NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A306A
SPONSOR: Steck
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to authorizing the
city of Schenectady to impose fees for the issuance of birth and death
certificates through local law
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Authorizes the Schenectady City Council to establish the fee charged for
the issuance of birth and death records by the clerk of the City of
Schenectady.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Amends section 4173(3) (b) of the public Health Law, to provide that the
Schenectady City Council may increase the fee charged for certified
copies of birth and death certificates.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Vital records are documents such as birth and death certificates.
Currently, the City of Schenectady is authorized to charge up to $10 for
a certified copy of these vital records. The fee for a certified copy
has not increased since 1991, when the fee increased from $5.00 to its
present fee of $10.00. By contrast, the charge authorized for the NYS
Department of Health for such records under NYS Public Health Law
section 4174(2) has been increased twice and is $30. Due to the increas-
ing costs in providing services to its residents and balancing the budg-
et, the Schenectady City Council has requested legislation enabling them
to implement a fee increase. Local governments have limited resources,
many of which are currently experiencing declines as a result of their
economic sensitivity. Consequently, it is more important than ever that
the state find no-cost ways to enhance local governments' ability to
generate additional resources.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019: A306 - passed Assembly 2017/18: A7978 - rules
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to State, additional local revenue will offset the need to increase
local property taxes.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
306--A
Cal. No. 13
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Health -- ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered
reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to authorizing the
city of Schenectady to impose fees for the issuance of birth and death
certificates through local law
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 4173 of the
2 public health law, as amended by chapter 293 of the laws of 2019, is
3 added to read as follows:
4 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, in the follow-
5 ing county jurisdictions the fee shall be set by the county health
6 commissioner: Chemung, Monroe, Onondaga, Tompkins; and in the following
7 local jurisdictions the fee shall be set by the local legislative body:
8 city of Oswego, city of Albany, city of Schenectady. In such jurisdic-
9 tions, the fee may be set up to the amount charged by the commissioner
10 as prescribed in subdivision two of section forty-one hundred seventy-
11 four of this title.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03571-02-0