What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S3502
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to providing copies of redacted death certificates
Purpose or general idea of bill
To allow for better access to redacted death certificates for the purpose of improving public health.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends paragraph (g) and adds a new paragraph (h) to subdivision J of section 4174 of the public health law stating that, upon request and subject to a fee to be determined, the department of health must furnish copies of redacted death certificates with the following information omitted: the name, number and street of residence, social security number, medical records number and date of birth of the decedent, and the names of the decedent's mother, father and surviving spouse, provided, however, that the redacted certificate shall reflect whether or not the decedent had a spouse.
Section 2 contains the effective date.
Justification
New York State death certificates are generally exempted from the State's Freedom of Information Law. Public access to death certificate information has benefited the health of citizens in other states. For example, information compiled by a Hartford newspaper prompted the Connecticut legislature to institute reforms that improved patient care. In North Carolina, a Charlotte newspaper's analysis discovered that autopsies were not being performed in suspicious deaths to the detriment of local law enforcement. Opening up death certificate information to the public will allow for better research of the causes of illness and their connection to environment, geography and demographics.
In order to preserve the privacy of information related to specific decedents, the publicly available death certificate will have information regarding the name, number and street of residence, social security number, medical records number, and names of immediate family relatives redacted.
Prior legislative history
2009-10: A.784 Referred to Health 2008: A.10595 Referred to Health
Fiscal implications
Minimal, and the state will receive compensation for any costs incurred through the fee charged for obtaining a redacted death certificate.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.