102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB0214

 

Introduced 1/22/2021, by Rep. Dan Brady

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
410 ILCS 535/18  from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-18
410 ILCS 535/20  from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-20
410 ILCS 535/21  from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-21

    Amends the Vital Records Act. Provides that death certificates and medical certifications may be completed and signed by advanced practice registered nurses. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2022.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB0214LRB102 04082 CPF 14098 b

1    AN ACT concerning health.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Vital Records Act is amended by changing
5Sections 18, 20, and 21 as follows:
 
6    (410 ILCS 535/18)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-18)
7    Sec. 18. (1) Each death which occurs in this State shall be
8registered by filing a death certificate with the local
9registrar of the district in which the death occurred or the
10body was found, within 7 days after such death (within 5 days
11if the death occurs prior to January 1, 1989) and prior to
12cremation or removal of the body from the State, except when
13death is subject to investigation by the coroner or medical
14examiner.
15        (a) For the purposes of this Section, if the place of
16    death is unknown, a death certificate shall be filed in
17    the registration district in which a dead body is found,
18    which shall be considered the place of death.
19        (b) When a death occurs on a moving conveyance, the
20    place where the body is first removed from the conveyance
21    shall be considered the place of death and a death
22    certificate shall be filed in the registration district in
23    which such place is located.

 

 

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1        (c) The funeral director who first assumes custody of
2    a dead body shall be responsible for filing a completed
3    death certificate. He or she shall obtain the personal
4    data from the next of kin or the best qualified person or
5    source available; he or she shall enter on the certificate
6    the name, relationship, and address of the his informant;
7    he or she shall enter the date, place, and method of final
8    disposition; he or she shall affix his or her own
9    signature and enter his or her address; and shall present
10    the certificate to the person responsible for completing
11    the medical certification of cause of death. The person
12    responsible for completing the medical certification of
13    cause of death must note the presence of
14    methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, clostridium
15    difficile, or vancomycin-resistant enterococci if it is a
16    contributing factor to or the cause of death. Additional
17    multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) may be added to
18    this list by the Department by rule.
19    (2) The medical certification shall be completed and
20signed within 48 hours after death by the physician or
21advanced practice registered nurse in charge of the patient's
22care for the illness or condition which resulted in death,
23except when death is subject to the coroner's or medical
24examiner's investigation. In the absence of the physician or
25advanced practice registered nurse or with his or her
26approval, the medical certificate may be completed and signed

 

 

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1by his or her associate physician or advanced practice
2registered nurse, the chief medical officer of the institution
3in which death occurred, or by the physician who performed an
4autopsy upon the decedent.
5    (3) When a death occurs without medical attendance, or
6when it is otherwise subject to the coroner's or medical
7examiner's investigation, the coroner or medical examiner
8shall be responsible for the completion of a coroner's or
9medical examiner's certificate of death and shall sign the
10medical certification within 48 hours after death, except as
11provided by regulation in special problem cases. If the
12decedent was under the age of 18 years at the time of his or
13her death, and the death was due to injuries suffered as a
14result of a motor vehicle backing over a child, or if the death
15occurred due to the power window of a motor vehicle, the
16coroner or medical examiner must send a copy of the medical
17certification, with information documenting that the death was
18due to a vehicle backing over the child or that the death was
19caused by a power window of a vehicle, to the Department of
20Children and Family Services. The Department of Children and
21Family Services shall (i) collect this information for use by
22Child Death Review Teams and (ii) compile and maintain this
23information as part of its Annual Child Death Review Team
24Report to the General Assembly.
25    (3.5) The medical certification of cause of death shall
26expressly provide an opportunity for the person completing the

 

 

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1certification to indicate that the death was caused in whole
2or in part by a dementia-related disease, Parkinson's Disease,
3or Parkinson-Dementia Complex.
4    (4) When the deceased was a veteran of any war of the
5United States, the funeral director shall prepare a
6"Certificate of Burial of U. S. War Veteran", as prescribed
7and furnished by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs,
8and submit such certificate to the Illinois Department of
9Veterans' Affairs monthly.
10    (5) When a death is presumed to have occurred in this State
11but the body cannot be located, a death certificate may be
12prepared by the State Registrar upon receipt of an order of a
13court of competent jurisdiction which includes the finding of
14facts required to complete the death certificate. Such death
15certificate shall be marked "Presumptive" and shall show on
16its face the date of the registration and shall identify the
17court and the date of the judgment.
18(Source: P.A. 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-376, eff. 8-15-11.)
 
19    (410 ILCS 535/20)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-20)
20    Sec. 20. Fetal death; place of registration.
21    (1) Each fetal death which occurs in this State after a
22gestation period of 20 completed weeks (and when the mother
23elects in writing to arrange for the burial or cremation of the
24fetus under Section 11.4 of the Hospital Licensing Act) or
25more shall be registered with the local or subregistrar of the

 

 

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1district in which the delivery occurred within 7 days after
2the delivery and before removal of the fetus from the State,
3except as provided by regulation in special problem cases.
4        (a) For the purposes of this Section, if the place of
5    fetal death is unknown, a fetal death certificate shall be
6    filed in the registration district in which a dead fetus
7    is found, which shall be considered the place of fetal
8    death.
9        (b) When a fetal death occurs on a moving conveyance,
10    the city, village, township, or road district in which the
11    fetus is first removed from the conveyance shall be
12    considered the place of delivery and a fetal death
13    certificate shall be filed in the registration district in
14    which the place is located.
15        (c) The funeral director or person acting as such who
16    first assumes custody of a fetus shall file the
17    certificate. The personal data shall be obtained from the
18    best qualified person or source available. The name,
19    relationship, and address of the informant shall be
20    entered on the certificate. The date, place, and method of
21    final disposition of the fetus shall be recorded over the
22    personal signature and address of the funeral director
23    responsible for the disposition. The certificate shall be
24    presented to the person responsible for completing the
25    medical certification of the cause of death.
26    (2) The medical certification shall be completed and

 

 

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1signed within 24 hours after delivery by the physician or
2advanced practice registered nurse in attendance at or after
3delivery, except when investigation is required under Division
43-3 of Article 3 of the Counties Code and except as provided by
5regulation in special problem cases.
6    (3) When a fetal death occurs without medical attendance
7upon the mother at or after the delivery, or when
8investigation is required under Division 3-3 of Article 3 of
9the Counties Code, the coroner shall be responsible for the
10completion of the fetal death certificate and shall sign the
11medical certification within 24 hours after the delivery or
12the finding of the fetus, except as provided by regulation in
13special problem cases.
14(Source: P.A. 92-348, eff. 1-1-02.)
 
15    (410 ILCS 535/21)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-21)
16    Sec. 21. (1) The funeral director or person acting as such
17who first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus shall make a
18written report to the registrar of the district in which death
19occurred or in which the body or fetus was found within 24
20hours after taking custody of the body or fetus on a form
21prescribed and furnished by the State Registrar and in
22accordance with the rules promulgated by the State Registrar.
23Except as specified in paragraph (2) of this Section, the
24written report shall serve as a permit to transport, bury, or
25entomb the body or fetus within this State, provided that the

 

 

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1funeral director or person acting as such shall certify that
2the physician or advanced practice registered nurse in charge
3of the patient's care for the illness or condition which
4resulted in death has been contacted and has affirmatively
5stated that he or she will sign the medical certificate of
6death or the fetal death certificate. If a funeral director
7fails to file written reports under this Section in a timely
8manner, the local registrar may suspend the funeral director's
9privilege of filing written reports by mail. In a county with a
10population greater than 3,000,000, if a funeral director or
11person acting as such inters or entombs a dead body without
12having previously certified that the physician or advanced
13practice registered nurse in charge of the patient's care for
14the illness or condition that resulted in death has been
15contacted and has affirmatively stated that he or she will
16sign the medical certificate of death, then that funeral
17director or person acting as such is responsible for payment
18of the specific costs incurred by the county medical examiner
19in disinterring and reinterring or reentombing the dead body.
20    (2) The written report as specified in paragraph (1) of
21this Section shall not serve as a permit to:
22        (a) Remove body or fetus from this State;
23        (b) Cremate the body or fetus; or
24        (c) Make disposal of any body or fetus in any manner
25    when death is subject to the coroner's or medical
26    examiner's investigation.

 

 

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1    (3) In accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of
2this Section the funeral director or person acting as such who
3first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus shall obtain a
4permit for disposition of such dead human body prior to final
5disposition or removal from the State of the body or fetus.
6Such permit shall be issued by the registrar of the district
7where death occurred or the body or fetus was found. No such
8permit shall be issued until a properly completed certificate
9of death has been filed with the registrar. The registrar
10shall insure the issuance of a permit for disposition within
11an expedited period of time to accommodate Sunday or holiday
12burials of decedents whose time of death and religious tenets
13or beliefs necessitate Sunday or holiday burials.
14    (4) A permit which accompanies a dead body or fetus
15brought into this State shall be authority for final
16disposition of the body or fetus in this State, except in
17municipalities where local ordinance requires the issuance of
18a local permit prior to disposition.
19    (5) A permit for disposition of a dead human body shall be
20required prior to disinterment of a dead body or fetus, and
21when the disinterred body is to be shipped by a common carrier.
22Such permit shall be issued to a licensed funeral director or
23person acting as such, upon proper application, by the local
24registrar of the district in which disinterment is to be made.
25In the case of disinterment, proper application shall include
26a statement providing the name and address of any surviving

 

 

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1spouse of the deceased, or, if none, any surviving children of
2the deceased, or if no surviving spouse or children, a parent,
3brother, or sister of the deceased. The application shall
4indicate whether the applicant is one of these parties and, if
5so, whether the applicant is a surviving spouse or a surviving
6child. Prior to the issuance of a permit for disinterment, the
7local registrar shall, by certified mail, notify the surviving
8spouse, unless he or she is the applicant, or if there is no
9surviving spouse, all surviving children except for the
10applicant, of the application for the permit. The person or
11persons notified shall have 30 days from the mailing of the
12notice to object by obtaining an injunction enjoining the
13issuance of the permit. After the 30-day period has expired,
14the local registrar shall issue the permit unless he or she has
15been enjoined from doing so or there are other statutory
16grounds for refusal. The notice to the spouse or surviving
17children shall inform the person or persons being notified of
18the right to seek an injunction within 30 days.
19Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (5), a
20court may order issuance of a permit for disinterment without
21notice or prior to the expiration of the 30-day period where
22the petition is made by an agency of any governmental unit and
23good cause is shown for disinterment without notice or for the
24early order. Nothing in this subsection (5) limits the
25authority of the City of Chicago to acquire property or
26otherwise exercise its powers under the O'Hare Modernization

 

 

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1Act or requires that City, or any person acting on behalf of
2that City, to obtain a permit under this subsection (5) when
3exercising powers under the O'Hare Modernization Act. The
4Illinois Department of Transportation, and any person acting
5on its behalf under a public-private agreement entered into in
6accordance with the Public-Private Agreements for the South
7Suburban Airport Act, is exempt from this subsection (5),
8provided that the Illinois Department of Transportation, or
9any such person, takes reasonable steps to comply with the
10provisions of this subsection (5) so long as compliance does
11not interfere with the design, development, operation, or
12maintenance of the South Suburban Airport or the exercise of
13their powers under the Public-Private Agreements for the South
14Suburban Airport Act.
15(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
171, 2022.