2005 Texas Health & Safety Code CHAPTER 191. ADMINISTRATION OF VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS

HEALTH & SAFETY CODE

TITLE 3. VITAL STATISTICS

CHAPTER 191. ADMINISTRATION OF VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS


	§ 191.001. DEFINITIONS.  In this title:                                     
		(1)  "Board" means the Texas Board of Health.                                 
		(2)  "Department" means the Texas Department of Health.                       

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.002. POWERS AND DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT.  (a) The 
department shall administer the registration of vital statistics.
	(b)  The department shall:                                                     
		(1)  establish a bureau of vital statistics with 
suitable offices that are properly equipped for the preservation of 
its official records; 
		(2)  establish a statewide system of vital statistics;                        
		(3)  provide instructions and prescribe forms for 
collecting, recording, transcribing, compiling, and preserving 
vital statistics; 
		(4)  require the enforcement of this title and rules 
adopted under this title; 
		(5)  prepare, print, and supply to local registrars 
forms for registering, recording, and preserving returns or 
otherwise carrying out the purposes of this title;  and
		(6)  propose legislation necessary for the purposes of 
this title.          
	(c)  The department may use birth records and provide those 
records on request to other state agencies for programs notifying 
mothers of young children about children's health needs.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.003. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD.  (a) The board 
shall:              
		(1)  adopt necessary rules for collecting, recording, 
transcribing, compiling, and preserving vital statistics; 
		(2)  supervise the bureau of vital statistics;  and                           
		(3)  appoint the director of the bureau of vital 
statistics.                
	(b)  In an emergency, the board may suspend any part of this 
title that hinders the uniform and efficient registration of vital 
events and may substitute emergency rules designed to expedite that 
registration under disaster conditions.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.004. STATE REGISTRAR.  (a) The director of the 
bureau of vital statistics is the state registrar of vital 
statistics.  The director must be a competent vital statistician.
	(b)  The state registrar shall prepare and issue detailed 
instructions necessary for the uniform observance of this title and 
the maintenance of a perfect system of registration.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.0045. FEES.  (a) The bureau of vital statistics may 
charge fees for providing services to the public and performing 
other activities in connection with maintenance of the vital 
statistics system, including:
		(1)  performing searches of birth, death, fetal death, 
marriage, divorce, annulment, and other records;
		(2)  preparing and issuing copies and certified copies 
of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, annulment, and 
other records;  and
		(3)  filing a record, amendment, or affidavit under 
this title.             
	(b)  The board by rule may prescribe a schedule of fees for 
vital statistics services.  The aggregate of the amounts of the fees 
may not exceed the cost of administering the vital statistics 
system.
	(c)  The bureau of vital statistics shall refund to an 
applicant any fee received for services that the bureau cannot 
perform.  If the money has been deposited to the credit of the vital 
statistics fund, the comptroller shall issue a warrant against the 
fund for refund of the payment on presentation of a claim signed by 
the state registrar.
	(d)  A local registrar or county clerk who issues a certified 
copy of a birth or death certificate shall charge the same fees as 
charged by the bureau of vital statistics, including the additional 
fee required under Subsection (e), except as provided by 
Subsections (g) and (h).
	(e)  In addition to fees collected by the bureau of vital 
statistics under Subsection (b), the bureau shall collect an 
additional $2 fee for each of the following:
		(1)  issuing a certified copy of a certificate of 
birth;                    
		(2)  issuing a wallet-sized certification of birth;  
and                    
		(3)  conducting a search for a certificate of birth.                          
	(f)  Repealed by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 263, § 5(1).                     
	(g)  A local registrar or county clerk that on March 31, 
1995, was charging a fee for the issuance of a certified copy of a 
birth certificate that exceeded the fee charged by the bureau of 
vital statistics for the same type of certificate may continue to do 
so but shall not raise this fee until the fee charged by the bureau 
exceeds the fee charged by the local registrar or county clerk.  A 
local registrar or county clerk to which this subsection applies 
shall charge the additional fee as required under Subsection (e).
	(h)  In addition to other fees collected under this section, 
a local registrar or county clerk may collect a fee not to exceed $1 
for the preservation of vital statistics records maintained by the 
registrar or county clerk, including birth, death, fetal death, 
marriage, divorce, and annulment records.  A fee under this section 
shall be collected by the registrar or county clerk on the issuance 
of a vital statistics record, including a record issued through a 
Remote Birth Access site.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, § 52, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.  
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 651, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 
1991;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 9.62, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 305, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 975, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003;  Acts 2005, 
79th Leg., ch. 263, § 5(1), eff. May 30, 2005;  Acts 2005, 79th 
Leg., ch. 400, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 191.0046. FEE EXEMPTIONS.  (a) On the request of a 
child's parent or guardian, the state registrar shall issue without 
fee a certificate necessary for admission to school or to secure 
employment.  The certificate shall be limited to a statement of the 
child's date of birth.  
	(b)  The state registrar shall issue without fee a certified 
copy of a record not otherwise prohibited by law to a veteran or to 
the veteran's widow, orphan, or other dependent if the copy is for 
use in settling a claim against the government.
	(c)  On court order, the state registrar may issue without 
fee a certified copy of a birth record in cases related to child 
labor or the public schools.
	(d)  The state registrar on request shall issue without a fee 
a copy of a birth or death record that is not certified to a child 
fatality review team or the child fatality review team committee 
established under Subchapter F, Chapter 264, Family Code.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept.1, 1989.  
Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 191.054 and 
amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, § 52, eff. Sept. 1, 
1991.  Amended by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 11, § 1, eff. May 3, 
2005.


	§ 191.005. VITAL STATISTICS FUND.  (a) The vital 
statistics fund is in the state treasury.  
	(b)  The legislature shall make appropriations to the 
department from the fund to be used to defray expenses incurred in 
the administration and enforcement of the system of vital 
statistics.
	(c)  All fees collected by the bureau of vital statistics 
shall be deposited to the credit of the vital statistics fund.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, § 53, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.


	§ 191.006. RECORDS OF PERSONS IN HOSPITALS AND 
INSTITUTIONS.  (a) This section applies to each public or private 
hospital, almshouse, or other institution to which persons are 
committed by process of law or voluntarily enter for treatment of 
disease or for confinement.
	(b)  When a person is admitted to the institution, the 
superintendent, manager, or other person in charge of the 
institution shall record, in the manner directed by the state 
registrar, the admitted person's personal and statistical data 
required by certificate forms under this title.  If the person is 
admitted for the treatment of disease, the physician in charge 
shall specify for the record the nature of the disease and where, in 
the physician's opinion, the disease was contracted.
	(c)  The personal information required under Subsection (b) 
shall be obtained:
		(1)  from the person admitted to the institution, if 
practicable;  or       
		(2)  from the person's relatives or friends or from 
other persons acquainted with the facts, in as complete a manner as 
possible, if the information cannot be obtained from the person 
admitted to the institution.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.007. REGULATION BY CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES.  The 
governing body of a Type A general-law municipality may:
		(1)  regulate the registration of marriages;  and                             
		(2)  direct the return and maintenance of bills of 
mortality.               

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.008. SORTING COLLECTED DATA.  (a) The department 
shall compile the information relating to births, deaths, and fetal 
deaths collected under this chapter and organize the results, to 
the extent possible, according to the following geographic areas:
		(1)  the Texas-Mexico border region;                                          
		(2)  each public health region;                                               
		(3)  rural areas;                                                             
		(4)  urban areas;                                                             
		(5)  each county;  and                                                        
		(6)  the state.                                                               
	(b)  The department may release the information relating to 
births, deaths, and fetal deaths in accordance with the way it is 
compiled under this section.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 1034, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.          

SUBCHAPTER B. RECORDS OF BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND FETAL DEATHS


	§ 191.021. REGISTRATION DISTRICTS.  (a) The state is 
divided into registration districts for the purposes of registering 
births, deaths, and fetal deaths.  The registration districts are:
		(1)  each justice of the peace precinct;  and                                 
		(2)  each municipality with a population of 2,500 or 
more.                  
	(b)  To facilitate registration, the board may combine or 
divide registration districts.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.022. LOCAL REGISTRARS.  (a) The justice of the 
peace is the local registrar of births and deaths in a justice of 
the peace precinct.  However, the duty of registering births and 
deaths may be transferred to the county clerk if the justice of the 
peace and the county clerk agree in writing and the agreement is 
ratified by the commissioners court.
	(b)  The municipal clerk or secretary is the local registrar 
of births and deaths in a municipality with a population of 2,500 or 
more.
	(c)  Each local registrar shall appoint a deputy registrar so 
that a registrar will be available at all times for the registration 
of births and deaths.
	(d)  The local registrar shall sign each report made to the 
bureau of vital statistics.
	(e)  If a local registrar fails or refuses to register each 
birth and death in the district or neglects duties under this title, 
the county judge or the mayor, as appropriate, shall appoint a new 
local registrar and shall send the name and mailing address of the 
appointee to the state registrar.
	(f)  A local registrar who collects a fee for a certified 
copy of a birth certificate shall deduct 20 cents of that fee to 
apply to the registrar's administrative costs and remit $1.80 of 
that fee to the comptroller.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 305, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 
2005, 79th Leg., ch. 263, § 1, eff. May 30, 2005.


	§ 191.023. CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL 
MAINTENANCE OF BIRTH AND DEATH RECORDS.  (a) The duties imposed by 
law relating to the maintenance of birth and death records of a 
municipality with a population of 2,500 or more may be transferred 
to the county in which the municipality is located, as provided by 
this section.
	(b)  If the commissioners court adopts a resolution to 
transfer the duties and the governing body of the municipality 
subsequently adopts a concurring resolution, the county and 
municipality shall agree on a timetable for the transfer and shall 
execute the transfer in an orderly fashion.
	(c)  Before a commissioners court may adopt a resolution 
under Subsection (b), the official to whom the duties would be 
transferred must attest in writing that the official has sufficient 
resources and finances to assume those duties.
	(d)  If the governing body of a municipality does not adopt a 
concurring resolution before the 91st day after the date on which a 
county adopts a resolution under Subsection (b), a petition by the 
qualified voters of the municipality may serve as the equivalent of 
a concurring resolution under Subsection (b).  The petition must 
succinctly describe the intention to consolidate county and 
municipal maintenance of birth and death records and must be signed 
by a number of qualified voters equal to at least 20 percent of the 
number of qualified voters voting in the most recent mayoral 
election.
	(e)  A consolidation under this section affects only the 
county and the municipality to which the resolutions apply.  This 
section does not affect the apportionment of registration districts 
under Section 191.021.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.024. REPORTS OF INFORMATION.  (a) On the state 
registrar's demand, a person, including a physician, midwife, or 
funeral director, who has information relating to a birth, death, 
or fetal death shall supply the information in person, by mail, or 
through the local registrar.  The person shall supply the 
information on a form provided by the department or on the original 
certificate.
	(b)  An organization or individual who has a record of births 
or deaths that may be useful to establish the genealogy of a 
resident of this state may file the record or a duly authenticated 
transcript of the record with the state registrar.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.025. RECORD BOOKS AND CERTIFICATES.  (a) Forms for 
the registration of births, deaths, and fetal deaths must be 
approved by the department.
	(b)  A municipality shall supply its local registrar, and 
each county shall supply the county clerk, with permanent record 
books for recording the births, deaths, and fetal deaths occurring 
in their respective jurisdictions.  The record books must be in 
forms approved by the state registrar.
	(c)  A local registrar shall supply forms of certificates to 
persons who need them.  The board shall establish and promulgate 
rules for strict accountability of birth certificates to prevent 
birth certificate fraud.
	(d)  Information required on a certificate must be written 
legibly in durable blue or black ink or may be filed and registered 
by photographic, electronic, or other means as prescribed by the 
state registrar.
	(e)  A certificate must contain each item of information 
required on the certificate or a satisfactory reason for omitting 
the item.
	(f)  The department shall require that the form for the 
registration of deaths must include the question, "Was the decedent 
a peace officer or an honorably retired peace officer in this 
state?".

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 15, § 5.14, eff. Sept. 1, 
1991;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 17, § 1, eff. April 25, 1997;  
Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 476, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2001;  Acts 
2005, 79th Leg., ch. 744, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 191.026. LOCAL RECORDS.  (a) The local registrar shall 
secure a complete record of each birth, death, and fetal death that 
occurs in the local registrar's jurisdiction.
	(b)  The local registrar shall consecutively number birth 
and death certificates in separate series, beginning with the 
number "1" for the first birth and the first death in each calendar 
year.  The local registrar shall sign each certificate to attest to 
the date the certificate is filed in the local registrar's office.
	(c)  The local registrar shall copy in the record book 
required under Section 191.025 each certificate that the local 
registrar registers, unless the local registrar keeps duplicates 
under Subsection (d) or makes photographic duplications as 
authorized by Chapter 181 or 201, Local Government Code.  Except as 
provided by Subsection (e), the copies shall be permanently 
preserved in the local registrar's office as the local record, in 
the manner directed by the state registrar.
	(d)  The local registrar may permanently bind duplicate 
reports of births and deaths, if the duplicates are required by 
local ordinance, and index them in the manner that the state 
registrar indexes records under Section 191.032.
	(e)  The local registrar may, after the first anniversary of 
the date of registration of a birth, death, or fetal death, destroy 
the permanent record of the birth, death, or fetal death maintained 
by the local registrar if:
		(1)  the local registrar has access to electronic 
records of births, deaths, and fetal deaths maintained by the 
bureau of vital statistics;  and
		(2)  before destroying the records, the local registrar 
certifies to the state registrar that each record maintained by the 
local office that is to be destroyed has been verified against the 
records contained in the bureau's database and that each record is 
included in the database or otherwise accounted for.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1997, 74th Leg., ch. 17, § 2, eff. April 25, 1997.


	§ 191.027. REVIEW OF CERTIFICATE BY LOCAL REGISTRAR.  (a) 
The local registrar shall carefully examine each birth or death 
certificate when presented for registration to determine if it is 
completed as required by this title and by the state registrar's 
instructions.
	(b)  If a death certificate is incomplete or unsatisfactory, 
the local registrar shall call attention to the defects in the 
return.
	(c)  If a birth certificate is incomplete, the local 
registrar shall immediately notify the informant and require the 
informant to supply the missing information if it can be obtained.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.028. AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE.  (a) A record of a 
birth, death, or fetal death accepted by a local registrar for 
registration may not be changed except as provided by Subsection 
(b).
	(b)  An amending certificate may be filed to complete or 
correct a record that is incomplete or proved by satisfactory 
evidence to be inaccurate.  The amendment must be in a form 
prescribed by the department.  The amendment shall be attached to 
and become a part of the legal record of the birth, death, or fetal 
death if the amendment is accepted for filing, except as provided by 
Section 192.011(b).
	(c)  Repealed by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, § 54, eff. 
Sept. 1, 1991.  

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, § 54, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.


	§ 191.029. CERTIFICATES OR REPORT SENT TO STATE 
REGISTRAR.  On the 10th day of each month, the local registrar 
shall send to the state registrar:
		(1)  the original certificates that the local registrar 
registered during the preceding month;  or
		(2)  a report of no births or deaths on a card provided 
for that purpose if no births or deaths occurred during the 
preceding month.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.030. RECORDS FILED WITH COUNTY.  (a) Not later than 
the 10th day of each month, the local registrar shall file with the 
commissioners court or the county auditor, as appropriate, a copy 
of each birth, death, and fetal death certificate filed with the 
local registrar during the preceding month.
	(b)  Each copy must show the local registrar's file date and 
signature.      
	(c)  The copies shall be deposited in the county clerk's 
office.             
	(d)  This subsection does not apply in a municipality that 
has an ordinance requiring that a copy of each birth, death, and 
fetal death certificate be permanently filed in the office of the 
municipality's registrar.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.031. REVIEW OF CERTIFICATES BY STATE 
REGISTRAR.  (a) The state registrar shall carefully examine the 
certificates received monthly from the local registrars.
	(b)  The state registrar shall require additional 
information to make the record complete and satisfactory if 
necessary.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.032. STATE RECORDS.  (a) The state registrar shall 
arrange, bind, and permanently preserve birth, death, and fetal 
death certificates in a systematic manner.
	(b)  The board shall adopt rules necessary to implement this 
section.        

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.


	§ 191.033. ADDENDA.  (a) The state registrar may attach 
to the original record an addendum that sets out any information 
received by the state registrar that may contradict the information 
in a birth, death, or fetal death record required to be maintained 
in the bureau of vital statistics.
	(b)  If the state registrar attaches an addendum to an 
original record, the state registrar shall instruct the local 
registration official in whose jurisdiction the birth, death, or 
fetal death occurred to attach an identical addendum to any 
duplicate of the record in the official's custody.
	(c)  In this section, "local registration official" means a 
county clerk or a person authorized by this title to maintain a 
duplicate system of records for each birth, death, or fetal death 
that occurs in the person's jurisdiction.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.034. NOTATION OF DEATH ON BIRTH CERTIFICATE.  (a) 
On receipt of the death certificate of a person younger than 55 
years of age whose birth is registered in this state, the state 
registrar shall make a conspicuous notation on the decedent's birth 
certificate that the person is dead.
	(b)  The state registrar shall provide computer-generated 
abstracts, transcripts, or copies of the death certificate to the 
county clerk of the county in which the decedent was born and to the 
local registrar of the registration district in which the decedent 
was born.  On receipt of the notification of death, the county clerk 
or local registrar shall make a conspicuous notation on the 
decedent's birth certificate that the person is dead.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 260, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.


	§ 191.036. SPANISH SURNAME INFORMATION.  (a) The purpose 
of this section is to:
		(1)  enable this state to participate in a study being 
conducted by a group of southwestern states to obtain information 
about the birth rates and mortality patterns of persons with 
Spanish surnames;  and
		(2)  implement recommendations made by the National 
Center for Health Statistics for improved methods of maintaining 
vital statistics.
	(b)  In the next official revision of the prescribed forms 
for birth and fetal death certificates, the department shall 
include the following questions and instructions:
		(1)  Is the father of Spanish origin?                                         
		(2)  If yes, specify Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, etc.                       
		(3)  Is the mother of Spanish origin?                                         
		(4)  If yes, specify Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, etc.                       
	(c)  In the next official revision of the prescribed forms 
for death certificates, the department shall include the following 
questions and instructions:
		(1)  Was the decedent of Spanish origin?                                      
		(2)  If yes, specify Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, etc.                       

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    

SUBCHAPTER C. COPIES OF RECORDS


	§ 191.051. CERTIFIED COPIES.  (a) Subject to board rules 
controlling the accessibility of vital records, the state registrar 
shall supply to a properly qualified applicant, on request, a 
certified copy of a record, or part of a record, of a birth, death, 
or fetal death registered under this title.
	(b)  A certified copy issued under this subsection may be 
issued only in the form approved by the department.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.052. CERTIFIED COPY AS EVIDENCE.  A copy of a birth, 
death, or fetal death record registered under this title that is 
certified by the state registrar is prima facie evidence of the 
facts stated in the record.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.056. COPIES COLLECTED BY NATIONAL AGENCY.  (a) The 
national agency in charge of the collection of vital statistics may 
obtain, without expense to the state, transcripts of vital records 
without payment of the fees prescribed by this chapter.
	(b)  The bureau of vital statistics may contract with the 
national agency to have copies of vital records that are filed with 
the bureau transcribed for that agency.
	(c)  The state registrar may act as special agent for the 
national agency to accept the use of the franking privilege and 
forms furnished by the national agency.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 191.057. RECORDS WITH ADDENDA.  (a) In this section:                      
		(1)  "Copy" means a reproduction of a record made by any 
means.             
		(2)  "Local registration official" means a county clerk 
or a person authorized by this title to maintain a duplicate system 
of records for each birth, death, or fetal death that occurs in the 
person's jurisdiction.
	(b)  If the bureau of vital statistics or any local 
registration official receives an application for a certified copy 
of a birth, death, or fetal death record to which an addendum has 
been attached under Section 191.033, the application shall be sent 
immediately to the state registrar.  After examining the 
application, the original record, and the addendum, the state 
registrar may refuse to issue a certified copy of the record or part 
of the record to the applicant.
	(c)  If the state registrar refuses to issue the certified 
copy:             
		(1)  the state registrar shall notify the applicant of 
the refusal and the reason for the refusal not later than the 10th 
day after the date on which the state registrar receives the 
application;  and
		(2)  the department shall give the applicant an 
opportunity for a hearing.  
	(d)  After the hearing, the state registrar shall notify the 
local officials who have duplicates of the questioned record of the 
department's final decision.  The department may order the 
officials to issue or refuse to issue certified copies of the 
record.
	(e)  A duty imposed on or a power granted to the state 
registrar under this section may be performed or exercised by a 
designee of the state registrar.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.