SB 313: Vital records: birth certificates. - California

10/12/25 - Chaptered → SB313 · 1 edit

MINOR

No substantive policy changes occurred between these two versions. The difference is purely presentational: the 'From' version is the clean chaptered document format, while the 'To' version is a web page capture of the same bill text from the California legislature website, complete with navigation menus, search boxes, and tracking features. The underlying legislative content - amending Section 102425 to move parent birthplace information into the confidential portion of birth certificates effective July 1, 2027 - is identical in both.

TECHNICAL

The document format changed from a clean chaptered legislative document to a web page rendering that includes site navigation (home, FAQ, sitemap, login), search fields, bill tracking links, version history dropdown, and sharing options. No policy text was altered.

03/26/25 - Amended Senate → 05/01/25 - Amended Senate · 5 edits · May 1, 2025

MODERATE

SB 313 was significantly expanded beyond its original purpose of adding a citizenship statement to birth certificates. The May 1 amendment adds a new requirement that the birthplace of each parent be recorded in the confidential medical and social section of California birth certificates, along with constitutional findings justifying the privacy limitation on that information. The bill now amends Section 102425 of the Health and Safety Code (which defines what goes on a birth certificate) in addition to adding the new citizenship statement provision.

REQUIREMENT

Birth certificates must now include the birthplace of each parent in the confidential medical and social information section, labeled 'Confidential Information for Public Health Use Only.' This is a new data collection requirement not present in prior law.

SCOPE

The bill now amends Section 102425 of the Health and Safety Code (the section defining all content on a certificate of live birth) in addition to adding Section 102425.3 for the citizenship statement. This substantially broadens the bill's scope from a single new provision to a modification of an existing, comprehensive statute.

The original bill's aspirational 'intent' language (stating the Legislature intended to enact legislation requiring a citizenship statement) was removed and replaced with operative statutory text that directly amends existing law.

ENFORCEMENT

New constitutional findings under Article I, Section 3 of the California Constitution are included to justify limiting public access to parent birthplace information on birth certificates. These findings state that protecting privacy regarding parents' birthplaces requires restricting public access except for authorized health-related or other limited purposes.

TECHNICAL

Coauthors were added: Senators Arreguin and Menjivar, and Assembly Members Harabedian, Kalra, and Zbur. The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now requires fiscal analysis.

09/05/25 - Amended Assembly → 09/13/25 - Enrolled · 4 edits · Sep 13, 2025

MODERATE

SB 313 moved from its Amended Assembly version to the Enrolled version, meaning it passed both chambers and was sent to the Governor. The only substantive text change is a minor drafting cleanup in paragraph (16) of subdivision (b), where a redundant word 'Birthplace' was removed from the beginning of the provision about collecting parents' birthplaces on birth certificates starting July 1, 2027. All other changes are formatting updates standard for enrolled bills, including removal of line numbers, coauthor lists, and vote/appropriation lines.

TECHNICAL

Paragraph (16) of subdivision (b) was cleaned up by removing the redundant word 'Birthplace' that appeared before 'Commencing July 1, 2027, the birthplace of each parent.' The old text read 'Birthplace Commencing July 1, 2027, the birthplace of each parent.' which was a drafting artifact. The enrolled version reads simply 'Commencing July 1, 2027, the birthplace of each parent.'

Coauthor names (Senators Arreguin and Menjivar, Assembly Members Harabedian, Kalra, and Zbur) were removed from the header, which is standard when a bill becomes enrolled.

The digest was corrected to remove a duplicated word ('This bill bill' became 'This bill').

Line numbers, vote/appropriation/fiscal committee lines, and amendment history headers were removed as part of the standard transition from an amended version to the enrolled version.

09/13/25 - Enrolled → 10/12/25 - Chaptered · 2 edits · Oct 12, 2025

MINOR

This diff reflects the transition of SB 313 from its enrolled form to its chaptered form after gubernatorial approval on October 12, 2025. The substantive statutory text is unchanged; all differences are formatting, layout, and procedural markings associated with the bill being signed into law as Chapter 669.

TECHNICAL

Procedural header changed from enrolled bill format (with Senate/Assembly passage dates and clerk signatures) to chaptered format showing 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL,' Chapter 669, and the Governor's approval date of October 12, 2025.

Page numbering, margins, and line wrapping were adjusted throughout to conform to the standard chaptered bill layout. No statutory language was added, removed, or altered.

05/01/25 - Amended Senate → 09/05/25 - Amended Assembly · 4 edits · Sep 5, 2025

MODERATE

The Assembly amendment removes the bill's most controversial provision requiring birth certificates to include a statement that a person is a U.S. citizen by birth, along with detailed legislative findings about the Fourteenth Amendment and the Wong Kim Ark case. It also moves parent birthplace information from the public portion of the birth certificate to the confidential medical and social section, effective July 1, 2027.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed significantly by dropping the citizenship statement requirement entirely. The remaining change (moving parent birthplace to the confidential section) now has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027 rather than taking effect immediately upon enactment.

SCOPE

Removed new Section 102425.3 that would have required the State Registrar to modify the certificate of live birth to include a statement that a person is a citizen of the United States upon their birth in the United States.

Removed legislative findings section that cited the Fourteenth Amendment, the Wong Kim Ark Supreme Court case, and affirmed that all individuals born in California were granted U.S. citizenship by virtue of their birth.

REQUIREMENT

Moved 'birthplace of each parent' from subdivision (a)(4) (the public portion of the certificate) to subdivision (b)(16) (the confidential medical and social information section), with a commencement date of July 1, 2027.

TECHNICAL

Removed the phrase 'for a live birth occurring on or after January 1, 2016' from the opening of Section 102425(a), simplifying it to apply generally to certificates of live birth.

02/10/25 - Introduced → 03/26/25 - Amended Senate · 4 edits · Mar 26, 2025

MODERATE

SB 313 was transformed from a non-binding statement of legislative intent into operative law that actually requires the State Registrar to modify California birth certificates to include a citizenship statement. The amended version adds a new code section (Health and Safety Code Section 102425.3) mandating that every live birth certificate state that a person is a U.S. citizen upon birth in the United States, overriding existing rules about what appears on certificates. It also adds formal legislative findings reaffirming birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Scope change

The bill expanded from a non-binding expression of legislative intent into binding law that directly mandates a change to California birth certificates, overriding existing statutory provisions governing certificate content and the advisory committee process.

REQUIREMENT

New Health and Safety Code Section 102425.3 requires the State Registrar to modify the certificate of live birth to include a statement that a person is a citizen of the United States upon their birth in the United States, notwithstanding existing Sections 102465 and 102470.

DEFINITION

Formal legislative findings added (Section 1) stating that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to those born in the U.S., citing Wong Kim Ark, and clarifying that the bill does not imply people born before enactment are not citizens.

SCOPE

The bill changed from a purely aspirational declaration of intent (non-binding) into operative legislation with an actual mandate on the State Registrar to alter birth certificates. The original intent language was retained but demoted to a final section.

FISCAL

Fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amendment introduced a fiscal impact that requires fiscal review.

Vital records: birth certificates.

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