Florida Senate - 2015 CS for SB 640
By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Detert
588-02131-15 2015640c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to vital statistics; amending s.
3 382.002, F.S.; providing and revising definitions;
4 amending s. 382.003, F.S.; authorizing the Department
5 of Health to produce and maintain paper death
6 certificates and fetal death certificates and issue
7 burial-transit permits; amending s. 382.006, F.S.;
8 requiring a funeral director to provide burial-transit
9 permits to certain persons; assigning responsibility
10 for manually filed paper death records to the
11 subregistrar; authorizing the department to adopt
12 rules; amending s. 382.007, F.S.; revising provisions
13 relating to records of final dispositions of dead
14 bodies; requiring maintenance of records for a
15 specified period; amending s. 382.008, F.S.; requiring
16 electronic filing of death and fetal death
17 certificates with the department or local registrar on
18 a prescribed form; authorizing certain legally
19 authorized persons to provide personal data about the
20 deceased; authorizing the department, rather than the
21 local registrar, to grant an extension of time for
22 providing certain information regarding a death or a
23 fetal death; amending s. 382.0085, F.S.; conforming a
24 cross-reference; amending s. 382.011, F.S.; retaining
25 a funeral director’s responsibility to file a death or
26 fetal death certificate with the department, rather
27 than with the local registrar; amending s. 382.0135,
28 F.S.; requiring the department to electronically
29 notify the United States Social Security
30 Administration of deaths in the state; providing an
31 effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Present subsections (1) through (17) of section
36 382.002, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2)
37 through (18), respectively, present subsections (8) and (9) are
38 amended, and a new subsection (1) is added to that section, to
39 read:
40 382.002 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
41 (1) “Burial-transit permit” means a permit issued by the
42 department that authorizes the final disposition of a dead body.
43 (9)(8) “Final disposition” means the burial, interment,
44 entombment, cremation, removal from the state, anatomical
45 donation, or other authorized disposition of a dead body or a
46 fetus as described in subsection (8) (7). In the case of
47 cremation, dispersion of ashes or cremation residue is
48 considered to occur after final disposition; the cremation
49 itself is considered final disposition. In the case of
50 anatomical donation of a dead body, the donation itself is
51 considered final disposition.
52 (10)(9) “Funeral director” means a licensed funeral
53 director or direct disposer licensed pursuant to chapter 497 who
54 first assumes custody of or effects the final disposition of a
55 dead body or a fetus as described in subsection (8) (7).
56 Section 2. Subsection (9) of section 382.003, Florida
57 Statutes, is amended to read:
58 382.003 Powers and duties of the department.—The department
59 shall:
60 (9) Appoint one or more suitable persons to act as
61 subregistrars, who shall be authorized to produce and maintain
62 paper receive death certificates and fetal death certificates
63 and to issue burial-transit burial permits in and for such
64 portions of one or more districts as may be designated. A
65 subregistrar may be removed from office by the department for
66 neglect of or failure to perform his or her duty in accordance
67 with this chapter.
68 Section 3. Subsections (1) and (6) of section 382.006,
69 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (7) is added to
70 that section, to read:
71 382.006 Burial-transit permit.—
72 (1) The funeral director who first assumes custody of a
73 dead body or fetus must obtain a burial-transit permit before
74 prior to final disposition and within 5 days after death. The
75 funeral director shall provide the manually produced or
76 electronic burial-transit permit generated from the electronic
77 death registration system to the person in charge of the place
78 of final disposition. The application for a burial-transit
79 permit must be signed by the funeral director and include the
80 funeral director’s license number. The funeral director must
81 attest on the application that he or she has contacted the
82 physician’s or medical examiner’s office and has received
83 assurance that the physician or medical examiner will provide
84 medical certification of the cause of death within 72 hours
85 after receipt of the death certificate from the funeral
86 director.
87 (6) For manually filed paper death records, the
88 subregistrar in the licensed funeral or direct disposal
89 establishment is responsible for producing and maintaining death
90 and fetal death certificates and burial-transit permits in
91 accordance with this chapter. Burial-transit permits filed with
92 the local registrar under the provisions of this chapter may be
93 destroyed after the expiration of 3 years from the date of
94 filing.
95 (7) The department may adopt rules to implement this
96 section.
97 Section 4. Section 382.007, Florida Statutes, is amended to
98 read:
99 382.007 Final dispositions prohibited without burial
100 transit permit; records of dead bodies disposed.—A person in
101 charge of any premises on which final dispositions are made
102 shall not dispose inter or permit the interment or other
103 disposition of any dead body unless it is accompanied by a
104 burial-transit permit. Any Such person shall enter endorse upon
105 the permit the date of final interment, or other disposition,
106 over his or her signature, and shall return all permits so
107 endorsed to the local registrar of the district where the place
108 of final disposition is located within 10 days from the date of
109 interment or other disposition. He or she shall keep a record of
110 all dead bodies interred or otherwise disposed of on the
111 premises under his or her charge, in each case stating the name
112 of each deceased person, place of death, date of final burial or
113 other disposition, and name and address of the funeral director,
114 which record shall at all times be open to official inspection.
115 The burial-transit permit on file may satisfy this requirement.
116 The funeral director, when disposing of burying a dead body in a
117 cemetery having no person in charge, shall enter the date of
118 final disposition on sign the burial-transit permit, giving the
119 date of burial, and shall write across the face of the permit
120 the words “No person in charge,” on the permit, and keep the
121 permit on file for at least 3 years after the date of final
122 disposition and file the permit within 10 days after burial with
123 the local registrar of the district in which the cemetery is
124 located.
125 Section 5. Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (2),
126 and paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 382.008, Florida
127 Statutes, are amended to read:
128 382.008 Death and fetal death registration.—
129 (1) A certificate for each death and fetal death which
130 occurs in this state shall be filed electronically on the
131 department electronic death registration system or on a form
132 prescribed by the department with the department or local
133 registrar of the district in which the death occurred on a form
134 prescribed by the department. A certificate shall be filed
135 within 5 days after such death and prior to final disposition,
136 and shall be registered by the department such registrar if it
137 has been completed and filed in accordance with this chapter or
138 adopted rules. The certificate shall include the decedent’s
139 social security number, if available. In addition, each
140 certificate of death or fetal death:
141 (a) If requested by the informant, shall include aliases or
142 “also known as” (AKA) names of a decedent in addition to the
143 decedent’s name of record. Aliases shall be entered on the face
144 of the death certificate in the space provided for name if there
145 is sufficient space. If there is not sufficient space, aliases
146 may be recorded on the back of the certificate and shall be
147 considered part of the official record of death;
148 (b) If the place of death is unknown, shall be registered
149 in the registration district in which the dead body or fetus was
150 is found within 5 days after such occurrence; and
151 (c) If death occurs in a moving conveyance, shall be
152 registered in the registration district in which the dead body
153 was first removed from such conveyance.
154 (2)(a) The funeral director who first assumes custody of a
155 dead body or fetus shall file the certificate of death or fetal
156 death. In the absence of the funeral director, the physician or
157 other person in attendance at or after the death or the district
158 medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred or
159 the body was found shall file the certificate of death or fetal
160 death. The person who files the certificate shall obtain
161 personal data from a legally authorized person as defined in s.
162 497.005 the next of kin or the best qualified person or source
163 available. The medical certification of cause of death shall be
164 furnished to the funeral director, either in person or via
165 certified mail or electronic transfer, by the physician or
166 medical examiner responsible for furnishing such information.
167 For fetal deaths, the physician, midwife, or hospital
168 administrator shall provide any medical or health information to
169 the funeral director within 72 hours after expulsion or
170 extraction.
171 (3) Within 72 hours after receipt of a death or fetal death
172 certificate from the funeral director, the medical certification
173 of cause of death shall be completed and made available to the
174 funeral director by the decedent’s primary or attending
175 physician or, if s. 382.011 applies, the district medical
176 examiner of the county in which the death occurred or the body
177 was found. The primary or attending physician or medical
178 examiner shall certify over his or her signature the cause of
179 death to the best of his or her knowledge and belief. As used in
180 this section, the term “primary or attending physician” means a
181 physician who treated the decedent through examination, medical
182 advice, or medication during the 12 months preceding the date of
183 death.
184 (a) The department local registrar may grant the funeral
185 director an extension of time if upon a good and sufficient
186 showing of any of the following conditions exist:
187 1. An autopsy is pending.
188 2. Toxicology, laboratory, or other diagnostic reports have
189 not been completed.
190 3. The identity of the decedent is unknown and further
191 investigation or identification is required.
192 Section 6. Subsection (9) of section 382.0085, Florida
193 Statutes, is amended to read:
194 382.0085 Stillbirth registration.—
195 (9) This section or s. 382.002(16) s. 382.002(15) may not
196 be used to establish, bring, or support a civil cause of action
197 seeking damages against any person or entity for bodily injury,
198 personal injury, or wrongful death for a stillbirth.
199 Section 7. Subsection (3) of section 382.011, Florida
200 Statutes, is amended to read:
201 382.011 Medical examiner determination of cause of death.—
202 (3) The funeral director shall retain the responsibility
203 for preparation of the death or fetal death certificate,
204 obtaining the necessary signatures, filing with the department
205 local registrar in a timely manner, and arranging for final
206 disposition of the body when disposing of the remains when the
207 remains are released by the medical examiner.
208 Section 8. Section 382.0135, Florida Statutes, is amended
209 to read:
210 382.0135 Social security numbers; electronic notification
211 of deaths; enumeration-at-birth program.—The department shall
212 make arrangements with the United States Social Security
213 Administration to provide electronic notification of deaths that
214 occur in the state and to participate in the voluntary
215 enumeration-at-birth program. The State Registrar is authorized
216 to take any actions necessary to administer the program in this
217 state, including modifying the procedures and forms used in the
218 birth registration process.
219 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.