P.L.2003, c.221 (A2476 3R)

CHAPTER 221

An Act concerning death records, amending R.S.26:6-1 et seq., and amending and supplementing R.S.26:8-1 et seq.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. R.S.26:6-1 is amended to read as follows:

Definitions.

26:6-1. As used in this chapter: "Local registrar" or "registrar" means the local registrar of vital statistics. "State registrar" means the State Registrar of Vital Statistics.

"Registration district" or "district" means the district established by law for the registration of vital events.

"Fetal death" or "stillbirth" means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the death is indicated by the fact that after such separation, the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles.

"Dead body" means the dead body of a human being.

The definition of the term "communicable disease" as contained in R.S.26:4-1 shall also apply to this chapter.

"Authentication" means the entry by the State Medical Examiner or a county medical examiner, funeral director or physician into the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System of a personal identification code, digital signature or other identifier unique to that user, by which the information entered into the system by the user is authenticated by the user who assumes responsibility for its accuracy. "Authentication" also means the process by which the State registrar or a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar indicates that person's review and approval of information entered into the system by the State Medical Examiner or a county medical examiner, funeral director or physician.

"Electronic registration system" means any electronic method, including, but not limited to, one based on Internet technology, of collecting, transmitting, recording and authenticating information from one or more responsible parties, which is necessary to complete a vital record, and is designed to replace a manual, paper-based data collection, recordation and signature system.

"New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System" or "NJ-EDRS" is an electronic registration system for completing a certification of death or fetal death record that is authorized, designed and maintained by the State registrar.

2. R.S.26:6-4 is amended to read as follows:

Computation of death rate.

26:6-4. In computing the death rate of any municipality or health district in which there is located a hospital or other institution, any death which shall take place at such hospital or institution shall not be included among deaths occurring in said municipality or health district unless the death is of a person whose last place of residence was in said municipality or health district.

Any death occurring at any such hospital or institution, of any person whose last place of residence as shown on the death certificate was outside of the limits of said municipality or health district, shall, for the purpose of computing the death rate, be included among the deaths occurring in the municipality or health district named in the certificate as the last place of residence of the decedent.

Except where a death record is created on the NJ-EDRS, it shall be the duty of the registrar of the district in which such a death occurred promptly to notify the registrar of the district which was the last place of residence of the decedent.

3. R.S.26:6-6 is amended to read as follows:

Execution of death certificate.

26:6-6. a. The funeral director in charge of the funeral or disposition of the body of any person dying in this State shall be responsible for the proper execution of a death certificate in a legible manner, or by means of the NJ-EDRS, and filed in exchange for a burial or removal or transit permit with the local registrar of the district in which the death occurred or the body was found or with the registrar of the district in which the funeral director has his funeral home or where the burial or other disposition is to take place. In the event the death certificate is filed with the registrar of a district other than that in which the death took place or the body was found, that registrar shall, within 24 hours after issuing the permit, sign and forward the certificate of death to the registrar of the district where the death took place or the body was found, with a statement that the permit was issued. In case the death certificate is filed with the deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar, he shall within 12 hours forward the certificate to his own registrar, who in turn shall forward the certificate as heretofore directed. A record created on the NJ-EDRS shall be deemed to have been transmitted to the other local registrar, or by the deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar, as applicable, in accordance with the requirements of this subsection.

b. Any funeral director filing a death certificate in a registration district other than that in which the death occurred or the body was found shall immediately send the State registrar written notice by first class mail, except that a record created on the NJ-EDRS shall be deemed to have been transmitted to the State registrar in accordance with the requirements of this subsection. The notice shall contain the name of the deceased, the place and date of death, the date the certificate was filed, the name and address of the registrar with whom the certificate was filed, and the name and address of the funeral director. Failure of the State registrar to receive the notice shall be considered as failure of the funeral director to have sent it. In that case, the funeral director shall be subject to a penalty of $25, and the State registrar shall notify the State Board of Mortuary Science of the facts in the matter.

4. R.S.26:6-7 is amended to read as follows:

Contents of death certificate.

26:6-7. 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.

5. R.S.26:6-8 is amended to read as follows:

Duty to furnish particulars; verification.

26:6-8. In the execution of a death certificate, the personal particulars shall be obtained by the funeral director from the person best qualified to supply them. The death and last sickness particulars shall be supplied by the attending, covering or resident physician; or if there is no attending, covering or resident physician, by an attending registered professional nurse licensed by the New Jersey Board of Nursing under P.L.1947, c. 262 (C. 45:11-23 et seq.); or if there is no attending, covering or resident physician or attending registered professional nurse, by the county medical examiner. Within a reasonable time, not to exceed 24 hours after the pronouncement of death, the attending, covering or resident physician or the county medical examiner shall execute the death certification. The burial particulars shall be supplied by the funeral director. The attending, covering or resident physician, the attending registered professional nurse, or the county medical examiner and the funeral director shall certify to the particulars supplied by them by signing their names below the list of items furnished, or by otherwise authenticating their identities and the information that they have provided through the NJ-EDRS. If a person acting under the direct supervision of the State Medical Examiner, a county medical examiner, funeral director, attending, covering or resident physician, or licensed health care facility or other public or private institution providing medical care, treatment or confinement to persons, which is registered with the NJ-EDRS, is not authorized to authenticate the information required on a certificate of death or fetal death, that person may enter that information into the NJ-EDRS in anticipation of its authentication by the State Medical Examiner or a county medical examiner, funeral director, attending, covering or resident physician, local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar, as applicable.

6. Section 4 of P.L.1983, c.308 (C.26:6-8.1) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:6-8.1 Determination, pronouncement of death by registered professional nurse.

4. a. Where there has been an apparent death, a registered professional nurse licensed by the New Jersey Board of Nursing under P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-23 et seq.) may make the actual determination and pronouncement of death and shall attest to this pronouncement by: signing in the space designated for this signature on the certificate of death under R.S.26:6-7; or, for the purposes of the NJ-EDRS, transmitting orally or in writing a report of the pronouncement to the attending, covering or resident physician, or the county medical examiner.

b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section shall only apply in the case of a death which occurs in the home or place of residence of the deceased, in a hospice, or in a long-term care facility or nursing home.

7. R.S.26:6-9 is amended to read as follows:

Death occurring without medical attendance.

26:6-9. In case of any death occurring without medical attendance, the funeral director shall notify the county medical examiner, or local registrar. In case the local registrar shall be notified, he shall immediately inform the county medical examiner and refer the case to him for investigation. The county medical examiner shall furnish the funeral director with the necessary data and last sickness particulars to make the death certificate, or shall enter the information directly into the NJ-EDRS.

8. R.S.26:6-10 is amended to read as follows:

Unavailability of attending physician.

26:6-10. In case the physician who last attended the deceased is unavailable, so that a certificate of death cannot be obtained from him in time for burial or removal:

a. the designated covering physician shall have the primary responsibility, after examining the dead body, and being satisfied that death did not result from some unlawful means, to issue a death certificate; and

b. in the absence of the designated covering physician, any other physician, after examining the dead body, and being satisfied that death did not result from some unlawful means, may issue a death certificate.

9. R.S.26:6-14 is amended to read as follows:

Issuance of burial, removal permit; correction of death certificate; completion.

26:6-14. Upon receipt of a death certificate, the local registrar shall:

a. If the certificate is properly executed and complete, issue a burial or removal permit when requested; and

b. the certificate of death is incomplete and unsatisfactory, call attention to the defects in the return, and withhold the burial or removal permit until the defects are corrected. Any person certifying to any of the particulars in the certificate shall complete the same as directed by the local registrar in accordance with such terms as may be defined by the State registrar.

For the purposes of the NJ-EDRS, the death certificate shall be complete when the attending, covering or resident physician or the county medical examiner, and the funeral director in charge, have completed their respective portions of the death registration record.

10. R.S.26:6-16 is amended to read as follows:

Contents of burial, removal permit.

26:6-16. The burial or removal permit shall be issued upon a form or through the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the department, signed or authenticated through the NJ-EDRS by the local registrar, and shall state:

a. The name, age, sex, cause of death, and other necessary details required by the department;

b. That a satisfactory certificate of death has been filed as required by law; and

c. That permission is granted to inter, remove, or otherwise dispose of the body.

11. R.S.26:6-17 is amended to read as follows:

Fee for burial, removal permit.

26:6-17. The local registrar shall be entitled to receive a fee of $1 for each burial or removal, or transit permit issued; except that, on or after the first day of the first month following the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221 but before the first day of the thirty-seventh month following the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, the local registrar shall be entitled to receive a fee of $5.

12. R.S.26:8-1 is amended to read as follows:

Definitions.

26:8-1. As used in this chapter:

"Vital statistics" means statistics concerning birth, deaths, fetal deaths and marriages.

"Vital records" means the birth, death, fetal death and marriage records from which vital statistics are produced.

"State registrar" means the State registrar of vital statistics; "Local registrar" or "registrar" means the local registrar of vital statistics of any district; and "registration district" or "district" means a registration district as constituted by this article.

"Live birth" or "birth" means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such separation, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta attached.

"New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System" or "NJ-EDRS" means an electronic registration system for completing a certification of death or fetal death record that is authorized, designed and maintained by the State registrar.

13. R.S.26:8-4 is amended to read as follows:

Duty to furnish information relative to birth, death or marriage.

26:8-4. Upon demand of the State registrar in person, by mail, by means of the NJ-EDRS, or through the local registrar, every physician, midwife, informant, funeral director, or other person having knowledge of the facts relative to any birth, death, fetal death, or marriage, shall supply such information as he may possess, upon a form provided by the State registrar, or through the NJ-EDRS, or upon the original birth, death, fetal death, or marriage certificate or its electronic facsimile or digitized form thereof.

14. R.S.26:8-6 is amended to read as follows:

Registration of midwives, funeral directors.

26:8-6. a. Every midwife and funeral director shall register annually his name, address and occupation, and his license number, with the local registrar of the district in which he resides and shall register that information with the local registrar immediately upon moving to another registration district.

b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section, with respect to funeral directors, shall be satisfied by the implementation of periodic data exchanges between the State Board of Mortuary Science and the State registrar, which shall begin no later than 18 months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, in a manner to be prescribed by the State registrar.

15. R.S.26:8-24 is amended to read as follows:

Duties, responsibilities of State registrar.

26:8-24. The State registrar shall:

a. Have general supervision throughout the State of the registration of vital records;

b. Have supervisory power over local registrars, deputy local registrars, alternate deputy local registrars and subregistrars, in the enforcement of the law relative to the disposal of dead bodies and the registration of vital records;

c. Prepare, print, and supply to all registrars, upon request therefor, all blanks and forms used in registering the records required by said law, and provide for and prescribe the use of the NJ-EDRS. No other blanks or methods of registration shall be used than those supplied or approved by the State registrar;

d. Carefully examine the certificates or electronic files received periodically from the local registrars or originating from their jurisdiction; and, if any are incomplete or unsatisfactory, require such further information to be supplied as may be necessary to make the record complete and satisfactory;

e. Arrange or bind, and permanently preserve the certificates of vital records, or the information comprising those records, in a systematic manner and in a form that is deemed most consistent with contemporary and developing standards of vital statistical archival record keeping;

f. Prepare and maintain a comprehensive and continuous index of all vital records registered, the index to be arranged alphabetically;

1. In the case of deaths, by the name of the decedent;

2. In the case of births, by the name of child, if given, and if not, then by the name of father or mother;

3. In the case of marriages, by the surname of the husband and also by the maiden name of the wife;

g. Mark the birth certificate of a missing child when notified by the Missing Persons Unit in the Department of Law and Public Safety pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1995, c.395 (C.52:17B-9.8c); and

h. Develop and provide to local registrars an education and training program, which the State registrar may require each local registrar to complete as a condition of retaining that position, and which may be offered to deputy local registrars, alternate deputy local registrars and subregistrars at the discretion of the State registrar, that includes material designed to implement the NJ-EDRS and to familiarize local registrars with the statutory requirements applicable to their duties and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, as deemed appropriate by the State registrar.

C.26:8-24.1 New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System (NJ-EDRS); implementation.

16. a. The State registrar shall establish and maintain the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System or NJ-EDRS.

(1) The system shall be fully implemented no later than 18 months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, and shall be the required means of death registration and certification for any death or fetal death occurring in this State, subject to any exception that may be approved by the State registrar in the case of a specific death or fetal death. All participants in the death registration process, including, but not limited to, the State registrar, local registrars, deputy registrars, alternate deputy registrars, subregistrars, the State medical examiner, county medical examiners, funeral directors, attending physicians and resident physicians, licensed health care facilities, and other public or private institutions providing medical care, treatment or confinement to persons, shall be required to utilize the NJ-EDRS to provide the information that is required of them by statute or regulation.

(2) The State registrar may provide for a phased implementation of the system, beginning seven months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, by requiring certain users, who are designated by the State registrar on a geographic or other basis for this purpose, to commence utilization of the system.

(3) Beginning no later than six months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, the State registrar shall authorize and provide material support, in the form of system access, curriculum guidelines and user registration capability and authority, to the principal trade associations or professional organizations representing persons affected by implementation of the NJ-EDRS, for the purposes of providing training and education with regard to the NJ-EDRS. The State registrar may conduct such education and training, or authorize other entities to do so on his behalf; however, these activities shall not be construed as restricting the training and education activities of any affected trade association or professional organization, including the location, manner, fees or other means of conducting those activities on the part of the association or organization.

b. The NJ-EDRS shall, at a minimum, provide for:

(1) the direct transmission of burial permit documentation to the originating funeral home in an electronic form capable of output to a local printer;

(2) an overnight mail system for the delivery of NJ-EDRS-generated death certificates by the State registrar and local registrars, the cost of which shall be chargeable to the funeral director of record;

(3) an automated notification system to alert other responsible parties to pending cases, including notification to or from alternate local registrars;

(4) a systematic electronic payment method by which all fees are taken from accounts for which funeral homes are financially responsible and distributed, as appropriate, to the State registrar or local registrars as payment for the issuance of permits, the recording of records, the making of certified copies of death certificates, or for other charges that may be incurred;

(5) a legally binding system of digital authentication in lieu of signatures for the responsible parties and a means of assuring database security that permits users to enter the system from multiple sites and includes contemporaneous and remote data security methods to protect the system from catastrophic loss or intrusions, as well as a method of data encryption for transmission;

(6) the capacity for authorized users to retrieve data comprising the death certification record;

(7) the capacity to electronically amend and correct death records;

(8) electronic notification, upon completion of the death record and issuance of a burial permit, of the decedent's name, Social Security number and last known address and the informant to: the federal Social Security Administration, the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services, and such other governmental agencies as the State registrar determines will substantially contribute to safeguarding public benefit programs and diminish the criminal use of a decedent's name and other identifying information; and the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, in the case of a decedent participating in one of its funeral expense payment programs, in such a manner as to enable it to fulfill its fiduciary obligations for the payment of the decedent's final funeral and burial expenses;

(9) sufficient data documentation to meet contemporary and emerging standards and expectations of vital record archiving; and

(10) continuous 24-hour-a-day technical support for all authorized users of the system.

c. A provider of information that is required to complete a death certificate, or who is subject to the provisions of law governing the NJ-EDRS, shall not be deemed to be acting as a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar solely by virtue of permitting other providers of information to gain access to the NJ-EDRS by using those other providers' identifying information.

C.26:8-24.2 "New Jersey Electronic Death Registration Support Fund."

17. a. There is established the "New Jersey Electronic Death Registration Support Fund" as a nonlapsing, revolving fund to be administered by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services and credited with monies received pursuant to subsection c. of R.S.26:8-62.

b. The State Treasurer is the custodian of the fund and all disbursements from the fund shall be made by the treasurer upon vouchers signed by the commissioner. The monies in the fund shall be invested and reinvested by the Director of the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury as are other trust funds in the custody of the State Treasurer in the manner provided by law. Interest received on the monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund.

c. The monies in the fund and the interest earned thereon shall be used to meet the development and operational costs of the NJ-EDRS, including, but not limited to, costs associated with: personnel; hardware purchases and maintenance; software and communications infrastructure; website hosting; and licensing fees, royalties and transaction expenses incurred in the development, installation, maintenance and operation of electronic payment security, authentication and encryption systems, and user training and education.

d. `The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall, no later than 30 months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, report to the chairs of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee and the Assembly Appropriations Committee, or their successors, concerning the sources and uses of monies in the fund. The report shall include a description of the methodology used by the State registrar to set the fee imposed pursuant to subsection c. of R.S.26:8-62, a summary of the monies credited to fund, and a summary of expenditures by category from the fund pursuant to the authority of this section and the requirements of section 16 of P.L.2003, c.221 (C.26:8-24.1), together with any recommendations by the State registrar or the commissioner for changes that either considers should be made in the law concerning the implementation of the NJ-EDRS or the fees imposed pursuant to subsection c. of R.S.26:8-62.

C.26:8-24.3 Means of accessing NJ-EDRS; requirements.

18. The State Medical Examiner, county medical examiners, licensed health care facilities, other public or private institutions providing medical care, treatment or confinement to persons, funeral homes and physicians' private practice offices, as defined by the State registrar, shall acquire the electronic means prescribed by the State registrar to access the NJ-EDRS, or make such other arrangements as are necessary for that purpose, no later than six months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221.

The State Medical Examiner and each county medical examiner, health care facility, institution, funeral home or physician's office shall employ at least one person who is qualified to use the NJ-EDRS, and is registered with the State registrar as an authorized user of the system, by virtue of completing a course of instruction on the NJ-EDRS provided by the State registrar or an authorized agent thereof, or satisfying such other requirements as may be established by the State registrar for this purpose.

19. R.S.26:8-25 is amended to read as follows:

Duties, responsibilities of local registrar.

26:8-25. The local registrar, under the supervision and direction of the State registrar, shall:

a. Strictly and thoroughly enforce the law relative to the disposal of dead bodies and the registration of vital records in his registration district;

b. Supply blank forms of certificates to such persons as require them or provide access to the NJ-EDRS to responsible parties upon request;

c. Supply to every physician, midwife, and funeral director a copy of the law relative to the registration of vital records and the disposal of dead bodies, together with such rules and regulations as may be prepared by the State registrar relative to their enforcement;

d. Sign his name and insert the date of filing on each certificate of birth, marriage and death, or otherwise authenticate the local registrar's identity through the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar;

e. Examine each certificate of birth, marriage, or death when presented for record in order to ascertain whether or not it has been made in accordance with law and the instructions of the State registrar; and, if such certificate is incomplete and unsatisfactory, have the same corrected;

f. At the expense of the municipality make a complete and accurate copy of each birth, marriage, and death certificate registered by him on a form or in a manner prescribed by the State registrar, to be preserved in his office as the local record or in the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar;

g. On the tenth day of each month or sooner if requested by the department, transmit to the State registrar all original birth, marriage, and death certificates received by him for the preceding month, except that a record created on the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar shall be deemed to have been transmitted. If no births, marriages or deaths occurred in any month, he shall, on or before the tenth day of the following month, report that fact to the State registrar on a card provided for such purpose;

h. Make an immediate report to the State registrar of any violation of this chapter or R.S.26:6-1 et seq., as well as R.S.37:1-1 et seq. coming to his knowledge;

i. In the case of any birth in his registration district to parents who are residents of another registration district or of the marriage in his registration district of any couple who obtained the marriage license in another registration district, or of the death in his registration district of any person who at the time of death was a resident of another registration district notify the registrar of the other registration district, within five days of the birth, marriage, or death, on forms prescribed by the State registrar. All entries relating to cause of death on the original certificate shall be entered on the death form sent to the registrar of the other registration district. A record created on the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar shall be deemed to have been transmitted to the registrar of the other registration district;

j. Mark the birth certificate of a missing child born in his registration district when notified by the State registrar pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1995, c.395 (C.52:17B-9.8c); and

k. Make computer facilities with access to the NJ-EDRS available to funeral directors and physicians registered with the NJ-EDRS, within the regular established business hours of the local registrar, for the purpose of providing information necessary to complete a death record.

20. R.S.26:8-26 is amended to read as follows:

Duty of subregistrar.

26:8-26. Each subregistrar shall note, on each certificate of birth or death, over his signature, the date of filing, and shall forward all certificates to the local registrar of the district within five days, with the exception that in any instance where the subregistrar accepts a certificate for a death not occurring in his district, as permitted by R.S.26:6-6, he shall forward the certificate within 12 hours to the local registrar of his district. A record created on the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar shall be deemed to have been forwarded as required by this section.

21. R.S.26:8-48 is amended to read as follows:

Amendments to certificate, recording, authentication.

26:8-48. A certificate of birth, fetal death, marriage or death heretofore or hereafter filed with the State registrar shall not be altered or changed otherwise than by amendments properly signed, dated and witnessed, or as otherwise recorded and authenticated on the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar.

22. R.S.26:8-52 is amended to read as follows:

Correcting death certificates, procedure.

26:8-52. Corrections to death certificates shall be signed by the physician, registered professional nurse, county medical examiner, State Medical Examiner, funeral director or informant, whose name appears upon the certificate, or shall be otherwise recorded and authenticated on the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar; however, any individual having personal knowledge and substantiating documentary proof of the matters sought to be corrected may apply under oath to the county medical examiner or the State Medical Examiner in a case in which the certificate was signed by the State Medical Examiner, to have the certificate corrected. The authority to sign or otherwise authenticate corrections or amendments to causes or duration of causes of death is restricted to the physician, State Medical Examiner or county medical examiner. Upon denial of an application for correction or amendment of a death certificate, a person who has applied to a county medical examiner may apply to the State Medical Examiner, who shall exercise discretion to review the matter and amend the certificate or to defer to the decision of the county medical examiner. The decision of the county medical examiner shall be deemed the final decision by a public officer in the matter unless the State Medical Examiner amends or corrects the death certificate.

23. R.S.26:8-56 is amended to read as follows:

Fee for registering birth or death.

26:8-56. The local registrar shall be paid $1 for each birth or death certificate properly executed, registered, recorded, and promptly returned, or otherwise transmitted through the NJ-EDRS, to the State Registrar. In the case of a death registration, the fee shall be credited to the account within the NJ-EDRS of the political subdivision comprising the registration district. A local registrar shall not receive the fee if compensated by a fixed salary as provided in R.S.26:8-59.

C.26:8-59.1 Persons authorized to obtain certification, certified copy of death certificate; accounting for fees.

24. a. Persons authorized to obtain and receive a certification or certified copy of a death certificate from a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar, subregistrar, or an incorporated political subdivision comprising a registration district, shall include those individuals who establish themselves as one of the following: the parent, legal guardian or other legal representative of the subject of that record; the subject's spouse, child, grandchild or sibling, if of legal age, or the subject's legal representative; an agency of State or federal government for official purposes; a person possessing an order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or a person who is authorized under other emergent circumstances as determined by the commissioner. For the purposes of this section, any employee of a mortuary registered pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.), or a funeral director licensed pursuant to that act who is affiliated with a registered mortuary, if the mortuary was recorded on the original certificate of death, shall be construed to be the subject's legal representative and entitled to obtain full and complete copies of death certificates or certifications thereof.

b. Any fee charged, by a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar, subregistrar, or an incorporated political subdivision comprising a registration district, to a funeral home as the legal representative for a person in securing a certified copy of a death certificate shall be in the form of a debit against the account of the funeral home and a credit to the applicable political subdivision within the NJ-EDRS.

25. R.S.26:8-62 is amended to read as follows:

Certification, certified copy of records, search fee.

26:8-62. a. The State registrar shall, upon request, supply to a person who establishes himself as one of the following: the subject of the record of a birth, death, fetal death or marriage, as applicable; the subject's parent, legal guardian or other legal representative; the subject's spouse, child, grandchild or sibling, if of legal age, or the subject's legal representative; an agency of State or federal government for official purposes; a person possessing an order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or a person who is authorized under other emergent circumstances as determined by the commissioner, a certification or certified copy of that record, registered under the provision of this chapter, for either of which, except as provided by R.S.26:8-63, he shall be entitled to a search fee, if any, as provided by R.S.26:8-64, to be paid by the person. For the purposes of this subsection, any employee of a mortuary registered pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.), or a funeral director licensed pursuant to that act who is affiliated with a registered mortuary, if the mortuary was recorded on the original certificate of death, shall be construed to be the subject's legal representative and entitled to obtain full and complete copies of death certificates or certifications thereof.

b. The State registrar shall, upon request, supply to any applicant a certified transcript of any entry contained in the records of the New Jersey State census for which, except as provided by R.S.26:8-63, he shall be entitled to a search fee as provided by R.S.26:8-64, to be paid by the applicant.

c. For each death registration initiated on the NJ-EDRS on or after the first day of the first month following the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221 but before the first day of the thirty-seventh month following the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, the State registrar shall be paid a recording fee for each record filed, whether by means of the current paper process or electronically, in an amount to be determined by the State registrar but not exceeding $10, from the account of the funeral home, which may include this amount in the funeral expenses charged to the estate or person accepting responsibility for the disposition of the deceased's human remains and the costs associated therewith; provided however, this fee shall not apply to the death registration of a person who died while in the military or naval or maritime or merchant marine service of the United States whose death is recorded pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1950, c.299 (C.26:6-5.2). The State registrar shall deposit the proceeds from the recording fee into the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration Support Fund established pursuant to section 17 of P.L.2003, c.221 (C.26:8-24.2).

26. R.S.26:8-69 is amended to read as follows:

Penalties; recovery.

26:8-69. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter and R.S.37:1-1 et seq., any person who shall:

a. Fail or refuse to furnish correctly any information in his possession; or

b. Willfully and knowingly furnish false information affecting any certificate or record required by this chapter; or

c. Willfully alter, otherwise than is provided by R.S.26:8-48 et seq., or willfully or knowingly falsify, any certificate or record established by this chapter; or

d. Fail to fill out and transmit any certificate or record in the manner required by this chapter; or

e. Being a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar, shall fail to perform his duty as required by this chapter and by the directions of the State registrar thereunder; or

f. Violate any of the provisions of this chapter or fail to discharge any duty required by this chapter-

Shall be subject to a penalty of not less than $100 nor more than $250 for each first offense and not less than $250 nor more than $500 for each subsequent offense.

The penalties shall be recovered in a civil action in the name of the Department of Health and Senior Services or local board in any court of competent jurisdiction.

The Superior Court or municipal court shall have jurisdiction over proceedings to enforce and collect any such penalty, if the violation has occurred within the territorial jurisdiction of the court. The proceedings shall be summary and in accordance with the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, the State registrar may refer a violation of this chapter by a physician, nurse or funeral director who is licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes to the appropriate professional board in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, which shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), assess the penalty provided for in this subsection and assume enforcement responsibility on the same basis as it would for a violation of the statute or regulations governing the practice of those persons regulated by that board.

C.26:8-25.1 Suspension of authority to participate in NJ-EDRS.

27. The State registrar may suspend the authority of a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar to participate in the NJ-EDRS, and thereby preclude that person from doing burial permitting or death registration, if the State registrar determines that the applicable registration district is insufficiently equipped or provides untimely service with respect to the review and final authentication of records. In that event, the State registrar may assign a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar from another registration district to substitute for the person in question until such time as the applicable registration district meets the standards established by the State registrar.

C.26:8-21.1 Rules, regulations.

28. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.

29. This act shall take effect immediately.

Approved January 9, 2004.