Existing law charges the State Registrar of Vital Statistics with maintaining and preserving and each county health officer with collecting certain vital statistics, which is defined as records of births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, annulments, divorce and related information. (NRS 440.080, 440.110-440.260) Section 1 of this bill authorizes the State Registrar and each county health officer to record a diacritical mark used in the name of a person in the vital statistics of the State Registrar and county health officer. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue: (1) licenses to operate a motor vehicle or motorcycle, including, without limitation, instruction permits, commercial driver's licenses and motorcycle driver's licenses; (2) identification cards; and (3) driver authorization cards upon application, which must include, among other requirements, the full legal name of the applicant. (NRS 483.2521, 483.270, 483.280, 483.290, 483.291, 483.340, 483.360, 483.375, 483.830, 483.850, 483.860, 483.8605, 483.908, 486.081) Sections 2 and 5 of this bill provide that if the full legal name of an applicant for such a license, identification card or driver authorization card includes a diacritical mark, the Department may record the diacritical mark in the records of the Department and display the mark on any license, identification card or driver authorization card issued by the Department. Sections 1, 2 and 5 define “diacritical mark” as a mark in Latin script that is added or attached to a letter to indicate the pronunciation of the letter or word. Section 3 of this bill provides that the provisions of section 2 apply to commercial driver's licenses. Sections 4 and 6 of this bill apply the existing definitions in existing law to the provisions of sections 1, 2 and 5. Section 8 of this bill makes sections 2-7.5 of this bill effective upon the date on which the United States Social Security Administration authorizes the recording and display of diacritical marks on documents of the Social Security Administration or upon the date on which the Director of the Department notifies the Governor and the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau that the Department has sufficient funding to carry out the provisions of this bill, whichever is later. Section 8 also makes the provisions of section 1 effective 6 months after sections 2-7.5 become effective.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 483.015, 483.020, 486.011
Reprint 1: 483.015, 483.020, 486.011
BDR: 483.015, 483.020, 486.011