(a) The commissioner shall prescribe the fees to be charged and collected by the state Registrar for certified copies of certificates or records, not to exceed $10 per copy, or for a search of the files or records when no copy is made: Provided, That the fee may be increased to a maximum of $12 per copy, at the discretion of the commissioner, after July 1, 2008.
(b) The commissioner may prescribe additional fees for the priority production or express delivery of certified copies.
(c) The State Registrar may furnish certified copies of birth and death records to state agencies and to organized charities free of charge when the certificates are needed in presenting claims to the federal government or to a state for public assistance. The State Registrar will keep a record of all certificates furnished pursuant to this subsection.
(d) Subject to the provisions set forth in section two, article two, chapter twelve of this code, there is hereby continued in the state Treasury a separate account which shall be designated "the vital statistics account."
(e) After July 1, 2006, and subject to the provisions set forth in section two, article two, chapter twelve of this code, there is established in the state Treasury a separate account which shall be designated "the vital statistics improvement fund." Funds deposited in this account will be used to modernize and automate the system of vital statistics in this state and may not be used to supplant existing funding necessary for the daily operation of the system of vital statistics. Funds in this account will be retained in a nonlapsing fund for the improvement of the system of vital statistics.
(f) The commissioner shall deposit $1 received under the provisions of this section for each certified copy to the "vital statistics improvement fund" and shall deposit $4 received under the provisions of this section for each certified copy to the General Revenue Fund account. The commissioner shall deposit the remainder of all fees received under the provisions of this section for certified copies and for priority production and express delivery to the vital statistics account.
(g) The commissioner is authorized to expend the moneys deposited in the vital statistics account in accordance with the laws of this state as necessary to implement this article. The Legislature shall appropriate all moneys in the vital statistics account as part of the annual state budget.
(h) The commissioner shall make an annual report to the Legislature on the vital statistics account, including the previous fiscal year's expenditures and projected expenditures for the next fiscal year.
Structure West Virginia Code
§16-5-2. Establishment of Section of Vital Statistics in Bureau for Public Health
§16-5-3. Department of Health and Human Resources to Propose Legislative Rules
§16-5-4. Appointment of State Registrar of Vital Statistics
§16-5-5. Powers and Duties of State Registrar
§16-5-6. Registration Districts
§16-5-7. Appointment and Removal of Local Registrars and Deputy Local Registrars
§16-5-8. Duties of Local Registrars and Deputy Local Registrars
§16-5-9. Content of Certificates and Reports
§16-5-9a. Legal Residences to Be Included on Certificates of Death
§16-5-10. Birth Registration Acknowledgment and Rescission of Paternity
§16-5-11. Registration of Infants and Minors Born With Specified Birth Defects
§16-5-12. Notation on Birth Records of Missing Children
§16-5-13. Registration of Infants of Unknown Parentage
§16-5-14. Delayed Registration of Births
§16-5-15. Judicial Procedure to Establish Facts of Birth
§16-5-16. Certificate of Adoption
§16-5-17. Court Reports of Determination of Paternity
§16-5-20. Delayed Registration of Death
§16-5-21. Reports of Fetal Death
§16-5-21a. Noah's Law; Certificate of Birth for a Stillbirth; and Contents of Certificate
§16-5-22. Reports of Abortions
§16-5-23. Authorization for Disposition and Disinterment and Reinterment Permits
§16-5-24. Extension of Time for Filing Certificates, Reports and Authorizations
§16-5-25. Correction and Amendment of Vital Records
§16-5-26. Reproduction and Preservation of Records
§16-5-27. Disclosure of Information From Vital Records or Vital Reports
§16-5-28. Copies From the System of Vital Statistics
§16-5-29. Fees for Copies and Searches
§16-5-30. Persons Required to Keep Records
§16-5-31. Duty to Furnish Information Relative to Vital Events
§16-5-32. Matching of Birth and Death Certificates
§16-5-33. Limitation on Use of Social Security Numbers
§16-5-34. Uniform System of Registration of Marriage, Divorce and Annulment of Marriage
§16-5-35. Registration of Marriages
§16-5-36. Registration of Divorces and Annulments of Marriages
§16-5-37. Applicability to Previously Received Certificates and Reports