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| PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 457 | PRINTER'S NO. 759 |
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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY TOMLINSON, ROBBINS, WONDERLING, ORIE, RAFFERTY, ALLOWAY, ERICKSON, BRUBAKER, GREENLEAF, BROWNE, WAUGH, M. WHITE, LOGAN, FONTANA, FERLO, O'PAKE AND COSTA, MARCH 2, 2009 |
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| SENATOR ERICKSON, PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, AS AMENDED,MARCH 25, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of June 29, 1953 (P.L.304, No.66), entitled "An |
2 | act providing for the administration of a statewide system of |
3 | vital statistics; prescribing the functions of the State |
4 | Department of Health, the State Advisory Health Board and |
5 | local registrars; imposing duties upon coroners, |
6 | prothonotaries, clerks of orphans' court, physicians, |
7 | midwives and other persons; requiring reports and |
8 | certificates for the registration of vital statistics; |
9 | regulating the disposition of dead bodies; limiting the |
10 | disclosure of records; prescribing the sufficiency of vital |
11 | statistics records as evidence; prescribing fees and |
12 | penalties; and revising and consolidating the laws relating |
13 | thereto," further providing for registration districts and |
14 | local registrars' duties, for death and fetal death |
15 | registrations and for reports. |
16 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
17 | hereby enacts as follows: |
18 | Section 1. Section 303 of the act of June 29, 1953 (P.L.304, |
19 | No.66), known as the Vital Statistics Law of 1953, amended |
20 | October 27, 2006 (P.L.1200, No.129), is amended to read: |
21 | Section 303. Registration Districts: Local Registrars' |
22 | Duties.--Local registrars shall perform the duties imposed upon |
23 | them by this act, under and subject to the supervision of the |
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1 | department. Local registrars shall transmit certificates and |
2 | transcripts to such places and at such times as shall be |
3 | prescribed by the department [and shall transmit, for a person |
4 | who was at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time of |
5 | death, a copy of the death certificate to the county board of |
6 | elections of the county in which the person resided at the time |
7 | of death]. |
8 | Section 2. Section 501 of the act, amended July 9, 1971 |
9 | (P.L.213, No.38), is amended to read: |
10 | Section 501. Death and Fetal Death Registration: |
11 | Certificates to be Filed.--A certificate of each death or fetal |
12 | death which occurs in this Commonwealth shall be filed within |
13 | ninety-six (96) hours after the death or fetal death or within |
14 | ninety-six (96) hours after the finding of a dead body or fetal |
15 | remains. In every instance, the certificate shall be filed prior |
16 | to the issuance of a permit for interment or other disposition |
17 | of the dead body or fetal remains. The person in charge of |
18 | interment or of removal of the dead body or fetal remains from |
19 | the registration district shall file the certificate with any |
20 | local registrar or the State Registrar of Vital Statistics, who |
21 | shall be authorized to issue certified copies of such death. |
22 | Section 3. Section 504 of the act, amended October 27, 2006 |
23 | (P.L.1200, No.129), is amended to read: |
24 | Section 504. Death and Fetal Death Registration: Permits |
25 | Concerning Dead Bodies and Fetal Remains.--No person shall |
26 | dispose of a dead body or fetal remains until a local registrar |
27 | or the State Registrar of Vital Statistics issues a permit for |
28 | disposal. The local registrar or the State Registrar of Vital |
29 | Statistics shall be authorized to issue the permit and may issue |
30 | blank presigned permits to the funeral director only. The |
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1 | funeral director or the person in charge of interment or removal |
2 | shall, within ninety-six (96) hours after the death or fetal |
3 | death or within ninety-six (96) hours after the finding of a |
4 | dead body or fetal remains, file with the local registrar a |
5 | certificate of death or fetal death. |
6 | The sexton or other person in charge of any premises in which |
7 | bodies are interred or cremated shall not allow the interment or |
8 | cremation of any dead body or fetal remains unless a permit |
9 | issued under this section is presented to the sexton. The sexton |
10 | or other person in charge of the premises shall endorse upon |
11 | each permit presented to the sexton or other person the date of |
12 | interment or cremation, over the sexton's or other person's |
13 | signature, and shall return the permit so endorsed to the local |
14 | registrar of the sexton's or other person's district or the |
15 | State Registrar of Vital Statistics within ten days from the |
16 | date of interment or cremation. |
17 | Section 4. Section 801.1 of the act, amended November 23, |
18 | 2004 (P.L.909, No.122), is amended to read: |
19 | Section 801.1. Records: Reports to County Registration |
20 | Commissions.--[The department shall report monthly in writing to |
21 | the registration commission of each county the deaths of |
22 | residents of such counties, except residents less than eighteen |
23 | years of age, for the preceding month. Said report shall contain |
24 | the full name of the decedent, his or her last address, the date |
25 | of his or her birth if available, and the date of his or her |
26 | death.] The department shall transmit monthly to the Department |
27 | of State an electronic file containing information on all |
28 | resident deaths, except residents less than eighteen (18) years |
29 | of age, for the preceding month. The electronic file shall |
30 | include the full name of the decedent, gender, last address, the |
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1 | date of birth if available, county of residence, the date of |
2 | death, county of death, State file number and the last four |
3 | digits of the decedent's Social Security number. The Department |
4 | of State shall enter this information into the "sure"SURE | <-- |
5 | system" as defined in 25 Pa.C.S. § 102§ 1102 (relating to | <-- |
6 | definitions), or a similar successor system, which shall be used |
7 | by the county boards of election for the purpose of removing |
8 | deceased individuals from their voter registration rolls. |
9 | Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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