Bill Text: NY S04805 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Relates to the implementation of an electronic death registration system.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S04805 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S04805-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4805
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      March 2, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the implementation
          of an electronic death registration system
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Section 4148 of the public health law, as added by chapter
     2  352 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 4148. Electronic death registration system.  1.  The  department  is
     4  hereby  authorized  and directed to design, fully implement and maintain
     5  an electronic death registration system for collecting, storing, record-
     6  ing, transmitting, amending, correcting and authenticating  information,
     7  as  necessary  and  appropriate to complete a death registration, and to
     8  generate such documents as determined by the department in relation to a
     9  death occurring in this state. As part of the design and full  implemen-
    10  tation  of  the system established by this section, the department shall
    11  consult with all persons authorized to use such  system  to  the  extent
    12  practicable  and feasible. The payment referenced in subdivision five of
    13  this section shall be collected for each burial or removal permit issued
    14  [on or after the effective date of this section] prior to full implemen-
    15  tation, but in no circumstance on or before December  thirty-first,  two
    16  thousand  seventeen  from the registered funeral firm represented by the
    17  licensed funeral director or undertaker to whom such permit  is  issued,
    18  in  the  manner specified by the department and shall be used solely for
    19  the purpose set forth in subdivision five of  this  section.  Except  as
    20  specifically  provided  in this section, the existing general duties of,
    21  and remuneration received by, local registrars in accepting  and  filing
    22  certificates of death and issuing burial and removal permits pursuant to
    23  any  statute  or  regulation  shall  be  maintained,  and not altered or
    24  abridged in any way by this section.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09971-01-7
        S. 4805                             2
     1    2. Commencing on the implementation date, the department shall require
     2  that deaths occurring within this state must  be  registered  using  the
     3  electronic  death  registration  system  established  in  this  section.
     4  [Electronic death registration may be phased in, as  determined  by  the
     5  commissioner,  for  deaths  occurring  in the state until the electronic
     6  death registration system is fully implemented in the state.] As used in
     7  this section, "implementation date" means the first day  in  January  in
     8  the second year after this section becomes a law[, or as soon thereafter
     9  as  the  commissioner reasonably determines by regulation is feasible in
    10  light of the intent of this  section].    "Fully  implement"  and  "full
    11  implementation"  means  when all persons required to register a death or
    12  file a certificate of death under this article are collecting,  storing,
    13  recording,  transmitting, amending, correcting and authenticating infor-
    14  mation electronically, as necessary and appropriate, to complete a death
    15  registration and file a certificate of death, using the electronic death
    16  registration system established and required by this section.
    17    3. Commencing on the implementation  date,  all  persons  required  to
    18  register  a death or file a certificate of death under this article, and
    19  such others as may be authorized by the commissioner, shall have  access
    20  to  the electronic death registration system for the purpose of entering
    21  information required to execute, complete  and  file  a  certificate  of
    22  death or to retrieve such information or generate documentation from the
    23  electronic  death registration system. The confidentiality provisions in
    24  section forty-one hundred forty-seven  of  this  title  shall  apply  to
    25  information maintained in this system.
    26    4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, commencing on
    27  or  after  January  first, two thousand fifteen[, or on such date deter-
    28  mined by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision two of this  section,]
    29  any  requirement  of  this  title for a signature of any person shall be
    30  deemed satisfied by the use by such person of digital signature provided
    31  such person is authorized in accordance with this  section  to  use  the
    32  electronic death registration system.
    33    5. [Licensed funeral directors and undertakers] Until full implementa-
    34  tion, before and prior to December thirty-first, two thousand seventeen,
    35  registered funeral firms shall support the establishment and maintenance
    36  of  the electronic death registration system through a payment, tendered
    37  for each burial and removal permit issued to a licensed funeral director
    38  or undertaker, in the amount  of  twenty  dollars,  provided  that  such
    39  payment shall be considered a cost of operation and the funeral director
    40  or  undertaker  shall  not  charge  any  additional  fee related to such
    41  payment for funeral or other services.  No payment under  this  subdivi-
    42  sion  shall  be  required  on  or  after full utilization or on or after
    43  December thirty-first, two thousand seventeen.
    44    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.