23.0079.01000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly HOUSE BILL NO. 1139
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Representatives Satrom, S. Olson, Schauer, Strinden
Senators Clemens, Conley, Rust
1 A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact sections 23-02.1-01, 23-02.1-13, and 23-02.1-15 of the
2 North Dakota Century Code, relating to required elements of birth records.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
4 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 23-02.1-01 of the North Dakota Century Code is
5 amended and reenacted as follows:
6 23-02.1-01. Definitions.
7 As used in this chapter:
8 1. "Authorized representative" means a person that has the legal authority to act on
9 behalf of the person named on a record, including a personal representative or
10 guardian.
11 2. "Birth record" means a record reporting a live birth which includes the biological sex
12 designation, which must be either male or female and may not be nonbinary or any
13 symbol representing a nonbinary designation.
14 3. "Certified" means a copy of the original record on file with the department of health
15 and human services which is signed and sealed by the state registrar or deputy state
16 registrar.
17 3.4. "Dead body" means a lifeless human body or parts of such body or bones thereof from
18 the state of which it may reasonably be concluded that death recently occurred.
19 4.5. "Electronic birth registration system" means the electronic birth registration system
20 maintained by the department of health and human services.
21 5.6. "Electronic death registration system" means the electronic death registration system
22 maintained by the department of health and human services.
23 6.7. "Facts of death" means the demographic and personal information pertaining to an
24 individual's death.
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1 7.8. "Fetal death" or "birth resulting in stillbirth" means death occurring before the complete
2 expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception. The death is
3 indicated by the fact that after such expulsion or extraction the fetus does not breathe
4 or show any evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical
5 cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles.
6 8.9. "Filing" means the presentation of a record, report, or other information provided for in
7 this chapter of a birth, death, fetal death, adoption, marriage, divorce, or other event
8 as specified by the state health officer for registration by the state registrar.
9 9.10. "Final disposition" means the entombment, burial, interment, cremation, whole-body
10 donation to a school of medicine, removal from the state, or other disposition of a dead
11 body or fetus.
12 10.11. "Health statistics" means data derived from records of birth, death, fetal death,
13 marriage, divorce, or other records relating to the health of the populace or the state of
14 the environment.
15 11.12. "Institution" means any establishment, public or private, which provides inpatient
16 medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or treatment, or nursing, custodial, or domiciliary
17 care to two or more individuals unrelated by blood, or to which individuals are
18 committed by law.
19 12.13. "Live birth" means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of
20 human conception, irrespectiveregardless of the duration of pregnancy, which after
21 such expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as
22 beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary
23 muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached.
24 13.14. "Medical certification" means the medical information pertaining to an individual's
25 death, including the cause and manner of death.
26 14.15. "Miscarriage of birth" means the expulsion of a fetus from the womb, spontaneously or
27 as a result of an accident, before twenty weeks gestation.
28 15.16. "Personal or real property interests" means ownership or other legal rights or duties
29 concerning personal or real property.
30 16.17. "Physician" means an individual authorized or licensed to practice medicine or
31 osteopathy under chapter 43-17.
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1 17.18. "Registration" means the acceptance by the state registrar and incorporation into
2 official records, reports, or other records provided for in this chapter, of birth, death,
3 fetal death, marriage, divorce, or other records as may be determined by the state
4 health officer.
5 18.19. "Relative" means an individual's current or surviving spouse, a parent or legal
6 guardian, a child, a grandparent, or a grandchild. The state registrar may require proof
7 of the relationship.
8 19.20. "Subregistrar" means a funeral practitioner or other suitable individual from a licensed
9 funeral home who is appointed by the state registrar for the purpose of issuing final
10 disposition-transit permits.
11 20.21. "System of health statistics tabulation and analysis" includes the tabulation, analysis,
12 and presentation or publication of statistical data derived from health statistics.
13 21.22. "System of vital records registration" includes the registration, collection, preservation,
14 amendment, and certification of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, or other
15 records as may be determined necessary by the state health officer or the state health
16 officer's designee.
17 SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 23-02.1-13 of the North Dakota Century Code is
18 amended and reenacted as follows:
19 23-02.1-13. Birth registration.
20 1. A birth record for each live birth that occurs in this state must be filed with the state
21 registrar.
22 2. WhenIf a birth occurs in an institution, the person in charge of the institution or a
23 designated representative mustshall use the department of health and human
24 services' electronic birth registration system to report the birth, including all personal
25 and medical facts, to the state registrar within five days after the birth.
26 3. WhenIf a birth occurs outside an institution, the required forms prescribed by the
27 department of health and human services must be prepared and filed with the state
28 registrar, within thirty days of the birth by one of the following in the indicated order of
29 priority:
30 a. The physician in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in the absence of
31 such an individual;
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1 b. Any other individual in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in the
2 absence of such an individual; or
3 c. The father, the mother, or in the absence of the father and the inability of the
4 mother, the individual in charge of the premises where the birth occurred.
5 4. If a man and the mother are or have been married or have attempted to marry each
6 other in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be
7 declared invalid, and the child is born during the marriage or attempted marriage, or
8 within three hundred days after the termination of cohabitation or after the marriage or
9 attempted marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or
10 divorce, or after a decree of separation is entered by a court, the name of the man
11 must be entered on the birth record as the father of the child unless the presumption of
12 paternity has been rebutted by a court decree.
13 5. If the child is not born during the marriage of the mother, or within three hundred days
14 after a marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce,
15 or after a decree of separation is entered by a court, the name of the father may not
16 be entered on the birth record unless:
17 a. After the child's birth, the father and the child's natural mother have married, or
18 attempted to marry, each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance
19 with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and:
20 (1) He has acknowledged his paternity of the child in writing filed with the state
21 registrar; or
22 (2) He is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by
23 court order;
24 b. After the child's birth, the child's natural mother and the father voluntarily
25 acknowledge the child's paternity on a form prescribed by the department of
26 health and human services, signed by the child's natural mother and biological
27 father, and filed with the state registrar; or
28 c. A court or other entity of competent jurisdiction has adjudicated paternity.
29 6. If, in accordance with subsections 4 and 5, the name of the father of the child is not
30 entered on the birth record, the child's surname must be shown on the birth record as
31 the current legal surname of the mother at the time of birth unless an affidavit or an
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1 acknowledgment of paternity signed by both parents is filed with the department of
2 health and human services.
3 SECTION 3. AMENDMENT. Section 23-02.1-15 of the North Dakota Century Code is
4 amended and reenacted as follows:
5 23-02.1-15. Delayed registration of birth.
6 1. WhenIf the birth of an individual born in this state has not been registered, a birth
7 record may be filed in accordance with the regulations of the department of health and
8 human services. SuchThe birth record must be registered subject to such evidentiary
9 requirements as the department of health and human services shall prescribe to
10 substantiate the alleged facts of birth.
11 2. Records ofA birth record registered one year or more after the date of occurrence
12 must be marked "delayed" and show on the face of the birth record the date of
13 delayed registration.
14 3. A summary statement of the evidence submitted in support of the delayed registration
15 must be endorsed on the birth record.
16 4. a. WhenIf an applicant does not submit the minimum documentation required in the
17 regulations for delayed registration or when the state registrar finds reason to
18 question the validity or adequacy of the birth record or documentary evidence,
19 the state registrar may not register the delayed birth record and shall advise the
20 applicant of the reasons for this action. In the event thatIf the deficiencies are not
21 corrected, the state registrar shall advise the applicant of the right of appeal to a
22 court of competent jurisdiction for a judicial determination of the birth facts.
23 b. The department of health and human services may by regulation may provide for
24 the dismissal of an application that is more than one year old and is not being
25 actively pursued.
26 5. A report of live birth may not be registered for a deceased individual one year or more
27 after that individual's date of birth.
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Statutes affected:
INTRODUCED: 23-02.1-01, 23-02.1-13, 23-02.1-15
FIRST ENGROSSMENT: 23-02.1-01, 23-02.1-13, 23-02.1-15
Enrollment: 23-02.1-01, 23-02.1-13, 23-02.1-15