Amends TCA Title 4; Title 10 and Title 68, Chapter 3.

This bill revises the present law provisions governing delayed registration of birth, as described below. Under present law: (1) Generally, a certificate of birth for each live birth that occurs in this state must be filed with the office of vital records, or as otherwise directed by the state registrar, within 10 days after the birth and must be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with present law; and (2) When the birth of a person born in this state has not been filed within the time period provided above in (1), a certificate of birth may be filed in accordance with regulations of the office of vital records. A certificate of birth registered six (6) months or more after the date of birth must be marked "delayed" and show on its face the date of the delayed registration. The certificate will be registered subject to such evidentiary requirements as the office of vital records prescribes by regulation to substantiate the alleged facts of birth. When an applicant does not submit the minimum documentation required in the regulations for delayed registration or when the state registrar has reasonable cause to question the validity or adequacy of the applicant's sworn statement or the documentary evidence, and if the deficiencies are not corrected, the state registrar will not register the delayed certificate of birth and must advise the applicant of the reason for this action. This bill adds, in regard to the provisions described above in (2), that the state registrar has discretion to issue a delayed birth certificate based upon finding that a preponderance of the evidence weighs in favor of an applicant. Evidence the state registrar may consider includes, but is not limited to, obituaries and birth and death certificates of parents or siblings; property tax records; sworn affidavits from two or more county officials; and other alternative documentary evidence that may support the applicant's claimed place of birth.