Office of Sen.

Mike Johnston
Colorado General Assembly | 200 E. Colfax Avenue | Denver, CO 80203 | 303.866.4864

FACT SHEET MEMORANDUM

HB 12-1041 Electronic Death Registration System Rep. Labuda & Sen. Guzman Staff Name: Gaby Corica & John Feeney-Coyle What the Bill Does: Under current law, death certificates must be filed with the State Registrar within five days of the death. The proposed legislation directs the Department of Public Health and Environment to create an electronic death registration system to allow persons responsible for reporting death information to the Office of the State Registrar of Vital Statistics to do so electronically.1 The legislation appropriates $743,940 to implement and maintain that electronic system. Colorado Context: The proposed system is an alternative to the current paper-based system that relies on the hand delivery of death certificates to required locations, and that requires families to travel to the county in which a death occurs for purposes of obtaining copies of death certificates.2 The average family purchases six death certificates.3 With the implementation of H.B. 12-1041, citizens will be able to access state death records online and order death certificates via Internet instead of visited the appropriate county offices. Because this bill moves death information to an electronic format, local governments could see a reduction in expenses associated with office space and staff time currently associated with the paper-based death certificate system.4 National Context: In the Rocky Mountain region alone Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, and Kansas have all implemented electronic death registry systems.5 Most states are following suit. In 2001, the Social Security Administration began providing states with an average of $500,000 each to help them move to an electronic death registry system.6 As a result, 31 percent of the 2.4 million annual deaths in the United States are now registered electronically.7
1

The registration system will not be available to the public, only to authorized individuals charged with reporting the information to the State Registrar. 2 Kirk Mlinek, Fiscal Note H.B. 12-1041 (Feb. 6, 2012) http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2012a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/ECF778E63DF9EA7887257981007F1A9C?Open&file=HB1041_r1. pdf. [hereinafter FN]. 3 Id. 4 Id. 5 Percentage of Completely Electronic Death Records Filed Using Electronic Death Registration System (last visited <ar. 9. 2012) www.idph.state.ia.us/apl/...records/deathreg/map_physicians.pdf 6 Burton Bollag, Death Reckoning (May 19, 2008) http://www.cns-inc.com/news/newsDetail.cfm?id=98&type=In%20The %20News. 7 Id.

DRAFT 4/2/2012 7:38 AM

For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.

Bill Provisions: The Department of Public Health and Environment shall create and the State Registrar shall use an electronic death registration system to collect death information from the following authorized individuals: o Funeral directors; o Coroners; o Physicians; o Local registrars; o Health facilities; and o Other authorized individuals. After two years, the Department shall report to the House Health and Environment Committee on the success of implementing and using the system. $743,940 shall be appropriated to fund the implementation and use of this electronic system as follows: o $665,000 for health statistics and the Vital Records Subdivisions operating expenses; and o $78,940 for the Information Technology Subdivision for the management and administration of the electronic system Fiscal Impact: Cash fund revenue to the Vital Records Cash Fund will increase by $488,000 in FY 2012-13 and $576,000 for FY 2013-14 based on an estimated number of death certificate requests. Death certificate fees will increase $3 for FYs 2012-13 and 2013-14. Cash fund expenditures will increase by $743,940 in FY 201213 and $553,940 in FY 2013-14 from the Vital Statistics Cash Fund to cover the implementation of the electronic system. House Votes: The legislation passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 64-1.

DRAFT 4/2/2012 7:38 AM

For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.