ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY, No. 3327

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  AUGUST 24, 2020

 

      The Assembly Health Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 3327.

      This bill requires the State registrar in the Department of Health to permit, upon the request of a county surrogate on behalf of an authorized person, a county surrogate to have real-time access, and facilitate a county surrogate’s access, to the necessary vital statistics records in order for the county surrogate to provide a certified copy of a death certificate to the authorized person.  Under the bill, the authorized person is required to be otherwise engaged in receiving services provided by the requesting county surrogate.  Under current law, an authorized person includes 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.  The bill also clarifies that an authorized person may obtain a certified copy of a death certificate from a county surrogate.