158 LAWS OF MARYLAND [CH. 76

make indices to such certificates. It shall prepare the neces-
sary methods, books and forms for accurate registration of
vital statistics, and shall supply county health officers, local
registrars, deputy local registrars, physicians, midwives, fun-
eral directors, ministers, clerks of court, and other persons
charged with any duty under this sub-title, with the required
forms. The said Board shall prepare annually or more often
reports of vital statistics including population estimates, and
shall have such reports printed and distributed to officials,
departments, libraries, and persons whom it may deem entitled
thereto.

(b) The State Board of Health is authorized to make rules
and regulations as it may deem necessary to govern the regis-
tration of births, stillbirths, deaths, marriages and divorces.

(c) The State Board of Health is authorized to delegate to
the Commissioner of Health of Baltimore City, its responsi-
bility for the collection, binding, preservation and indexing
of records of births and deaths occurring within Baltimore
City, according to rules and regulations prescribed by the
State Board of Health.

(d) (1) The State Board of Health shall collect and safe-
guard duplicate permanent records of marriage performed in
the State of Maryland, as provided in Section 18 of Article
62 of the Annotated Code (1947 Supplement, as amended), for
the purpose of ensuring against loss or destruction of the
records maintained in the several courts and for the purpose
of providing certified copies of records for marriages per-
formed after June 1, 1951. Said Board shall also receive from
the clerks of the appropriate courts of Baltimore City and
of the several counties of the State of Maryland reports of
divorces and annulments of marriage, as provided in said
Section 18 of Article 62. Provided, however, that nothing in
this sub-section shall be construed as giving said Board au-
thority to make certifications as to divorces and annulments
of marriage; and provided further, that nothing in this sub-
section shall limit the authority of the clerks of the appro-
priate courts of Baltimore City and of the several counties of
the State of Maryland to furnish certifications of marriages,
divorces and annulments of marriage in accordance with their
usual custom and as authorized by law.

(2) The State Board of Health shall make changes in the
marriage and divorce and annulment records in its file only
upon certification by the responsible Clerk of the Court of
Baltimore City or of one of the several counties of the State
of Maryland, as provided in said Section 18 of Article 62, that
the proposed change is correct and that the corresponding
record of the Clerk of the Court is being changed in like man-