HB2438

THE CONTEXT: Judges pro tempore are temporary judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. Their terms are limited to 12 months.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would asserts that birth certificates are vital records, and that in order to protect their integrity and accuracy no amendment may be made to them that is contrary to law, strikes the ability to amend a birth certificate on the grounds of having received a sex change operation or having a chromosomal count that establishes the person's sex as different from that which is listed on the birth certificate, and prohibit changing the sex designation on a person's original birth certificate as a result of a sex change surgery.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to make the government process for birth certificates more definite and accountable. It would asserts that birth certificates are vital records, and that in order to protect their integrity and accuracy no amendment may be made to them that is contrary to law, and would also strikes the ability to amend a birth certificate on the grounds of having received a sex change operation or having a chromosomal count that establishes the person's sex as different from that which is listed on the birth certificate, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.