The ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM AND
MMIGRANT RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 1996

MAKING OMNIBUS CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997

SEC. 656. IMPROVEMENTS IN IDENTIFICATION-RELATED DOCUMENTS.

(a) BIRTH CERTIFICATES-

(1) STANDARDS FOR ACCEPTANCE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES-

(A) IN GENERAL-

(i) GENERAL RULE- Subject to clause (ii), a Federal agency may not accept for any official purpose a certificate of birth, unless the certificate--

(I) is a birth certificate (as defined in paragraph (3)); and

(II) conforms to the standards set forth in the regulation promulgated under subparagraph (B).

(ii) APPLICABILITY- Clause (i) shall apply only to a certificate of birth issued after the day that is 3 years after the date of the promulgation of a final regulation under subparagraph (B). Clause (i) shall not be construed to prevent a Federal agency from accepting for official purposes any certificate of birth issued on or before such day.

(B) REGULATION-

(i) CONSULTATION WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES- The President shall select 1 or more Federal agencies to consult with State vital statistics offices, and with other appropriate Federal agencies designated by the President, for the purpose of developing appropriate standards for birth certificates that may be accepted for official purposes by Federal agencies, as provided in subparagraph (A).

(ii) SELECTION OF LEAD AGENCY- Of the Federal agencies selected under clause (i), the President shall select 1 agency to promulgate, upon the conclusion of the consultation conducted under such clause, a regulation establishing standards of the type described in such clause.

(iii) DEADLINE- The agency selected under clause (ii) shall promulgate a final regulation under such clause not later than the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(iv) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS- The standards established under this subparagraph--

(I) at a minimum, shall require certification of the birth certificate by the State or local custodian of record that issued the certificate, and shall require the use of safety paper, the seal of the issuing custodian of record, and other features designed to limit tampering, counterfeiting, and photocopying, or otherwise duplicating, the birth certificate for fraudulent purposes;

(II) may not require a single design to which birth certificates issued by all States must conform; and

(III) shall accommodate the differences between the States in the manner and form in which birth records are stored and birth certificates are produced from such records.

(2) GRANTS TO STATES-

(A) ASSISTANCE IN MEETING FEDERAL STANDARDS-

(i) IN GENERAL- Beginning on the date a final regulation is promulgated under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Center for Health Statistics and after consulting with the head of any other agency designated by the President, shall make grants to States to assist them in issuing birth certificates that conform to the standards set forth in the regulation.

(ii) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS- The Secretary shall provide grants to States under this subparagraph in proportion to the populations of the States applying to receive a grant and in an amount needed to provide a substantial incentive for States to issue birth certificates that conform to the standards described in clause (i).

(B) ASSISTANCE IN MATCHING BIRTH AND DEATH RECORDS-

(i) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Center for Health Statistics and after consulting with the head of any other agency designated by the President, shall make grants to States to assist them in developing the capability to match birth and death records, within each State and among the States, and to note the fact of death on the birth certificates of deceased persons. In developing the capability described in the preceding sentence, a State that receives a grant under this subparagraph shall focus first on individuals born after 1950.

(ii) ALLOCATION AND AMOUNT OF GRANTS- The Secretary shall provide grants to States under this subparagraph in proportion to the populations of the States applying to receive a grant and in an amount needed to provide a substantial incentive for States to develop the capability described in clause (i).

(C) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS- The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Center for Health Statistics, shall make grants to States for a project in each of 5 States to demonstrate the feasibility of a system under which persons otherwise required to report the death of individuals to a State would be required to provide to the State's office of vital statistics sufficient information to establish the fact of death of every individual dying in the State within 24 hours of acquiring the information.

(3) BIRTH CERTIFICATE- As used in this subsection, the term `birth certificate' means a certificate of birth--

(A) of--

(i) an individual born in the United States; or

(ii) an individual born abroad--

(I) who is a citizen or national of the United States at birth; and

(II) whose birth is registered in the United States; and

(B) that--

(i) is a copy, issued by a State or local authorized custodian of record, of an original certificate of birth issued by such custodian of record; or

(ii) was issued by a State or local authorized custodian of record and was produced from birth records maintained by such custodian of record.

(b) STATE-ISSUED DRIVERS LICENSES AND COMPARABLE IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS-

(1) STANDARDS FOR ACCEPTANCE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES-

(A) IN GENERAL- A Federal agency may not accept for any identification-related purpose a driver's license, or other comparable identification document, issued by a State, unless the license or document satisfies the following requirements:

(i) APPLICATION PROCESS- The application process for the license or document shall include the presentation of such evidence of identity as is required by regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation after consultation with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

(ii) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER- Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the license or document shall contain a social security account number that can be read visually or by electronic means.

(iii) FORM- The license or document otherwise shall be in a form consistent with requirements set forth in regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation after consultation with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The form shall contain security features designed to limit tampering, counterfeiting, photocopying, or otherwise duplicating, the license or document for fraudulent purposes and to limit use of the license or document by impostors.

(B) EXCEPTION- The requirement in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not apply with respect to a driver's license or other comparable identification document issued by a State, if the State--

(i) does not require the license or document to contain a social security account number; and

(ii) requires--

(I) every applicant for a driver's license, or other comparable identification document, to submit the applicant's social security account number; and

(II) an agency of the State to verify with the Social Security Administration that such account number is valid.

(C) DEADLINE- The Secretary of Transportation shall promulgate the regulations referred to in clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (A) not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2) GRANTS TO STATES- Beginning on the date final regulations are promulgated under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Transportation shall make grants to States to assist them in issuing driver's licenses and other comparable identification documents that satisfy the requirements under such paragraph.

(3) EFFECTIVE DATES-

(A) IN GENERAL- Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, this subsection shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

(B) PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL AGENCIES- Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall take effect beginning on October 1, 2000, but shall apply only to licenses or documents issued to an individual for the first time and to replacement or renewal licenses or documents issued according to State law.

(c) REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit a report to the Congress on ways to reduce the fraudulent obtaining and the fraudulent use of birth certificates, including any such use to obtain a social security account number or a State or Federal document related to identification or immigration.

(d) FEDERAL AGENCY DEFINED- For purposes of this section, the term `Federal agency' means any of the following:

(1) An Executive agency (as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code).

(2) A military department (as defined in section 102 of such title).

(3) An agency in the legislative branch of the Government of the United States.

(4) An agency in the judicial branch of the Government of the United States.

SEC. 657. DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPE OF COUNTERFEIT-RESISTANT SOCIAL SECURITY CARD.

(a) DEVELOPMENT-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Commissioner of Social Security (in this section referred to as the `Commissioner') shall, in accordance with the provisions of this section, develop a prototype of a counterfeit-resistant social security card. Such prototype card--

(A) shall be made of a durable, tamper-resistant material such as plastic or polyester;

(B) shall employ technologies that provide security features, such as magnetic stripes, holograms, and integrated circuits; and

(C) shall be developed so as to provide individuals with reliable proof of citizenship or legal resident alien status.

(2) ASSISTANCE BY ATTORNEY GENERAL- The Attorney General shall provide such information and assistance as the Commissioner deems necessary to achieve the purposes of this section.

(b) STUDIES AND REPORTS-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Comptroller General and the Commissioner of Social Security shall each conduct a study, and issue a report to the Congress, that examines different methods of improving the social security card application process.

(2) ELEMENTS OF STUDIES- The studies shall include evaluations of the cost and work load implications of issuing a counterfeit-resistant social security card for all individuals over a 3, 5, and 10 year period. The studies shall also evaluate the feasibility and cost implications of imposing a user fee for replacement cards and cards issued to individuals who apply for such a card prior to the scheduled 3, 5, and 10 year phase-in options.

(3) DISTRIBUTION OF REPORTS- Copies of the reports described in this subsection, along with facsimiles of the prototype cards as described in subsection (a), shall be submitted to the Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Finance and Judiciary of the Senate not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Taken from the THOMAS legislative database: http://thomas.loc.gov/