Certified copy marriage certificate

South Dakota Bill May Restrict Access to Vital Records

The days of unfettered public access to vital state records may be numbered in South Dakota.

A bill before the state's Senate Health Committee would limit access to birth, death, marriage, and divorce records. Only family members and a few others, such as funeral directors, doctors, and those acting on behalf of families, would be allowed to see such records.

Birth, death, marriage, and divorce records could be obtained only by a spouse, child, parent, guardian, next of kin, or authorized representative. Copies of those records also would be made available to those who need them to determine or protect a property or personal right.

However, the bill would allow birth records to become fully public after 100 years and death, marriage, divorce, and annulment records to become unrestricted after 50 years.

The measure was prompted by identity theft and homeland security threats. The state health department, which keeps vital records, has documented several cases of identity theft, according to Jerry Hofer, the department's administration director. In one instance, a Utah resident obtained a certified copy of a South Dakota birth certificate using information from an obituary and used it to create a false identity in Utah. Two-thirds of all requests for South Dakota vital records come from other states, Hofer said.

Opponents say the bill goes too far in restricting public records. David Bordewyk, general manager of the South Dakota Newspaper Association, said there are better ways to balance the personal right to privacy against the public right to view state records. He cited New Jersey's policy of restricting access to certified copies of vital records while leaving the general data in the records open to the public.

The federal National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 requires all states to enact some form of records protection in the next two to five years. Already, 36 states have restricted access to vital records, allowing them to be obtained only by people who have a direct interest.

The South Dakota bill includes a penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for anyone who unlawfully releases or illegally possesses vital records.