Bill Text: NY A06372 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

New York Assembly Bill 6372 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Prohibits, in a city of 1,000,000 or more, delivery of an unclaimed body to a university, college, school or institute, unless the consent of the deceased or the person authorized to control the disposition of such body has been granted.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-16 - substituted by s4430d [A06372 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A06372-Amended.html

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        6372--A
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    March 20, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  SIMANOWITZ  -- read once and referred to the
         Committee on Health -- committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
         reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
       AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public health law, in relation to requiring the
         consent of the spouse or next of kin of an unclaimed  deceased  person
         prior  to  delivery  of  such person to a university, college, school,
         institute or mortuary school for embalming, dissection or autopsy
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 4211 of the public health
    2  law, as amended by chapter 180 of the laws of 2004, are amended to  read
    3  as follows:
    4    3.  No  body of a deceased person shall be delivered or released to or
    5  received by, any university, college [or], school  [or],  institute[.]OR
    6  MORTUARY SCHOOL:
    7    (a) [if, within forty-eight hours after death it is desired for inter-
    8  ment  or  other  lawful  disposition by relatives and in the counties of
    9  Oneida,  Onondaga,  Oswego,  Madison  and  Cortland,  by  relatives   or
   10  friends,]  UNTIL  THE SPOUSE, AND IF HE OR SHE SHALL HAVE HAD NO SPOUSE,
   11  THE NEXT OF KIN OF THE DECEASED PERSON SHALL HAVE CONSENTED  IN  WRITING
   12  TO  THE DELIVERY AND RELEASE OF THE BODY OF SUCH PERSON TO THE UNIVERSI-
   13  TY, COLLEGE, SCHOOL, INSTITUTE OR MORTUARY SCHOOL  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF
   14  EMBALMING,  DISSECTION  OR  AUTOPSY.  THE  UNIVERSITY,  COLLEGE, SCHOOL,
   15  INSTITUTE OR MORTUARY SCHOOL DESIRING CUSTODY OF THE BODY OF A  DECEASED
   16  PERSON  SHALL  HAVE THE DUTY TO LOCATE AND OBTAIN THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF
   17  THE SPOUSE OR NEXT OF KIN OF SUCH DECEASED PERSON. IN THE EVENT THAT THE
   18  SPOUSE OR NEXT OF KIN ARE NOT LOCATED, IT SHALL  BE  PRESUMED  THAT  THE
   19  DECEASED  PERSON AND HIS OR HER FAMILY AND NEXT OF KIN OBJECT TO EMBALM-
   20  ING, DISSECTION AND AUTOPSY, THE BODY  SHALL  BE  RELEASED  FOR  BURIAL;
   21  or[,]
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD09006-04-5
       A. 6372--A                          2
    1    (b)  if  prior  to his or her death, the person shall have expressed a
    2  desire that his or her body be interred or otherwise  lawfully  disposed
    3  of, is carrying an identification card upon his or her person indicating
    4  his  or her opposition to the EMBALMING, dissection or autopsy of his or
    5  her body[, or,
    6    (c)  if the deceased person is known to have a relative whose place of
    7  residence is known or can be ascertained after reasonable  and  diligent
    8  inquiry].
    9    4.  [(a)]  A  body  of  a  deceased  person  shall not be delivered or
   10  released to, or received by a university, college, school  [or],  insti-
   11  tute  OR  MORTUARY  SCHOOL, [if within twenty-four hours after notice of
   12  death by the person having lawful possession, charge, custody or control
   13  to the next of kin, or in the  counties  of  Oneida,  Onondaga,  Oswego,
   14  Madison  and  Cortland  to  the  next  of kin, or friend of the deceased
   15  person such next of kin or friend shall claim such body for interment or
   16  other lawful disposition] UNTIL  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  PARAGRAPH  (A)  OF
   17  SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION HAVE BEEN COMPLIED WITH.
   18    [(b)  Unless  a  relative or friend of the deceased person shall claim
   19  the body of the deceased person within forty-eight hours after death, or
   20  within twenty-four hours after receipt of notice of death as provided in
   21  paragraph (a) of  this  subdivision,  the  next  of  kin,  relatives  or
   22  friends,  as the case may be, shall be deemed to have assented to deliv-
   23  ery or release to, and receipt by the  university,  college,  school  or
   24  institute, of such dead body.]
   25    S  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
   26  delivery and release of bodies on and after such date.