New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Committee Votes 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 
 
•  LFIN 
 
•  Chamber Video/Transcript 

S07782 Summary:

S07782 Actions:

S07782 Committee Votes:

S07782 Floor Votes:

S07782 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7782--A
            Cal. No. 1268
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                       May 6, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- reported favora-
          bly from said committee, ordered to first and second  report,  ordered
          to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place
          in the order of third reading

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public health law, in relation to requiring the
          department of health to enter into a contract for  the  digitalization
          and indexing of certain vital records
 
          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  4180 to read as follows:
     3    §  4180.  Vital  records  digitalization.  1. For the purposes of this
     4  section, the term:
     5    (a) "vital records index"  or  "index"  shall  mean  a  systematically
     6  organized  listing, compilation, or database derived from original vital
     7  records maintained by the state  local  registrars,  including  but  not
     8  limited to vital records relating to birth, death, marriage, and dissol-
     9  ution  of marriage, which includes at a minimum, the names of any regis-
    10  trants, the date and location  of  the  event's  registration,  and  any
    11  assigned identifying reference numbers.
    12    (b)  "qualified  entity"  shall mean a natural person, firm, organiza-
    13  tion, partnership, association, corporation, or any other entity experi-
    14  enced in maintaining genealogical research databases.
    15    2. The department shall enter into a contract which shall be no longer
    16  than seven years in length with a qualified entity to create,  maintain,
    17  and  update  an  online  genealogical research database of images of New
    18  York state birth, marriage, dissolution of marriage, and  death  certif-
    19  icates  at  no  direct  cost  to the state, in exchange for allowing the
    20  qualified entity to also provide such database to  its  subscribers  and
    21  customers.  Such  online  database  shall be designed and constructed to
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11667-05-5
        S. 7782--A                          2
 
     1  have the  capability  of  allowing  a  vital  records  index  of  birth,
     2  marriage,  dissolution  of marriage, and death certificates to be linked
     3  to a digital image of the underlying original birth,  marriage,  dissol-
     4  ution  of  marriage, or death record once any such underlying record has
     5  become public information under section forty-one  hundred  seventy-four
     6  of  this  title,  and the online genealogical research database shall be
     7  designed to allow the department to create and activate  such  links  to
     8  digital  images  of  the  original  records. Any social security numbers
     9  appearing on such records shall be  redacted  from  the  digital  images
    10  provided to the public, which may include bulk redaction of social secu-
    11  rity fields from the images via automated methods. Such indexes shall be
    12  a  public  record  and  subject  to the state freedom of information law
    13  under article six of the public officers law.
    14    § 2. Subdivision 3 of section  4174  of  the  public  health  law,  as
    15  amended  by  section 2 of part W-2 of chapter 62 of the laws of 2003, is
    16  amended to read as follows:
    17    3. (a) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, the commissioner
    18  shall have the authority to determine the means and methods by which the
    19  following genealogical records shall be released to an applicant meeting
    20  the qualifications to receive the relevant record type as  described  in
    21  this  section  or  in article three of the domestic relations law: (1) a
    22  record of birth that has been on file for at least  seventy-five  years;
    23  (2)  a  record  of  marriage, dissolution of marriage, or death that has
    24  been on file for at least fifty years;  or  (3)  any  record  of  birth,
    25  marriage, dissolution of marriage, or death for which the requester is a
    26  lineal or collateral descendant.
    27    (b)  For  any search of the files and records conducted for authorized
    28  genealogical or  research  purposes,  the  commissioner  or  any  person
    29  authorized  by  [him]  the  commissioner  shall  be entitled to, and the
    30  applicant shall pay, a fee of twenty dollars for each hour or fractional
    31  part of an hour of time of search, together with a fee  of  two  dollars
    32  for  each  uncertified  copy or abstract of such record requested by the
    33  applicant or for a certification that a search discloses no record.
    34    § 3. (a) Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary,
    35  all rights or benefits, including terms and  conditions  of  employment,
    36  and  protection of civil service and collective bargaining status of all
    37  existing employees of any state or political subdivision  thereof  which
    38  currently  performs any work related to this act, or similar work, shall
    39  be preserved and protected.
    40    (b) Nothing in this act shall result in the: (1) displacement  of  any
    41  currently employed worker or loss of position, including but not limited
    42  to  any partial displacement such as a reduction in the hours of non-ov-
    43  ertime work, wages, or employment benefits, or result in the  impairment
    44  of  existing  collective  bargaining  agreements; or (2) transfer of any
    45  job, duty or function not directly authorized by this act to the  quali-
    46  fied entity.
    47    (c)  Nothing  contained  in this act shall be construed to affect: (1)
    48  the existing rights of employees  pursuant  to  an  existing  collective
    49  bargaining  agreement;  and  (2) the existing representational relation-
    50  ships among  employee  organizations  or  the  bargaining  relationships
    51  between the employer and an employee organization.
    52    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.