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PRINTER'S NO. 414
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
419
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY YAW, McGARRIGLE, ALLOWAY, ARGALL, BARTOLOTTA,
SCHWANK, RESCHENTHALER, VULAKOVICH, LANGERHOLC, MENSCH,
KILLION, RAFFERTY, WARD, BROWNE, BREWSTER AND STEFANO,
FEBRUARY 27, 2017
REFERRED TO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, FEBRUARY 27, 2017
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled
"An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the
executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the
Executive Department thereof and the administrative
departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,
including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or
Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or
authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative
departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and
duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative
officers, and of the several administrative departments,
boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive
and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of
certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and
other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,
and commissions; providing for the regulation of pari-mutuel
thoroughbred horse racing and harness horse racing
activities, imposing certain taxes and providing for the
disposition of funds from pari-mutuel tickets; and
prescribing the manner in which the number and compensation
of the deputies and all other assistants and employes of
certain departments, boards and commissions shall be
determined," in powers and duties of Department of Health and
its departmental administrative and advisory boards,
providing for drug overdose death reporting.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known
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as The Administrative Code of 1929, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 2126. Drug Overdose Death Reporting.--(a) The
Department of Health shall collect and maintain information
submitted by county coroners and medical examiners under
subsection (b).
(b) Each coroner or medical examiner in this Commonwealth
shall report in writing to the Department of Health, within five
days of certification, the death of a person resulting from a
drug overdose, giving the time and place of the death and the
circumstances relating to the death. The reports shall be made
on forms prescribed by the department. Each coroner or medical
examiner shall retain a copy of the reports in the coroner's or
medical examiner's office for a period of two years.
(c) The Department of Health shall use the information
obtained under this section to:
(1) Communicate concerns to regulators and facilitate
communication within the health care system and legal system
about issues that could threaten health and public safety.
(2) Prepare aggregate statistics relating to deaths
resulting from drug overdoses and include the statistics in the
annual report required under section 4(9) of the act of October
24, 2012 (P.L.1198, No.148), known as the Methadone Death and
Incident Review Act.
(d) The Department of Health shall maintain the
confidentiality of identifying information obtained relating to
the death of an individual, including the name of the
individual, guardians, family members, caretakers or alleged or
suspected perpetrators of abuse, neglect or a criminal act.
(e) An individual who, in good faith, provides information
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or records to the Department of Health under this section shall
not be subject to civil or criminal liability as a result of
providing the information or records.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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