Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
Senator NIA H. GILL
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Defines information to be included on death certificates, including gender identification.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning information included on death certificates and amending R.S.26:6-7.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.26:6-7 is amended to read as follows:
26:6-7. a. The certificate of death shall contain such items as shall be listed on death certificate forms or in the NJ-EDRS provided or approved by the department under the authority of subsection c. of R.S.26:8-24. The death certificate forms or the record in the NJ-EDRS shall include, but not be limited to, the following items:
(1) name of the decedent;
(2) county or municipality in which the death occurred;
(3) date of death;
(4) sex of decedent, as provided for in subsection b. of this section;
(5) date of birth; and
(6) date of issuance and manner of death, provided this information is available.
b. The sex of the decedent shall be recorded to reflect the decedent’s gender identity, as reported by the next of kin or the best qualified person available, unless the person completing the death certificate is presented with a document that memorializes the decedent’s gender transition. In the event that these sources provide conflicting information concerning the sex of the decedent, the death certificate shall be based on documentation that memorializes the decedent’s gender transition. If documentation is not available, it shall be based on information from individuals most familiar with the decedent’s gender identity at the time of death. Documents that may memorialize a gender transition may include, but shall not be limited to: written instructions from the decedent; a court order approving a name or gender change; an advance health care directive; documentation of an appropriate course of treatment for the purpose of gender transition; or documentation of a change to the gender marker on a birth certificate or a state or federally issued identification card.
c. If a document specified in subsection b. of this section is not present and the person appointed by the decedent to control the funeral and disposition of the human remains in accordance with section 22 of P.L.2003, c.261 (C.45:27-22), or the person named executor of the decedent’s will, does not agree with the gender identity of the decedent as reported by the informant, any one of those persons may file a petition in the Superior Court naming as a party to the action interested parties and seeking an order of the court determining, as appropriate, who among those parties shall determine the gender identity of the decedent.
(cf: P.L.2003, c.221, s.4)
2. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would provide for the inclusion of certain information in the certified copy of a death record. The information required to be included in a death certificate would include the: name of the decedent; county or municipality in which the death occurred; date of death; sex of decedent; date of birth; and date of issuance and manner of death, provided this information is available.
The bill further clarifies that the sex of the decedent is to be recorded to reflect the decedent’s gender identity, as reported by the next of kin or the best qualified person available, unless the person completing the death certificate is presented with a document that memorializes the decedent’s gender transition. If there is conflicting information regarding the gender of the decedent, the bill defines the specific documents which may be used to confirm the decedent’s gender. If there is still discord on the determination of the decedent’s gender, the bill details the legal steps to be taken to establish the decedent’s gender.