CHILD SUPPORT REVISIONS - S.B. 798: FLOOR ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 798 (as reported without amendment)

Sponsor: Senator Dale L. Shugars

Committee: Families, Mental Health and Human Services

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Public Health Code to specify that the State Registrar would have to require that each applicant for licensure or registration in a health occupation or health profession include his or her Social Security number on the application.

The State Registrar also would have to require an applicant for a marriage license or other vital record to include his or her Social Security number on the application, and require the Social Security number of the decedent on each death registration.

In addition, the bill would require that the Department of Community Health, upon request, provide to an unmarried mother of a child or to a putative father an acknowledgment of parentage form that could be completed by the child's mother and father to acknowledge paternity, as provided in the Acknowledgment of Parentage Act. The Department also would have to provide to the mother and putative father information on the purpose and completion of the form and on the rights and responsibilities of parents. (The Code requires that the Department distribute to hospitals, free of charge, the acknowledgment of parentage form and the information on the form's purpose and completion and on parents' rights and responsibilities.) Execution of an acknowledgment of parentage form as provided in the Acknowledgment of Parentage Act would establish the child's legal paternity.

MCL 333.2813 et al. - Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter

FISCAL IMPACT

Senate Bills 798 and 799 would result in an indeterminate increase in costs to State and local registrars. According to the Department of Community Health, if the intent of the bills is simply to maintain a paper record, then the increase in costs to the State would be approximately $25,000 for revising and reprinting forms. If, however, the intent is to maintain the Social Security number in an electronic form, then there would be additional one-time costs of approximately $45,000 to revise software and an annual increase in data entry costs of approximately $5,000. Local registrars would experience similar increases in expense.

Date Completed: 11-18-97 - Fiscal Analyst: P. Grahamfloor\sb798

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.