A local state lawmaker has joined with 26 other government officials to ask the governor why the state has changed the wording on birth certificates.
Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who leads the 12th district which includes much of southern Butler County, sent a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf in response to the alleged replacement of “mother” and “father” with “parent” on Pennsylvania birth certificates.
In the letter, the lawmakers allege that this change didn’t go through the General Assembly, which means it was done unlawfully.
“As the Majority Chairman for the House State Government Committee, I write to bring to your attention a matter of great concern at the Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Records. It appears that the Bureau of Vital Records, beyond being woefully behind in processing requests for birth and death certificates, has also unilaterally determined to replace “Mother” and “Father” with “Parent” on the birth certificate form which is issued in the Commonwealth. This unilateral change, without seeking statutory change from the General Assembly, is in violation of the law,” the letter reads.
According to Metcalfe, when he first inquired about the matter in September of 2017, the state Department of Health initially told him the changes were made as a result of a negotiated settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). But, when he requested proof of the settlement, the government allegedly said that there was no lawsuit but rather that the government anticipated one and took a preemptive step.
“After I made the follow-up request, the Bureau of Vital Records then stated there was no lawsuit, but rather simply that they anticipated a lawsuit and initiated this change on their own accord. After discussing this issue with the appropriate staff, the request was made, on my behalf, that documentation be provided to demonstrate that the necessary notice and publication requirements were met, as well as providing the authority under which the Bureau of Vital Records made this change without action by the General Assembly,” Metcalfe writes.
He goes on to say, “In the more than three months since that request, I have not received any documentation from the Department of Health generally or the Bureau of Vital Records specifically on where the authority exists for the bureau to make this change. Moreover, in the September meeting, my understanding is that the counsel to the Bureau of Vital Records stated that the changes had a significant fiscal impact on the bureau and a change back to the standard form which lists “mother” and “father” on the birth certificate would cost the department millions of dollars.”
“For a department which seeks additional funds from the General Assembly every year, it is quite troubling that instead of spending the money to clear the now six-month backlog which exists on vital records requests, they instead used the funds to make a fundamental change to the birth certificate produced by the Commonwealth, not once, but twice in the last calendar year.”
Metcalfe and his colleagues are requesting that the Department of Health rescind the changes.
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