required to be disclosed by subdivision (3) of this subsection.
Upon the execution of the affidavit, the declaring father shall be listed as the father on the birth certificate and shall be presumed to be the natural father of the child.  The executed affidavit shall be filed with the registrar along with the birth certificate.  A certified copy of the affidavit shall be admissible in any action to establish paternity.  The presumption of paternity arising under this section may be rebutted in a legal action only by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence.  
The execution and filing of this affidavit with the registrar does not affect rights of inheritance unless the affidavit is also filed with the clerk of court in accordance with G.S. 29-19(b)(2).
(g)	Each parent shall provide his or her social security number to the person responsible for preparing and filing the certificate of birth."
Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1995.