Committee reports HB450 to raise vital-records fee from $12 to no more than $17

The House Health and Human Services Committee in Richmond reported HB450 as amended, recommending an increase in the fee charged for copies of vital records from $12 to no more than $17.

The sponsor said the fee has not been raised since 2004 and that the modest increase is intended to help the agency maintain staff and preserve historical records. “This increase is — a key part of their funding,” the sponsor said, and noted the Department of Motor Vehicles also charges for convenience copies.

The committee considered an amendment (identified in committee as “scribe 10, insert 15”) and placed it before members. Delegate Telegant Henson asked why the proposal set the cap at $17 rather than $20; the sponsor responded that analysis and comparisons with other states informed the choice, calling the proposed level a “modest increase.”

After no individuals in the room offered testimony in favor or opposition, a motion to report the bill as amended was made and seconded. The committee reported HB450 as amended by a roll call vote of 9 to 6. The transcript records the motion to report coming from a committee member who had previously questioned the bill; the name of the motion’s seconder was not specified in the public record.

The committee’s report recommends moving the bill forward; the next procedural step was not specified in the committee record provided.