093_SB0376eng

 
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 1        AN ACT in relation to public health.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.  The Vital Records Act is amended by changing
 5    Section 18 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
 8    be registered by filing a death certificate  with  the  local
 9    registrar  of the district in which the death occurred or the
10    body was found, within 7 days after such death (within 5 days
11    if the death occurs prior to January 1, 1989)  and  prior  to
12    cremation  or removal of the body from the State, except when
13    death is subject to investigation by the coroner  or  medical
14    examiner.
15        (a)  For  the  purposes  of this Section, if the place of
16    death is unknown, a death certificate shall be filed  in  the
17    registration  district  in  which a dead body is found, which
18    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.
24        (c)  The funeral director who first assumes custody of  a
25    dead  body  shall be responsible for filing a completed death
26    certificate.  He shall obtain the personal data from the next
27    of kin or the best qualified person or source  available;  he
28    shall  enter  on  the certificate the name, relationship, and
29    address of his informant; he shall enter the date, place, and
30    method of final disposition; he shall affix his own signature
31    and enter his address; and shall present the  certificate  to
 
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 1    the   person   responsible   for   completing   the   medical
 2    certification of cause of death.
 3        (2)  The  medical  certification  shall  be completed and
 4    signed within 48 hours after death by the physician in charge
 5    of the patient's care for  the  illness  or  condition  which
 6    resulted  in  death,  except  when  death  is  subject to the
 7    coroner's  or  medical  examiner's  investigation.   In   the
 8    absence  of  the  physician or with his approval, the medical
 9    certificate may be completed  and  signed  by  his  associate
10    physician,  the  chief  medical officer of the institution in
11    which death occurred or by the  physician  who  performed  an
12    autopsy upon the decedent.
13        (3)  When  a  death occurs without medical attendance, or
14    when it is otherwise subject  to  the  coroner's  or  medical
15    examiner's  investigation,  the  coroner  or medical examiner
16    shall be responsible for the completion  of  a  coroner's  or
17    medical  examiner's  certificate  of death and shall sign the
18    medical certification within 48 hours after death, except  as
19    provided by regulation in special problem cases.
20        (3.5)  The  medical certification of cause of death shall
21    expressly provide an opportunity for  the  person  completing
22    the  certification  to  indicate that the death was caused in
23    whole or in part by a dementia-related  disease,  Parkinson's
24    Disease, or Parkinson-Dementia Complex.
25        (4)  When  the  deceased  was a veteran of any war of the
26    United  States,  the  funeral  director   shall   prepare   a
27    "Certificate  of  Burial of U. S. War Veteran", as prescribed
28    and furnished by the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs,
29    and submit such certificate to  the  Illinois  Department  of
30    Veterans Affairs monthly.
31        (5)  When  a  death  is presumed to have occurred in this
32    State but the body cannot be located, a death certificate may
33    be prepared by the State Registrar upon receipt of  an  order
34    of  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  which includes the
 
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 1    finding of facts required to complete the death  certificate.
 2    Such  death  certificate  shall  be  marked "Presumptive" and
 3    shall show on its face the date of the registration and shall
 4    identify the court and the date of the judgment.
 5    (Source: P.A. 85-1209.)

 6        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
 7    becoming law.