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An Act Regarding Delayed Birth Registration
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §2764, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2011, c. 511, §8, is further amended to read:
 
3. Description of evidence completed and filed.   The state registrar shall complete the description of evidence required on the delayed registration of birth and accept and file the certificate, providedas long as the following documentary evidence is submitted in support of the facts of birth.:
 
A. If the birth occurred more than one year but less than 15 years prior to the date of filing, the facts of birth stated by the applicantplace and date of birth must be supported by at least 2 documents, only one of which may be an affidavit of personal knowledgeand the names of the parents must be supported by at least one document, which may be one of the documents submitted in evidence of the place and date of birth; or
 
B. If the birth occurred more than 15 or more years prior to the date of filing, the date and place of birth must be supported by at least 3 documents, only one of which may be an affidavit of personal knowledge, and the names of the parents must be supported by at least one document, which may be any one of the 3 submitted in evidence of the place and date of birth.
 
C.  Any document accepted as evidence, other than the affidavit of personal knowledge, shall be at least 5 years old, or shall be a copy or abstract of a record made at least 5 years prior to the date of filing and certified as a true and correct copy by the custodian of the record.
 
The department shall adopt rules that specify the documents that may be accepted as evidence to support the delayed registration of birth. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §2764, sub-§4  is amended to read:
 
4. Deficiencies.   When the applicant does not submit documentation as specified in subsections 2 and 3 in support of histhe applicant's statements, or when the state registrar finds reason to question the adequacy of the documentation, the said state registrar shallmay not sign or accept the delayed registration of birth, but shall advise the applicant of its deficiencies and request that further documentation be submitted.
 
SUMMARY
This bill removes an affidavit of personal knowledge as an accepted document as evidence of birth required for a delayed registration of birth. The bill also changes from more than 15 years to 15 years or more the number of years after which supporting documentation is required as evidence.