Section 142.05. Duties of registrars.

  Registrars shall:

(1)  Permit persons who want to examine and take notes from public indexes and examine and take notes from vital records to do those things but under the conditions set out in this chapter and subject to the restrictions in ch. 69 , Stats. , and any other statute which limits access to all or parts of certain records and to types of records;

(2)  Establish reasonable hours during which interested persons may examine and take notes from vital records, notify the state registrar of the hours and post the hours in a conspicuous place in the registrar's office;

(3)  Establish reasonable conditions consistent with this chapter for interested persons to examine and take notes from vital records, and post these conditions and the conditions under s. DHS 142.07 (1) in a conspicuous place in the registrar's office;

(4)  Verify the identity of every person who asks to enter the records area to examine and take notes from vital records and maintain a sign-up system for record users, allowing signers the option of making their names available to others or not;

(5)  Provide a place outside the records area for record users to store their coats and briefcases, purses, bags and other handcarried items at their own risk;

(6)  Identify to record users wanting to examine or take notes from records any record that is in poor condition, and require staff assistance to examine or take notes from any record that is in poor condition;

(7)  Prevent public access to legally confidential materials, and in this regard properly maintain public indexes to exclude legally confidential information;

(8)  Maintain general surveillance of vital record users;

(9)  Limit the number of record users admitted to the records area at one time to a number that is compatible with the available space and facilities and that can be subject to surveillance. In this connection a registrar may require appointments and may set reasonable limits on the time the record user spends in the records area;

(10)  Enforce this chapter and ch. 69 , Stats. by:

(a) Reporting suspected criminal activity to the appropriate law enforcement authorities; and

(b) Excluding offending record users from the records area for the periods of time indicated under s. DHS 142.07 (4) ; and

(11)  Be subject to the penalties of s. 69.24 , Stats., for their own conduct which violates any provision of subch. I of ch. 69 , Stats.

History: Cr. Register, June, 1991, 426 , eff. 7-1-91.