HB3060eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3060 Engrossed LRB100 11327 MJP 21702 b

AN ACT concerning health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Vital Records Act is amended by changing Section 1 and by adding Section 25.3 as follows:

(410 ILCS 535/1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-1)

Sec. 1. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Vital records" means records of births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, dissolution of marriages, and data related thereto.

(2) "System of vital records" includes the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of vital records, and activities related thereto.

(3) "Filing" means the presentation of a certificate, report, or other record provided for in this Act, of a birth, death, fetal death, adoption, marriage, or dissolution of marriage, for registration by the Office of Vital Records.

(4) "Registration" means the acceptance by the Office of Vital Records and the incorporation in its official records of certificates, reports, or other records provided for in this Act, of births, deaths, fetal deaths, adoptions, marriages, or dissolution of marriages.

(5) "Live birth" means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which after such separation breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached.

(6) "Fetal death" means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the death is indicated by the fact that after such separation the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles.

(7) "Dead body" means a lifeless human body or parts of such body or bones thereof from the state of which it may reasonably be concluded that death has occurred.

(8) "Final disposition" means the burial, cremation, or other disposition of a dead human body or fetus or parts thereof.

(9) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in Illinois or any other State.

(10) "Institution" means any establishment, public or private, which provides in-patient medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or treatment, or nursing, custodial, or domiciliary care to 2 or more unrelated individuals, or to which persons are committed by law.

(11) "Department" means the Department of Public Health of the State of Illinois.

(12) "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

(13) "Homeless person" has the same meaning as defined by Section 103 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 11302). "Homeless person" includes homeless children and youths as defined by 42 U.S.C. 11434a(2).

(Source: P.A. 81-230.)

(410 ILCS 535/25.3 new)

Sec. 25.3. Homeless person birth record request.

(a) For the purposes of this Section, an individual's status as a homeless person may be verified by a human services agency or individual, legal services agency or individual, or other similar agency or individual that has knowledge of the individual's housing status, including, but not limited to:

(1) a homeless service agency receiving federal, State, county, or municipal funding to provide those services or otherwise sanctioned by a local continuum of care;

(2) an attorney licensed to practice in the State;

(3) a public school homeless liaison or school social worker; or

(4) a human services provider funded by the State to serve homeless or runaway youth, individuals with mental illness, or individuals with addictions.

Individuals who are homeless must not be charged for this verification.

(b) Applicable fees under Section 25 of this Act for a search for a birth record or a certified copy of a birth record shall be waived for all requests made by a homeless person whose status is verified under subsection (a) of this Section.

The State Registrar of Vital Records shall establish standards and procedures consistent with this Section for waiver of such applicable fees, which shall include a record of the name and address of the individual and the name and address of the agency or individual providing verification of homelessness. Any falsification of this official record is subject to penalty.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.