BILL NUMBER: S8251

SPONSOR: RYAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to eliminating the
electronic death registration system fee for funeral directors and
undertakers; and to repeal provisions of such law relating thereto

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would remove the $20 fee required to be collected for each
burial, removal or transfer permit issued on and after September 27,
2013, and remitted to the State to fund the design, development, imple-
mentation and maintenance of the NYS electronic death registration
system (EDRS).

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill strikes language stating that the fee payment
shall be collected by the State for each burial or removal permit issued
on and after the effective date.
              

Section 2 repeals Subdivision 5 of Section 4148 of the Public Health Law
which provided for the collection of the $20 EDRS fee and the stipu-
lation that such fee was to be considered a cost of doing business for a
funeral firm.

Section 3 is the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2013, New York State enacted a law to establish an electronic death
registration system for collecting, storing, recording, transmitting,
amending, correcting and authenticating information relating to deaths
occurring in the state (excluding New York City, which operates its own
EDRS system) This was due to the fact that the previous manual system of
filling-out and filing death certificates was cumbersome, costly and
time-consuming for funeral directors, who are legally responsible for
the successful completion of this process - all within 72 hours of a
person's death. As a result of Chapter 352 of the laws of 2013, all
death certificates must now be filed electronically in the State.

Due to the State's severe fiscal challenges at that time, funeral direc-
tors agreed to partner with the State by agreeing to support the estab-
lishment and implementation of an EDRS system through a $20 fee which
was tendered on each burial and removal permit issued. (This amount was
derived using the system's estimated $6 million cost divided by the more
than 95,000 death certificates registered each year in the State exclu-
sive of New York City.) Under the law, funeral firms were strictly
prohibited from passing along this fee to their consumers, meaning that
these small businesses had to absorb all costs to ensure that EDRS could
become a reality in New York State.

Almost 10 years later, and due in no small part to the fee paid by
funeral homes, we now have what is essentially a fully functioning EDRS
system in all corners of the State. Funeral firms have been collecting
and remitting to NYSDOH the $20 fee since the law was enacted in 2013.
It is estimated that between $1.5 million - $2 million has been sent to
DOH each year since the law's 2013 enactment and which was strictly
earmarked for the development and implementation of a NYS EDRS system.
This means that the State's funeral homes have paid DOH a total well
exceeding $12.5 million for this program - more than double the State's
own estimated cost of funding the entire EDRS system.

This bill seeks to end payment of the EDRS fee.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Would result to the State in an elimination of a funding stream which is
no longer needed. However, DOH will continue to realize the increased
payments from the U.S. Social Security Administration for the filing of
death certificates through the use of EDRS.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.