NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9896A
SPONSOR: Zaccaro TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting charg-
es for the issuance of a certificate of still birth or fetal death
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill prohibits fees associated with obtaining a certificate of
still birth or fetal death.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Subdivision 9 of § 4160-a of the public health law is amended
to prohibit the registrar from charging any fee for the issuance of a
certificate of still birth.
Section 2. § 4160-a of the public health law is amended to add Subdivi-
sion 6 to read that local registrar shall not charge a fee for the issu-
ance of a certificate of fetal death under this article.
Section 3. Effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
A certificate of still birth is a document that no parent ever desires
to receive, yet this piece of paper provides grieving parents with some
degree of remembrance of their child. Certificates of still birth and
fetal death are issued by a respective state's office of vital records,
according to the Star Legacy Foundation, and the Foundation notes that
prior to certificates of still birth and fetal death existing, stillborn
babies did not receive any recognition of life.
On March 21, 2012, Chapter 552 of 2011 went into effect which required
the issuance of certificates of still birth to New York parents. The
justification for this law read, in part,. "Many families who have
suffered the agony of a stillbirth want a certificate acknowledging the
process, with contractions, labor and delivery, that resulted in a
stillbirth. They feel it would ease their pain and help in their healing
process."
Chapter 552 of 2011 provides that the registrar may charge a fee for
issuing a certificate of still birth that is equal to the fee for a
certificate of birth or a certificate of death, but there is no require-
ment that a mandatory fee be paid to obtain a certificate of still
birth.
Currently, it costs $30 to acquire a certificate of still birth from the
New York State Department of Health, per copy. While the initial copy of
a fetal death certificate is free additional copies of this certificate
cost $30 each.
These fees may seem inexpensive but it is important to remember why
these certificates exist, to ease the pain of parents and help families
in the healing process. Prohibiting any fees from being charged for a
certificate of still birth and a certificate of fetal death guarantees
that no financial barrier will exist for New Yorkers to obtain these
invaluable certificates.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9896--A
IN ASSEMBLY
April 26, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ZACCARO, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, CRUZ, DICKENS,
BICHOTTE HERMELYN, HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting charg-
es for the issuance of a certificate of still birth or fetal death
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 4160-a of the public health law,
2 as added by chapter 552 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 9. The registrar [may] shall not charge [a] any fee for the issuance
5 of a certificate under this section [equal to the fee authorized by law
6 for the certification of a birth or death].
7 § 2. Section 4160 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
8 subdivision 6 to read as follows:
9 6. A local registrar shall not charge a fee for the issuance of a
10 certificate of fetal death under this article.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15177-02-4
