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A02626 Summary:

A02626 Actions:

A02626 Committee Votes:

A02626 Floor Votes:

A02626 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         2626--A
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 20, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  PEOPLES-STOKES, ENGLEBRIGHT -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on  Health  --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to death, burial  and
          removal permits
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
     2  4142-a to read as follows:
     3    §  4142-a.  Death  certificates;  unclaimed  cadavers  and  anatomical
     4  donations for educational purposes.  An institution authorized by  arti-
     5  cle forty-two or forty-three of this chapter to receive unclaimed cadav-
     6  ers  or  anatomical  gifts  for educational purposes that elects to file
     7  death certificates, shall:
     8    (a) obtain the personal and statistical particulars required  for  the
     9  certificate  of  death from a competent person acquainted with the facts
    10  and qualified to supply them and enter them on the certificate  together
    11  with the name and address of his or her informant;
    12    (b)  present  the certificate promptly to attending physician or nurse
    13  practitioner who shall forthwith certify to the facts of death,  provide
    14  the medical information required by the certificate and sign the medical
    15  certificate  of  death,  or  to the coroner or medical examiner in those
    16  cases where so required by this article or, when a  death  occurs  in  a
    17  hospital,  except in those cases where certificates are issued by coron-
    18  ers or medical examiners, to the person in charge of  such  hospital  or
    19  his  or  her  designated  representative,  who  shall obtain the medical
    20  certificate of death as prescribed in section forty-one  hundred  forty-
    21  one-a of this title;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01638-03-5
        A. 2626--A                          2
 
     1    (c)  state  the facts required on the certificate of death relative to
     2  the date and place of burial, cremation or removal, over  his  signature
     3  and with his or her address; and
     4    (d)  prior  to the disposition of the remains, file the certificate of
     5  death with the registrar of the district in which the death occurred  as
     6  provided in section forty-one hundred forty of this title.
     7    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 4140 of the public health law is amended
     8  to read as follows:
     9    2.  If the certificate of death is properly executed and complete, the
    10  registrar of the district in which the death occurred shall then issue a
    11  burial or removal permit to the funeral director [or], undertaker, or an
    12  institution authorized by article forty-two or forty-three of this chap-
    13  ter to receive unclaimed cadavers or anatomical  gifts  for  educational
    14  purposes.  In case the death occurred from a disease which is designated
    15  in the sanitary code as  a  communicable  disease,  no  permit  for  the
    16  removal  or other disposition of the body shall be issued by the regist-
    17  rar, except to a funeral director or undertaker licensed  in  accordance
    18  with  the  provisions  of  this chapter, under such conditions as may be
    19  prescribed in the sanitary code.
    20    § 3. Subdivision 1 and paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of subdivision 2 of
    21  section 4144 of the public health law, subdivision 1 as amended by chap-
    22  ter 617 of the laws of 1980, paragraph (b) of subdivision 2  as  amended
    23  by chapter 352 of the laws of 2013 and paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 as
    24  amended  by  chapter  267  of  the  laws of 1967, are amended to read as
    25  follows:
    26    1. The body of any person whose death occurs in this state,  or  which
    27  shall  be  found dead herein shall not be interred, deposited in a vault
    28  or tomb, cremated or otherwise disposed of, or removed from  the  county
    29  in  which  the  death  occurred or the body was found, or be temporarily
    30  held pending further  disposition  more  than  seventy-two  hours  after
    31  death, unless a permit for burial, removal, or other disposition thereof
    32  shall  have been properly issued by the registrar of vital statistics of
    33  the registration district in which the death occurred or  the  body  was
    34  found,  except  that  such  a  body may be removed to an adjacent county
    35  without first obtaining a permit therefor; provided,  however,  that  an
    36  institution authorized by article forty-two or forty-three of this chap-
    37  ter  to  receive  unclaimed cadavers or anatomical gifts for educational
    38  purposes may apply for and receive such permit  or  a  licensed  funeral
    39  director  may  apply for and receive such permit on behalf of any person
    40  or institution authorized by article forty-two or  forty-three  of  this
    41  chapter to receive unclaimed cadavers or anatomical gifts.
    42    (b)  Verbal  permission to remove a body of a deceased person from the
    43  county in which death occurred or the body was found to  a  non-adjacent
    44  county  within  the state of New York, as provided in subdivision one of
    45  this section, shall be issued by the said registrar of vital statistics,
    46  upon request by telephone of a licensed funeral director [or], undertak-
    47  er or an institution authorized by article forty-two or  forty-three  of
    48  this  chapter  to  receive  unclaimed  cadavers  or anatomical gifts for
    49  educational purposes who holds a certificate  of  death  signed  by  the
    50  attending physician or nurse practitioner, or for deaths occurring on or
    51  after  the  implementation  date  under section forty-one hundred forty-
    52  eight of this title, such certificate of death signed by  the  attending
    53  physician  or  nurse practitioner is available electronically in accord-
    54  ance with section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this  title,  showing
    55  that  the  death  resulted  from  natural causes and was not a result of
    56  accidental, suicidal, homicidal or other external causes.
        A. 2626--A                          3
 
     1    (c) If it is not possible for the funeral director [or], undertaker or
     2  an institution authorized by article forty-two or  forty-three  of  this
     3  chapter  to  receive  unclaimed  cadavers or anatomical gifts for educa-
     4  tional purposes to communicate with the registrar by  telephone,  verbal
     5  permission  to  remove a body of a deceased person under the same condi-
     6  tions as those prescribed for the registrar may be issued by the commis-
     7  sioner or person authorized by him.
     8    (d) The funeral director [or], undertaker or an institution authorized
     9  by article forty-two or forty-three of this chapter to receive unclaimed
    10  cadavers or anatomical gifts for educational purposes who shall make any
    11  removal before a permit is issued by the  registrar,  shall  return  the
    12  body  to  the  registration  district where death occurred, whenever the
    13  coroner, medical examiner,  or  district  attorney  shall  request  such
    14  return of the body for investigation or post-mortem examination.
    15    §  4.  Paragraphs  (a)  and  (b) of subdivision 2 and subdivision 4 of
    16  section 4145 of the public health law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as
    17  amended by chapter 543 of the laws of 2003, paragraph (b) of subdivision
    18  2 as amended by chapter 198 of the laws of 2005, are amended to read  as
    19  follows:
    20    (a) The funeral director [or], undertaker or an institution authorized
    21  by article forty-two or forty-three of this chapter to receive unclaimed
    22  cadavers  or anatomical gifts for educational purposes shall deliver the
    23  burial permit to the person in charge of the place of  burial  or  other
    24  disposition before interring or otherwise disposing of the body or shall
    25  attach  the  removal  or  transit permit to the box containing the body,
    26  when shipped by any transportation company, which permit shall accompany
    27  the remains to its destination, where, if within this state, it shall be
    28  delivered to the person in charge of the place of burial or other dispo-
    29  sition.
    30    (b) Any person or other entity owning, operating, managing, or  desig-
    31  nated  to  receive  the  body of a deceased person at a place of burial,
    32  cremation, or other final disposition in this state,  who  receives  the
    33  body  of  a deceased person, shall provide a receipt for the body to the
    34  funeral director,  undertaker,  an  institution  authorized  by  article
    35  forty-two  or  forty-three of this chapter to receive unclaimed cadavers
    36  or anatomical gifts for educational purposes or registered resident  who
    37  delivered  such  body.  Each  receipt shall (i) be endorsed by both such
    38  person and the funeral director, undertaker or registered resident, (ii)
    39  indicate the date the body was delivered, (iii) include the name of  the
    40  funeral  director,  undertaker,  an  institution  authorized  by article
    41  forty-two or forty-three of this chapter to receive  unclaimed  cadavers
    42  or  anatomical  gifts  for  educational  purposes or registered resident
    43  delivering the body and the registration number of such  funeral  direc-
    44  tor,  undertaker  or  registered  resident, (iv) include the name of the
    45  registered funeral firm, the funeral director, undertaker,  an  institu-
    46  tion  authorized  by article forty-two or forty-three of this chapter to
    47  receive unclaimed cadavers or anatomical gifts for educational  purposes
    48  or  registered resident represents, (v) include the name of the deceased
    49  person as it appears on the burial, cremation, or  transit  permit,  and
    50  (vi)  include  the  name  of  the owner, operator, manager, or person in
    51  charge of the place of burial, cremation, or other final disposition who
    52  received the body of the deceased person. A copy of such  receipt  shall
    53  be  retained by the owner, operator, manager, or person in charge of the
    54  place of burial, cremation, or other final disposition for a  period  of
    55  not  less than four years, and shall be made available for inspection by
    56  the division of cemeteries during normal business  hours.  The  original
        A. 2626--A                          4
 
     1  copy  of  every  such  receipt shall be retained by the licensed funeral
     2  firm for a period of not less than four years pursuant to the rules  and
     3  regulations of the department governing the maintenance of records.
     4    4.  When  burying  or  otherwise  disposing  of the body of a deceased
     5  person in a cemetery or burial place having no  person  in  charge,  the
     6  funeral  director [or], undertaker or an institution authorized by arti-
     7  cle forty-two or forty-three of this chapter to receive unclaimed cadav-
     8  ers or anatomical gifts for educational  purposes  shall  (a)  sign  the
     9  burial  or  removal  permit, giving the date of burial; (b) write across
    10  the face of the permit the words "No person in charge;" and (c) file the
    11  burial or removal permit within three days with  the  registrar  of  the
    12  district in which the cemetery is located.
    13    §  5. Section 4212 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
    14  subdivision 4 to read as follows:
    15    4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an institution  author-
    16  ized  by section forty-two hundred eleven of this title may file certif-
    17  icates and permits pursuant to  sections  forty-one  hundred  forty-two,
    18  forty-one  hundred  forty-four  and forty-one hundred forty-five of this
    19  chapter for any unclaimed cadavers received  for  educational  purposes.
    20  The  institution  shall  ensure the individuals filing permits or trans-
    21  porting cadavers have the necessary education and training.
    22    § 6. The public health law is amended by adding a new  section  4302-a
    23  to read as follows:
    24    §  4302-a.  Using anatomical gifts for education.  Notwithstanding any
    25  other provision of law, an accredited medical school or  dental  school,
    26  college or university, bank or storage facility for education, research,
    27  advancement  of medical or dental science, therapy or transplant author-
    28  ized to receive anatomical donations may file certificates  and  permits
    29  pursuant  to  sections  forty-one  hundred  forty-two, forty-one hundred
    30  forty-four  and  forty-one  hundred  forty-five  of  this  chapter   for
    31  donations  made  directly  to  such  institution.  The institution shall
    32  ensure the individuals filing permits or transporting cadavers have  the
    33  necessary education and training.
    34    §  7.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    35  have become a law.