HB 246 / SB 136

Present law requires the state office of vital records of the department of health to provide to the coordinator of elections a monthly, or more frequent, report of all persons 18 or older who have died in this state. The report must list the deaths by county with the names in alphabetical order, and must contain each decedent’s full name, last address, date and place of birth, and social security number.

HB 246 adds that the report must also contain the date of death and the date of report to the coordinator of elections. This bill provides that if the date of death for a decedent is not able to be provided, then the state office of vital records must clearly delineate the date of death as “UNKNOWN,” or otherwise use a standard and uniform designation to convey the same meaning, which can be quantified for reporting analysis.

This bill requires the date of death, or its standard and uniform designation if unknown, and the date of report to the coordinator of elections to be included in notifications and reports compiled or transmitted by the coordinator of elections and distributed to county election commissions under this bill. The county election commissions are then required to update the voter registration record to include the date of death, or its standard and uniform designation if unknown, the date of report to the coordinator of elections, the date received by the county election commission, and the source of the report.