Citation Numbers: 78 Op. Att'y Gen. 232
Judges: DONALD J. HANAWAY, Attorney General
Filed Date: 11/14/1989
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/6/2016
TOBY E SHERRY, Commissioner Office of Commissioner of Banking
You ask whether a bank violates section
Apparently the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago recently modified its guidelines for processing all savings bond reissue transactions for seventh district institutions. If a party desires to redeem or reissue savings bonds after the death of a person, the party must provide a certified copy of the death certificate to the bank. The bank then will copy the death certificate and give the original back to that customer. While at the same time attesting that they saw a certified copy of the vital record, the bank then sends the uncertified copy to the Federal Reserve Bank who then will pay the bank.
Recent legislation has rendered moot the earlier opinion in 46 Op. Att'y Gen. 276 (1957) to which you refer in your letter. Section
Any person who does any of the following shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than 2 years or both:
(a) Prepares or issues any paper or film which purports to be, or carries the appearance of, an original or a copy of a vital record, certified or uncertified, except as provided under this subchapter and except for any hospital which issues any written announcement of the birth of a person to *Page 233 the parents of the person if the announcement contains plain notice that the announcement is not for official use.
Section
The language of this statute as originally enacted is clear and unambiguous and, therefore, there is no need to resort to rules of construction or legislative history. State v. Gilbert,
With the enactment of
*Page 234An insurer or an employe, agent or attorney of an insurer is not subject to s.
69.24 (1)(a) for copying a certified copy of a vital record for the insurer's own internal administrative use in connection with the payment of insurance claims or benefits if the copy is marked "FOR ADMINISTRATIVE USE" and is retained in the files of the insurer or attorney.
In addition to an exception created under state law, a person or entity can benefit from a broader exemption under federal law. For example, employers are required to verify that an individual is not an unauthorized alien by examining documents establishing both employment authorization and identity of the individual including, among other things, some form of birth record.
At present I know of no similar exception under the federal banking laws which would supersede the prohibition in section
The Federal Reserve Bank guidelines are published by the Bureau of the Public Debt in a fiscal manual which apparently has no special force of law. As there is no special mention or treatment of these guidelines in any federal banking legislation or regulations, they are at most interpretive rules which do not operate to preempt state law. See State v. Amoco Oil Co., *Page 235
It should be noted that later subparagraphs under section
Although a prompt legislative change could permit Wisconsin banks to follow the Federal Reserve Bank guidelines, the Detroit branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has provided a temporary solution for Wisconsin banks. When some Wisconsin banks discovered this statutory prohibition against copying certain records, those banks began sending the originals to the Detroit branch with a request that they be copied there and returned. Instead of engaging in this activity which would have been illegal in Wisconsin, the Detroit bank created a special exception for Wisconsin banks whereby they now send the original document to the Detroit branch rather than a photocopy. The underlying concern for costs incurred by the bank customers still exists, however, because under this special exception the Detroit branch now retains the original.
DJH:DPJ *Page 236