Senate Bill 92 would limit personal identifiers sent from birth worksheets to CDC

Senator Cindy Rosenwald, sponsor of Senate Bill 92, told the Executive Departments and Administration Committee that the bill would stop four specific identifiers from being disclosed with medical history to the CDC while leaving state and department access intact. "The information in someone's medical record belongs to them," Rosenwald said, arguing for privacy protections.

The bill responds to concerns that the state’s birth worksheet, used by hospitals and birthing centers, collects and reports a broad set of personal and medical details. Rosenwald said vital records and the Department of Health and Human Services use some data for public‑health purposes but that current forms link sensitive health items to individual identifiers when they reach state government.

Under the bill as presented, name and medical record number would be withheld from CDC transmissions (the sponsor described this as a preemptive codification of current practice), street address would not be shared with the federal agency, and the child’s year of birth would be sent instead of the full birth date. Rosenwald said she planned an amendment to allow the baby’s full date of birth to be shared with CDC after a federal official said that data point was important for surveillance.

Deputy Secretary of State Erin Hennessy and Kristen Martino, state registrar and director of vital records, told the committee they did not object to the bill’s policy goals but flagged a potential fiscal impact. Hennessy said the division currently receives roughly $68,000 a year in federal funds tied to vital‑records improvements and that CDC officials were unable to say definitively whether that funding might be affected if the state changed what it transmits. Ian Watt, director of the Division of Public Health Services at the Department of Health and Human Services, said DHHS takes a neutral position and does not anticipate fiscal impacts to the department as written; he emphasized that DHHS uses vital records under HIPAA protections for public‑health work such as preventing poor birth outcomes and ensuring access to services.

Supporters including Representative Bob Lynn and Representative Carrie Sorensen testified in favor of the bill as a privacy measure; Sorensen, who said she gave birth in August, said, "My personal health information should be that. It should be mine." Rosenwald noted she intentionally set an effective date well into the next biennium to avoid forcing an immediate form reprint and related costs for the Division of Vital Records.

No formal action was taken at the hearing. Committee members asked clarifying questions about the amendment language and potential fiscal effects; Hennessy and Martino said they would continue to seek a firm answer from CDC about funding risks.

The hearing record shows continuing negotiation between the sponsor, DHHS, and vital records staff on exact identifiers and the amendment permitting the baby’s full date of birth to be shared with CDC.