PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Chapter 246-491 WAC, Birth certificates, death certificates and fetal death certificates.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: Chapter 70.58 RCW, RCW 43.20.050.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: There is a statutory requirement for the state of Washington to collect certificate data. The rule will be revised to comply with new federal standards and make the certificates more likely to be completed accurately.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: The Department of Health and Human Services through the National Center for Health Statistics will provide the Department of Health with the recommended changes.
Process for Developing New Rule: Mailings, meetings and a board hearing will allow for public input. A statewide stakeholder review team will represent the major stakeholder bodies from the community. Contact Person: David Rose, CHS-DOH, 1112 South Quince Street, Olympia, WA 98501, phone (360) 236-4346.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting David Rose, CHS-DOH, 1112 South Quince Street, Olympia, WA 98501, phone (360) 236-4346, fax (360) 753-4135. Secondary Contact Person: Dr. Patricia Starzyk, CHS-DOH, 1112 South Quince Street, Olympia, WA 9850 [98501], phone (360) 236-4323, fax (360) 753-4135 or Doreen Garcia, State Board of Health, Senior Policy Analyst, P.O. Box 47990, Oympia [Olympia], WA 98504-7990, phone (360) 236-4101. The Department of Health and the State Board of Health will devise a stakeholder review team to examine and comment upon all input to the certificate process, as well as devise multiple meetings among interested parties to solicit input into the change process. All of these processes will be publicized in order to insure adequate comments to the change process.
April 2, 2001
Don Sloma
Executive Director