Bill Text: NY S00840 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Relates to patients interred at state mental health hospital cemeteries; directs the release of the name, birthdate and date of death of certain patients 50 years after the date of death.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-08-18 - SIGNED CHAP.246 [S00840 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S00840-Amended.html

---

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        840--A
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 7, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  ROBACH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop-
         mental Disabilities -- reported  favorably  from  said  committee  and
         committed  to  the  Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill
         amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
         tee
       AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to patients interred
         at state mental health hospital cemeteries
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1.   Section 7.09 of the mental  hygiene  law  is  amended  by
    2  adding a new subdivision (k) to read as follows:
    3    (K) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW, RULE OR REGULATION, ON REQUEST BY A
    4  REPRESENTATIVE  OF A CEMETERY ORGANIZATION OR FUNERAL ESTABLISHMENT, THE
    5  COMMISSIONER AND DIRECTORS OF OFFICE FACILITIES  SHALL  RELEASE  TO  THE
    6  REPRESENTATIVE THE NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, OR DATE OF DEATH OF A PERSON WHO
    7  WAS A PATIENT AT THE FACILITY WHEN THE PERSON DIED, UNLESS THE PERSON OR
    8  THE  PERSON'S GUARDIAN PROVIDED WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS TO THE FACILITY NOT
    9  TO RELEASE SUCH PERSON'S NAME OR DATES OF BIRTH AND DEATH.  A  REPRESEN-
   10  TATIVE  OF  A CEMETERY ORGANIZATION OR A FUNERAL ESTABLISHMENT MAY USE A
   11  NAME OR DATE RELEASED UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION ONLY  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF
   12  INSCRIBING THE NAME OR DATE ON A GRAVE MARKER.
   13    S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
   14  it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
   15  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
   16  tation of this act on its effective date is authorized to be made on  or
   17  before such date.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD03851-05-5