PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
This is a consensus rule making to amend section 35.4 of Title 10 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Public Health Law, section 4100(1)
Subject:
Death Certificates.
Purpose:
To issue a death certificate to any applicant upon the request of a sibling of the deceased.
Text of proposed rule:
Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 35.4 is amended as follows:
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(b) A certified copy of a death certificate or a certified transcript of a death certificate shall be issued only:
(1) pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction on a showing of necessity, or
(2) upon specific request of the spouse, sibling, children, or parents of the deceased or the lawful representative of such persons; or
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Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Katherine Ceroalo, DOH, Bureau of House Counsel, Reg. Affairs Unit, Room 2438, ESP Tower Building, Albany, NY 12237, (518) 473-7488, email: regsqna@health.state.ny.us
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Same as above.
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
This rule was not under consideration at the time this agency submitted its Regulatory Agenda for publication in the Register.
Consensus Rule Making Determination
Statutory Authority:
The Department and Commissioner are authorized to promulgate this regulatory revision pursuant to Public Health Law (PHL) Article 41, Vital Records. PHL Section 4100(1) provides in relevant part that the Department shall, except in the City of New York, have charge of the registration of deaths and provide instructions for obtaining records of death. In addition, PHL Section 4100(2) specifies that the Commissioner shall have general supervision of vital statistics, except in the City of New York.
Chapter 130 of the Laws of 2012 amended PHL Section 4174, effective July 18, 2012, to authorize the DOH to issue death certificates upon the request of a sibling of the deceased.
Basis:
The proposed amendment merely conforms State regulation to State law (PHL Section 4174) as revised by Chapter 130 of the Laws of 2012. Section 35.4(b)(2) of Title 10 NYCRR, as currently written, is out of compliance with PHL Section 4174. Since Chapter 130 of the Laws of 2012 became effective July 18, 2012, the Department sent an email to each municipal registrar which informed the affected parties of the law change and the impact on their operations. Registrars were directed to ensure that siblings be able to receive copies of their siblings death certificates and were provided with a copy of the law. They are currently required to be in compliance.
Job Impact Statement
No Job Impact Statement is required pursuant to Section 201a(2)(a) of the State Administrative Procedure Act. It is apparent, from the nature of the proposed amendment, that it will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities.
Chapter 130 of the Laws of 2012 amended PHL Section 4174 to authorize the DOH to issue death certificates upon the request of a sibling of the deceased. This law came into effect on July 18, 2012.
The proposed amendment merely conforms State regulation to State law (PHL Section 4174) as revised by Chapter 130 of the Laws of 2012. Section 35.4(b)(2) of Title 10 NYCRR, as currently written, is out of compliance with PHL Section 4174. Since the revision to PHL Section 4174 became effective July 18, 2012, the Department sent an email to each municipal registrar which informed affected parties of the law change and the impact on their operations. Registrars were directed to ensure that siblings be able to receive copies of their siblings death certificates and were provided with a copy of the law. They are currently required to be in compliance.
Categories and Numbers Affected:
These provisions will apply to the 1500 registrars in New York State.
Regions of Adverse Impact:
This rule is not expected to cause any regions in the State to have an adverse job impact.
Minimizing Adverse Impact:
There will be no adverse impact to this proposal because registrars are already required to be in compliance with Chapter 130 of the Laws of 2012 which amended the PHL and which became effective on July 18, 2012.
