BILL NUMBER:S3502

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public health law, in relation to providing copies of
redacted death certificates

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To allow for better access to
redacted death certificates for the purpose of improving public
health.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends paragraph (g) and
adds a new paragraph (h) to subdivision J of section 4174 of the
public health law stating that, upon request and subject to a fee to
be determined, the department of health must furnish copies of
redacted death certificates with the following information omitted:
the name, number and street of residence, social security number,
medical records number and date of birth of the decedent, and the
names of the decedent's mother, father and surviving spouse,
provided, however, that the redacted certificate shall reflect
whether or not the decedent had a spouse.

Section 2 contains the effective date.

              

JUSTIFICATION:
New York State death certificates are generally
exempted from the State's Freedom of Information Law.
Public access to death certificate information has benefited the
health of citizens in other states. For example, information
compiled by a Hartford newspaper prompted the Connecticut legislature
to institute reforms that improved patient care. In North Carolina, a
Charlotte newspaper's analysis discovered that autopsies were not
being performed in suspicious deaths to the detriment of local law
enforcement. Opening up death certificate information to the public
will allow for better research of the causes of illness and their
connection to environment, geography and demographics.

In order to preserve the privacy of information related to specific
decedents, the publicly available death certificate will have
information regarding the name, number and street of residence,
social security number, medical records number, and names of
immediate family relatives redacted.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009-10: A.784   Referred to Health
2008:    A.10595 Referred to Health

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal, and the state will receive compensation
for any costs incurred through the fee charged for obtaining a
redacted death certificate.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.