(a) The second section of the certificate of live birth as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 102425, the electronic file of birth information collected pursuant to subparagraphs (B) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 102426, the birth mother linkage collected pursuant to Section 102425.2, and the second section of the certificate of fetal death as specified in Section 103025, are confidential. Access to the confidential portion of any certificate of live birth or fetal death, the electronic file of birth information collected pursuant to subparagraphs (B) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 102426, and the birth mother linkage collected pursuant to Section 102425.2 shall be limited to the following:

(1) Department staff.

(2) Local registrar’s staff and local health department staff when approved by the local registrar or local health officer, respectively.

(3) The county coroner.

(4) Persons with a valid scientific interest as determined by the State Registrar, who are engaged in demographic, epidemiological, or other similar studies related to health, and who agree to maintain confidentiality as prescribed by this part and by regulation of the State Registrar.

(5) The parent who signed the certificate or, if no parent signed the certificate, the mother.

(6) The person named on the certificate.

(7) A person who has petitioned to adopt the person named on the certificate of live birth, subject to § 102705 of the Health and Safety Code and Sections 9200 and 9203 of the Family Code.

(8) The following state government departments requesting the information for official government business purposes as deemed appropriate by the State Registrar, that agree to maintain confidentiality as prescribed by this part:

(A) The State Department of Public Health.

(B) The State Department of Health Care Services.

(C) The Department of Finance. This section shall not be construed as a limitation of the authority granted to the Department of Finance in Sections 13073 to 13073.5, inclusive, of the Government Code.

(D) The Scholarshare Investment Board, for the purpose of implementing the California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program pursuant to Article 19.5 (commencing with Section 69996) of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, as long as the California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program is operational and actively opening new KIDS accounts, as defined in subdivision (g) of § 69996.2 of the Education Code, for eligible children.

(E) The Department of Health Care Access and Information.

(9) The birth hospital responsible for preparing and submitting a record of the birth or fetal death for purposes of reviewing and correcting birth or fetal death records. The birth hospital shall not further disclose the information nor use the information for purposes other than allowed by this part.

(b) (1) The department shall maintain an accurate record of all persons who are given access to the confidential portion of the certificates. The record shall include all of the following:

(A) The name of the person authorizing access.

(B) The name, title, and organizational affiliation of persons given access.

(C) The dates of access.

(D) The specific purpose for which the information is to be used.

(2) The record of access shall be open to public inspection during normal operating hours of the department.

(c) All research proposed to be conducted using the confidential medical and social information on the birth certificate or fetal death certificate shall first be reviewed by the appropriate committee constituted for the protection of human subjects that is approved by the federal Department of Health and Human Services and has a general assurance pursuant to Part 46 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Information shall not be released until the request for information has been reviewed by the Vital Statistics Advisory Committee and the committee has recommended to the State Registrar that the information shall be released.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 577, Sec. 4. (AB 218) Effective January 1, 2022.)