S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  2969

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              March 9, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced by Sens. MONTGOMERY, DUANE, HASSELL-THOMPSON, KRUEGER, ONORA-
  TO,  OPPENHEIMER,  PARKER,  PERKINS, STEWART-COUSINS -- 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 death certificates

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 4100 of the public health law is amended by  adding
a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
  4.  CERTIFIED NURSE PRACTITIONERS COMPLETING A DEATH CERTIFICATE FOR A
DEATH OCCURRING IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK SHALL HAVE  THE  SAME  AUTHORITY
AND RESPONSIBILITY TO COMPLETE THE CERTIFICATE AS THEY WOULD HAVE IF THE
DEATH OCCURRED OUTSIDE SUCH CITY; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH RESPONSI-
BILITY  SHALL  BE EXERCISED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS
OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
  S 2.  Section 4104 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 435
of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
  S 4104. Vital statistics; application of article.  The  provisions  of
this  article  except  for  the provisions contained in paragraph (i) of
subdivision two AND  SUBDIVISION  FOUR  of  section  four  thousand  one
hundred,  section  four  thousand  one hundred three, subdivision two of
section four thousand one hundred thirty-five, section four thousand one
hundred thirty-five-b, subdivision eight of section  four  thousand  one
hundred  seventy-four,  paragraphs  (b)  and  (e)  of subdivision one of
section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight,  subdivision  eleven  of
section four thousand one hundred thirty-eight-c, and section four thou-
sand  one  hundred  seventy-nine of this article, shall not apply to the
city of New York.
  S 3. Subdivision 4 of section 4141 of the public health law, paragraph
(d) as added by chapter 413 of the laws of 2005, is amended to  read  as
follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10268-01-9
              

S. 2969                             2

  4. (a) The medical certificate shall be made, dated, and signed by the
physician  OR  NURSE  PRACTITIONER,  if  any,  last in attendance on the
deceased.
  (b)  Indefinite terms, denoting only symptoms of disease or conditions
resulting from disease, shall not be held sufficient.
  (c) Any certificate stating the cause of  death  in  terms  which  the
commissioner  [shall  have  declared]  DECLARES  indefinite[,]  shall be
returned to the physician, NURSE  PRACTITIONER,  or  person  making  the
medical certificate[,] for correction and more definite statement.
  (d)  Where  a  death is caused by an opioid overdose, such information
shall be indicated, including any related information as the commission-
er may require.
  S 4. Section 4141-a of the public health law, as added by chapter  402
of the laws of 1968, is amended to read as follows:
  S 4141-a. Death certificate; duties of hospital administrator.  When a
death occurs in a hospital, except in those cases where certificates are
issued  by  coroners  or medical examiners, the person in charge of such
hospital or his OR HER designated representative shall promptly  present
the certificate to the physician OR NURSE PRACTITIONER in attendance, or
a physician OR NURSE PRACTITIONER acting in his OR HER behalf, who shall
promptly  certify to the facts of death, provide the medical information
required by the certificate, sign the medical certificate of death,  and
thereupon  return  such certificate to such person, so that the seventy-
two hour registration time limit prescribed in section four thousand one
hundred forty of this [chapter] TITLE can be met.
  S 5. Subdivision (b) of section 4142 of  the  public  health  law,  as
amended  by  chapter  402  of  the  laws  of 1968, is amended to read as
follows:
  (b) present the certificate promptly to  the  attending  physician  OR
NURSE  PRACTITIONER,  who shall forthwith certify to the facts of death,
provide the medical information required by the certificate and sign the
medical certificate of death, or to the coroner or medical  examiner  in
those cases where so required by this article or, when a death occurs in
a  hospital,  except  in  those  cases  where certificates are issued by
coroners or medical examiners, to the person in charge of such  hospital
or  his  OR  HER designated representative, who shall obtain the medical
certificate of death as prescribed in section four thousand one  hundred
forty-one-a of this [chapter] TITLE;
  S  6.  Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision 2 of section 4144 of the public
health law, as amended by chapter 188 of the laws of 1997, is amended to
read as follows:
  (b) Verbal permission to remove a body of a deceased person  from  the
county  in  which death occurred or the body was found to a non-adjacent
county within the state of New York,  as  provided  in  subdivision  one
[hereof] OF THIS SECTION, shall be issued by the said registrar of vital
statistics,  upon request by telephone of a licensed funeral director or
undertaker who holds a certificate of  death  signed  by  the  attending
physician  OR  NURSE  PRACTITIONER, showing THAT the death resulted from
natural causes[,] and was not a result of accidental, suicidal,  homici-
dal or other external causes.
  S  7.  The section heading and subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 of section 4161
of the public health law, the  section  heading  and  subdivision  4  as
amended  by chapter 402 of the laws of 1968, subdivision 2 as amended by
chapter 884 of the laws of 1972, and subdivision 3 as amended by chapter
388 of the laws of 1968, are amended to read as follows:

S. 2969                             3

  Fetal death certificates; form and content; physicians, NURSE  PRACTI-
TIONERS, midwives, and hospital administrators.
  2. In each case where a physician OR NURSE PRACTITIONER was in attend-
ance  at[,] or after[,] a fetal death, it [shall be] IS the duty of such
physician OR NURSE PRACTITIONER to certify to the birth and to the cause
of death on the fetal death certificate.  Where a nurse-midwife  was  in
attendance at a fetal death it [shall be] IS the duty of such nurse-mid-
wife  to  certify  to  the birth but, HE OR she shall not certify to the
cause of death on the fetal death certificate.
  3. Fetal deaths occurring without the attendance  of  a  physician  OR
NURSE  PRACTITIONER  as  [defined]  PROVIDED  in subdivision two of this
section shall be  treated  as  deaths  without  medical  attendance,  as
provided in this article.
  4.  When  a  fetal  death  occurs in a hospital, except in those cases
where certificates are issued by  coroners  or  medical  examiners,  the
person  in  charge  of  such hospital or his OR HER designated represen-
tative shall promptly present the certificate to the physician OR  NURSE
PRACTITIONER  in attendance, or a physician OR NURSE PRACTITIONER acting
in his OR HER behalf, who shall promptly certify to the facts  of  birth
and  of  fetal  death,  provide  the medical information required by the
certificate, sign the medical certificate of birth and death, and there-
upon return such certificate to such person,  so  that  the  seventy-two
hour  registration  time  limit  prescribed in section four thousand one
hundred sixty of this [chapter] TITLE can be met.
  S 8. The section heading and subdivision 1  of  section  4171  of  the
public  health  law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 884 of the laws
of 1972, are amended to read as follows:
  Records; duties of physicians,  NURSE  PRACTITIONERS,  and  others  to
furnish information. 1. Physicians, NURSE PRACTITIONERS, nurse-midwives,
funeral  directors,  undertakers  and  informants, and all other persons
having knowledge of the facts, are hereby required  to  supply,  upon  a
form provided by the commissioner or upon the original certificate, such
information as they may possess regarding any birth or death upon demand
of the commissioner, in person, by mail, or through the registrar.
  S 9. Subdivisions 1, 3 and 5 of section 4175 of the public health law,
as  amended  by  chapter 884 of the laws of 1972, are amended to read as
follows:
  1. If, at any time after the birth, or within one year of  the  death,
of  any person within the state, a certified copy of the official record
of said birth or death, with the information required to  be  registered
by  this article, [be] IS necessary for legal, judicial, or other proper
purposes, and, after search by the commissioner or his OR HER  represen-
tatives, it [should appear] APPEARS that no such certificate of birth or
death  was  made and filed as provided by this article, then the commis-
sioner shall immediately require the physician, NURSE  PRACTITIONER,  or
nurse-midwife[,]  who,  being  in  attendance  upon  a  birth, failed or
neglected to file a certificate thereof, or the funeral director, under-
taker, or other person who, having charge of the interment or removal of
the body of a deceased person, failed or neglected to file  the  certif-
icate  of death, if he or she [be] IS living, to obtain and file at once
with the local registrar such certificate in as  complete  form  as  the
lapse of time will permit.
  3. If the physician, NURSE PRACTITIONER, nurse-midwife, funeral direc-
tor,  or  undertaker responsible for the report[,] is deceased or cannot
be located, then the person making application for the certified copy of
the record may file such certificate of birth  or  death  together  with

S. 2969                             4

such  statements  subscribed  and affirmed by the persons making them as
true under the penalties of perjury and other evidence  as  the  commis-
sioner may require.
  5. The delinquent physician, NURSE PRACTITIONER, nurse-midwife, funer-
al  director,  undertaker, or other person may, in the discretion of the
commissioner, be prosecuted as required by  this  article,  without  bar
from  the  statute  of limitations, if he or she [shall neglect or fail]
NEGLECTS OR FAILS to file promptly  the  certificate  required  by  this
section.
  S  10.    This  act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
after it shall have become a law; provided,  that  the  commissioner  of
health  is  authorized  and  directed  to promulgate any rules and regu-
lations necessary to implement the provisions of this act on its  effec-
tive date on or before such date.