5-C:4 Registrar of Vital Records; Privacy; Duties. –
I. The state registrar, under the supervision of the secretary of state, shall have charge of the vital records of the state and shall enforce the provisions of law in relation to them. The state registrar shall be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the division and shall plan and provide operational resources, as available, to establish and support a statewide vital records registration, issuance, and dissemination program.
II. In collecting information, prime consideration shall be given to the protection of the privacy of the individuals about whom information is given. In accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the secretary of state shall ensure that, when information is collected, the minimum of data shall be collected to accomplish a specific purpose, that no information shall be available to unauthorized personnel, that only the minimum be made available to authorized personnel, and that no information that could possibly adversely affect an identified individual be made public. The department of health and human services shall have access to vital records information in accordance with the provisions of RSA 126:24-c. The New Hampshire retirement system shall have access to a limited data set of vital records information in accordance with the provisions of RSA 100-A:14, XVI. The department of corrections shall have access to a limited set of vital records information in accordance with the provisions of RSA 21-H:8, XI-c.
III. The division is designated the vital statistics center for New Hampshire in accordance with section 306(e) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. section 242k(e). The division is authorized to collect, compile, coordinate, and disseminate all vital records information, while adhering to the privacy requirement of paragraph II. The division shall have the power to enter into contractual agreements to the end that costs related to the collection of information shall be defrayed for outside agencies to the extent that funds are available from any source for such purpose.
IV. The secretary of state shall compare information contained on each death record received by the division of vital records with information contained in the statewide centralized voter registration database and submit to the state registrar a list of every city or town that has a registered voter matching the decedent's information. Where there is not a full match of name, date of birth, and residence, the secretary of state shall provide information of partial matches for further review and confirmation by the town or city pursuant to paragraph V.
V. Upon receipt of a death record, the state registrar shall transmit notice of the death to the clerk of the city or town of residence of the decedent and to each city or town listed by the secretary of state for the decedent pursuant to paragraph IV.
Source. 2005, 268:1. 2010, 122:2, eff. Aug. 8, 2010. 2014, 30:1, eff. July 22, 2014. 2016, 270:2, eff. July 1, 2017. 2021, 54:1, eff. July 24, 2021; 137:1, eff. Sept. 21, 2021.