Bill Text: NY A10020 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Eliminates restrictions on the removal of human remains from the county in which the death occurred.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-17 - substituted by s7307a [A10020 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A10020-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          10020
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       May 5, 2016
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Health
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to burial and removal
          permits; and to repeal subdivision 7  of  section  4144  of  such  law
          relating thereto
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 4144 of the  public  health
     2  law,  subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 617 of the laws of 1980, para-
     3  graph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter  219  of  the  laws  of
     4  1972,  paragraph  (b)  of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 352 of the
     5  laws of 2013 and paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 as  amended  by  chapter
     6  267 of the laws of 1967, are amended to read as follows:
     7    1.  The  body of any person whose death occurs in this state, or which
     8  shall be found dead herein shall not be interred, deposited in  a  vault
     9  or  tomb, cremated or otherwise disposed of, or removed from [the county
    10  in which the death occurred or the body was found]  this  state,  or  be
    11  temporarily held pending further disposition more than seventy-two hours
    12  after  death,  unless a permit for burial, removal, or other disposition
    13  thereof shall have been  properly  issued  by  the  registrar  of  vital
    14  statistics  of  the registration district in which the death occurred or
    15  the body was found[, except that such a body may be removed to an  adja-
    16  cent county without first obtaining a permit therefor]; provided, howev-
    17  er,  that  a  licensed  funeral  director may apply for and receive such
    18  permit on behalf of any person  or  institution  authorized  by  article
    19  forty-two  or  forty-three of this chapter to receive unclaimed cadavers
    20  or anatomical gifts.
    21    2. (a) [Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c)  hereof,  no]  No
    22  burial or removal permit shall be issued by any registrar until, wherev-
    23  er  practicable,  a  complete  and satisfactory certificate of death has
    24  been filed with him as provided in this article.
    25    (b) [Verbal permission to remove a body of a deceased person from  the
    26  county  in  which death occurred or the body was found to a non-adjacent
    27  county within the state of New York, as provided in subdivision  one  of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15014-01-6
        A. 10020                            2

     1  this section, shall be issued by the said registrar of vital statistics,
     2  upon  request  by telephone of a licensed funeral director or undertaker
     3  who holds a certificate of death signed by the  attending  physician  or
     4  nurse  practitioner, or for deaths occurring on or after the implementa-
     5  tion date under section forty-one hundred  forty-eight  of  this  title,
     6  such  certificate  of  death  signed by the attending physician or nurse
     7  practitioner is available  electronically  in  accordance  with  section
     8  forty-one  hundred  forty-eight  of  this  title, showing that the death
     9  resulted from natural  causes  and  was  not  a  result  of  accidental,
    10  suicidal, homicidal or other external causes.
    11    (c)  If  it  is not possible for the funeral director or undertaker to
    12  communicate with the registrar by telephone, verbal permission to remove
    13  a body  of  a  deceased  person  under  the  same  conditions  as  those
    14  prescribed for the registrar may be issued by the commissioner or person
    15  authorized by him.
    16    (d)]  The  funeral  director  or undertaker who shall make any removal
    17  before a permit is issued by the registrar, shall return the body to the
    18  registration  district  where  death  occurred,  whenever  the  coroner,
    19  medical  examiner, or district attorney shall request such return of the
    20  body for investigation or post-mortem examination.
    21    § 2. Subdivision 7 of  section  4144  of  the  public  health  law  is
    22  REPEALED.
    23    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.