Jun. 18, 2018
HARRISBURG – Today, the House voted 191-1 to approve legislation sponsored by Rep. John Lawrence (R-Chester/Lancaster) that aims to prevent unreasonable delays in getting birth certificates to citizens who need them.
“With the implementation of REAL ID, many Pennsylvanians will be requesting a copy of their birth certificate from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records,” said Lawrence. “Despite efforts to work with the department to improve processing times, it currently takes as long as SIX MONTHS for the state to issue a birth certificate. This is absolutely unacceptable.
“My legislation would overhaul the process for issuing birth certificates by permitting the Division of Vital Records to coordinate with city and county officials, along with more than 150 registrars statewide, to help with the issuance of the birth certificates.
House Bill 84 also would mandate a top-to-bottom third-party review of the current process to issue birth certificates, with a goal of increasing efficiency and processing times.”
House Bill 84 now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Representative John Lawrence
13th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717.260.6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
RepLawrence.com