California Counties scramble to produce records amid security paper shortage

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

A particular security-enabled paper used to print all vital records in California is in short supply after the Ohio business that produced it suddenly closed, forcing some counties to ration the number of birth and death certificates people can buy.

County registrars say the only other company capable of producing the specific type of paper required by state law is in Canada, and they are working to at least temporarily contract with that company. Lawmakers say the paper shortage has raised a question of whether some of the security features required by state law for vital records are outdated. In the meantime, counties say they are scrambling to meet the public’s needs for the documents.

“It will impact a lot of folks,” said Rob Grossglauser, a lobbyist for the County Recorders’ Association of California. “It’s one of those things everyone has to have. When you go to buy a birth certificate, it could be anything from signing up for Little League or enrolling in school. On death certificates, when a loved one passes, to handle issues of the estate you have to have” multiple copies.

Grossglauser said it will take about 12 weeks for the Canadian Bank Note Co. to produce new paper for each of the counties after a contract is signed. The specialty paper includes each county’s name, so the paper can’t be shared if one area runs out.

What would the coercive sector of the economy be, without shortages?