(a) The Director of the Department of Health shall appoint the State Registrar of Vital Records.

(b) (1) The state registrar shall:

(A) Administer and enforce this chapter and the rules and regulations issued under this chapter and issue instructions for the efficient administration of the statewide system of vital statistics;

(B) Direct and supervise the statewide system of vital statistics and the Division of Vital Records and be custodian of its records;

(C) Direct, supervise, and control the activities of all persons when they are engaged in activities pertaining to the operation of the statewide system of vital statistics;

(D) Conduct training programs to promote uniformity of policy and procedures throughout the state in matters pertaining to the system of vital statistics;

(E) Prescribe, with the approval of the State Board of Health, furnish, and distribute forms required by this chapter and the regulations issued under this chapter or prescribe such other means for transmission of data as will accomplish the purpose of complete and accurate registration;

(F) Prepare and publish in a timely manner annual reports of vital statistics of this state and such other reports as may be required by the board; and

(G) Provide in a timely manner to local health agencies, and for public releases, copies of data derived from certificates and reports required under this chapter, as deemed necessary for local health planning and program activities. The state registrar shall establish a schedule with each local health agency for transmittal of the copies or data.

(2) The state registrar may establish or designate additional offices in the state to aid in the efficient administration of the statewide system of vital statistics.

(3) The state registrar may delegate functions and duties vested in him or her to employees of the division and to employees of an office established or designated under subdivision (b)(2) of this section.

(4)

(A) The state registrar shall provide copies of certificates or reports required under this chapter or data derived from such certificates or reports, as deemed necessary, to the Arkansas Center for Health Statistics of the Department of Health for statistical analysis and presentation.

(B) The state registrar shall establish a schedule for the transmittal with the division.

(C) The records or data shall remain the property of the division, and the uses which may be made of the records or data shall be governed by the state registrar.

(D) A schedule for the disposition of the certificates, reports, or data provided under this subdivision (b)(4) shall be established by the state registrar.

(5) To protect the integrity of vital records and to prevent the fraudulent use of birth certificates of deceased persons, the state registrar may match birth and death certificates, in accordance with regulations, which require proof beyond a reasonable doubt of the fact of death and to post the facts of death to the appropriate birth certificate and mark the birth certificate "Deceased". Copies issued from birth certificates of deceased persons shall be similarly marked.