Bill Text: NJ A2208 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Defines information required to be included in death certificates.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-27 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A2208 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A2208-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman TIM EUSTACE
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Defines information required to be included in death certificates.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning death certificates and amending Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.26:6-7 is amended to read as follows:
26:6-7. a. The certificate of death shall contain such items as shall be listed on death certificate forms or in the NJ-EDRS provided or approved by the department under the authority of subsection c. of R.S.26:8-24. The death certificate forms or the record in the NJ-EDRS shall include, but not be limited to, the following items:
(1) name of the decedent;
(2) county or municipality in which the death occurred;
(3) date of death;
(4) sex of decedent, as provided for in paragraph b. of this section;
(5) date of birth; and
(6) date of issuance and manner of death, providing this information is available.
b. The sex of the decedent, shall be recorded to reflect the decedent's gender identity, as reported by the next of kin or the best qualified person available, unless the person completing the death certificate is presented with a document that memorializes the decedent's gender transition.
In case of conflicting information on the sex of the decedent from the sources, the death certificate shall be based on documentation that memorializes the decedent's gender transition. If documentation is not available, it shall be based on information from individuals most familiar with the decedent's gender identity at the time of death. Documents that may memorialize a gender transition include: written instructions from the decedent; a court order approving a name or gender change; an advance health care directive; documentation of an appropriate course of treatment for the purpose of gender transition; or documentation of a change to the gender marker on a birth certificate, or a state or federally issued identification card.
(cf: P.L.2003, c.221, s.4)
2. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would provide for the inclusion of certain information in the certified copy of a death record. The information required to be included in a death certificate would include the: name of the decedent; county or municipality in which the death occurred; date of death; sex of decedent; date of birth; and date of issuance and manner of death, providing this information is available.
The bill further clarifies that the sex of the decedent be recorded to reflect the decedent's gender identity, as reported by the next of kin or the best qualified person available, unless the person completing the death certificate is presented with a document that memorializes the decedent's gender transition. If there is conflicting information regarding the gender of the decedent, the bill defines the specific documents which may be used to confirm the decedent's gender.
