2017 -- H 5929

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LC000351

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - BIRTH CERTIFICATES

     Introduced By: Representatives McEntee, Craven, Tanzi, and Ruggiero

     Date Introduced: March 16, 2017

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 23-3-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-3 entitled "Vital

Records" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     23-3-10. Birth registration.

     (a) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be filed with

the state registrar of vital records, or as otherwise directed by the state registrar, within four (4)

days after that birth.

     (b) When a birth occurs in an institution, the person in charge of the institution, or his or

her designated representative, shall obtain the personal data; prepare the certificate; secure the

signatures required by the certificate; and file it with the state registrar of vital records, or as

otherwise directed by the state registrar. The physician and/or midwife in attendance, or his or her

authorized designee as defined in department regulations, shall certify to the facts of birth and

provide the medical information required by the certificate within three (3) days after the birth.

     (c) When a birth occurs outside an institution, 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 a

physician;

     (2) Any other person in attendance at, or immediately after, the birth, or in the absence of

any person in attendance at or immediately after the birth;

     (3) The father, the mother, or, in the absence of the father and the inability of the mother,

the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred.

     (4) When a birth occurs in a moving conveyance, the place of birth shall be that address

in the city or town where the child is first removed from the conveyance.

     (d) (1) If the mother was married either at the time of conception or birth, the name of the

husband shall be entered on the certificate as the father of the child unless paternity has been

determined otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of the father as

determined by the court shall be entered.

     (2) If the mother was not married either at the time of conception or birth, the child shall

bear the mother's surname and the name of the father shall not be entered on the certificate of

birth without the written consent of the mother and the person to be named as the father unless a

determination of paternity has been made by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the

name of the father as determined by the court shall be entered on the birth certificate.

     (3) If the mother is in a same sex relationship at the time of either conception or birth, or

between conception and birth, the name of the parenting partner, with the mother's written

consent, shall be entered on the birth certificate as a parent of the child, unless parentage has been

otherwise determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. The child's surname shall be

determined by the mother.

     (e) The state registrar shall not decline to register and/or issue any birth certificate or

certified copy of any birth certificate on the grounds that medical or health information collected

for statistical purposes has not been supplied.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - BIRTH CERTIFICATES

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     This act would permit a parenting partner of a mother, with the mother's written consent,

to be included on a birth certificate as a parent to the child.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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