SENATE STATE GOVERNMENT, WAGERING, TOURISM & HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2891

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 11, 2021

      The Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 2891.

     This bill requires the State registrar in the Department of Health to permit, upon the request of a county surrogate on behalf of the county surrogate’s court, a county surrogate to have real-time access, and to facilitate a county surrogate’s access, to the necessary vital statistics records, such as a death certificate, in order for the county surrogate to conduct any necessary business with the county surrogate’s court.  Under current law, the following persons are authorized to obtain and receive a certified copy of a death certificate from a registrar:  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.