S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  9837--A
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 14, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. STECK, GOTTFRIED, DINOWITZ, SKOUFIS, McDONALD,
   RAIA, BRAUNSTEIN,  JEAN-PIERRE,  SANTABARBARA,  JOHNS,  TITONE,  KOLB,
   FINCH,  GARBARINO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
   -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
   and recommitted to said committee
 
 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:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 4140 of the public health law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  352  of  the  laws  of 2013, is amended to read as
 follows:
   1. The death of each person who has died in this state shall be regis-
 tered immediately and not later than seventy-two hours  after  death  or
 the  finding  of  a dead human body, by filing with the registrar of the
 district in which the death occurred or the body was found a certificate
 of such death, in a manner and format as prescribed by the commissioner,
 which shall [include] BE through electronic  means  in  accordance  with
 section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this title.
   § 2. Section 4148 of the public health law, as added by chapter 352 of
 the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   §  4148.  Electronic  death  registration system. 1. The department is
 hereby authorized and directed to design, FULLY implement  and  maintain
 an electronic death registration system for collecting, storing, record-
 ing,  transmitting, amending, correcting and authenticating information,
 as necessary and appropriate to complete a death  registration,  and  to
 generate such documents as determined by the department in relation to a
 death  occurring in this state. As part of the design and FULL implemen-
 tation of the system established by this section, the  department  shall
 consult  with  all  persons  authorized to use such system to the extent
 practicable and feasible. The payment referenced in subdivision five  of
 this section shall be collected for each burial or removal permit issued
 on  or  after  the  effective  date  of this section from the REGISTERED
 FUNERAL FIRM REPRESENTED BY THE licensed funeral director or  undertaker
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14592-02-8

 A. 9837--A                          2
 
 to whom such permit is issued, in the manner specified by the department
 and  shall  be used solely for the purpose set forth in subdivision five
 of this section. Except as specifically provided in  this  section,  the
 existing  general duties of, and remuneration received by, local regist-
 rars in accepting and filing certificates of death  and  issuing  burial
 and removal permits pursuant to any statute or regulation shall be main-
 tained, and not altered or abridged in any way by this section.
   2.  Commencing  on  the  implementation  date[,  the  department shall
 require that] ALL deaths occurring within this state must be  registered
 using  the  electronic  death  registration  system  established in this
 section.  Electronic death registration may be phased in, as  determined
 by  the commissioner, for deaths occurring in the state [until the elec-
 tronic death registration system is  fully  implemented  in  the  state]
 PRIOR TO THE IMPLEMENTATION DATE.  As used in this section, "implementa-
 tion date" means [the first day in January in the second year after this
 section becomes a law, or as soon thereafter as the commissioner reason-
 ably determines by regulation is feasible in light of the intent of this
 section]  JANUARY  FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  NINETEEN.   VIOLATIONS OF THIS
 SECTION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO SECTIONS TWELVE AND TWELVE-B OF  THIS  CHAP-
 TER,  PROVIDED  THAT  SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION TWELVE OF THIS CHAPTER
 SHALL NOT APPLY. PENALTIES SHALL NOT BE ASSESSED  IF  NON-COMPLIANCE  IS
 DETERMINED  BY  THE  DEPARTMENT  TO BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO A CIRCUMSTANCE OR
 OCCURRENCE SUBSTANTIALLY BEYOND THE CONTROL OF SAID PERSON.
   3. Commencing on the implementation  date,  all  persons  required  to
 register  a death or file a certificate of death under this article, and
 such others as may be authorized by the commissioner, shall have  access
 to  the electronic death registration system for the purpose of entering
 information required to execute, complete  and  file  a  certificate  of
 death or to retrieve such information or generate documentation from the
 electronic  death registration system. The confidentiality provisions in
 section forty-one hundred forty-seven  of  this  title  shall  apply  to
 information maintained in this system.
   4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, commencing on
 or  after  January  first, two thousand fifteen[, or on such date deter-
 mined by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision two of  this  section]
 BUT NO LATER THAN THE IMPLEMENTATION DATE, any requirement of this title
 for  a  signature  of any person shall be deemed satisfied by the use by
 such person of digital signature provided such person is  authorized  in
 accordance  with  this  section to use the electronic death registration
 system.
   5. [Licensed] FOR BURIAL AND REMOVAL PERMITS, LICENSED funeral  direc-
 tors  and undertakers shall support the establishment and maintenance of
 the electronic death registration system through a payment, tendered for
 each burial and removal permit issued to a licensed funeral director  or
 undertaker,  in the amount of twenty dollars, provided that such payment
 shall be considered a cost of operation  and  the  funeral  director  or
 undertaker  shall  not charge any additional fee related to such payment
 for funeral or other services.
   § 3. Subdivision 3 of section  4171  of  the  public  health  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  352  of  the  laws  of 2013, is amended to read as
 follows:
   3. All certificates, either of birth or death, shall be written  legi-
 bly,  in  durable  black  ink, provided, however, that commencing on [or
 after] the implementation date under section  forty-one  hundred  forty-
 eight  of this article, death certificates shall be completed in accord-
 ance with section forty-one hundred  forty-eight  of  this  article.  No

 A. 9837--A                          3
 
 certificate[,  whether  filed  in  paper form or death certificate filed
 electronically in accordance with section forty-one hundred  forty-eight
 of this article,] shall be held to be complete and correct that does not
 supply  all of the items of information called for therein, or satisfac-
 torily account for their omission.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.