TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 2: EXECUTIVE BRANCH
§ 26001. Health and Vital Statistics Office Established. There is hereby established in the Department of Public Health a Health and Vital Statistics Office which shall install, maintain, and operate a system of vital statistics throughout the CNMI. The Health and Vital Statistics Office shall be provided with sufficient staff, suitable offices, and other resources for the proper administration of the system of vital statistics and for the preservation and security of its official records. Source: PL 15-50, § 4. Commission Comment: PL 15-50 was enacted on March 14, 2007, and contained the following short title and finding and purpose provisions in addition to severability and savings clauses. Prior to the creation of the Health and Vital Statistics Office, the Commonwealth Recorder’s Office [codified at 1 CMC § 3701 et seq.] was responsible for birth certificates, death certificates, and reports of fetal deaths. Section 1. Short Title. This Act shall hereby be known as the “Vital Statistics Act of 2006.” Section 2. Finding and Purpose. The Legislature finds that the Department of Public Health’s Health and Vital Statistics Office is critical to maintaining, developing, analyzing, and disseminating information used to plan and evaluate health programs and to identify specific problem areas, such as infant mortality, teen pregnancy, or tobacco use. The “Model State Vital Statistics Act and Regulations” was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics to promote uniformity among States in definitions, registration practices, disclosure and issuance procedures. Therefore, the purpose of adopting this uniform system is to enable the Health and Vital Statistics Office to meet statistical and research needs at the local and national levels.