Enacts the mental health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act; requires the coroner or coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner, to conduct a mental health assessment when a death occurs in such person's jurisdiction.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9027
IN ASSEMBLY
February 5, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUCAS -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the county law, in relation to enacting the mental
health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "mental
2 health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act".
3 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 674 of the county law is amended by
4 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
5 (c) (i) The coroner or coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical
6 examiner, also shall make or cause to be made, a mental health assess-
7 ment which shall include, but not be limited to, a thorough evaluation
8 of the individual's medical and psychiatric history after a review of
9 any available documentation, including but not limited to medication
10 records or therapy reports. The coroner or coroner and coroner's physi-
11 cian, or the medical examiner, shall acquire any necessary medical,
12 psychiatric, or therapy records required to perform the mental health
13 assessment and shall keep such records confidential and protected in
14 accordance with any applicable privacy laws. Such records shall only be
15 used for the mental health assessment, research, and prevention efforts.
16 (ii) Upon completion of the mental health assessment, the coroner or
17 coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner, shall reduce
18 to writing on a form prescribed by the commissioner of health any find-
19 ings including, but not limited to, any indications of mental distress
20 or illness and any evidence of mental health disorders, including but
21 not limited to schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder.
22 Any documents produced by the mental health assessment, including but
23 not limited to any findings, shall be kept confidential and protected in
24 accordance with any applicable privacy laws. Such documents shall only
25 be used for research and prevention efforts.
26 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
27 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
28 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
29 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
30 completed on or before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10096-01-3
