STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 690 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 4, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop- mental Disabilities AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to authorizing the release of certain records of deceased residents of mental health facilities to family members upon written request The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 7.09 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision (l) to read as follows: 3 (l) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 33.13 and 33.16 of this 4 chapter, the commissioner shall promulgate regulations governing the 5 release of certain records pertaining to a deceased individual who 6 resided in a facility operated or certified by the office. The regu- 7 lations shall specify which information shall be released and shall 8 include such records as the individual's name; dates of admission, 9 discharge, birth and death; cause of death; treatment and services 10 provided; employment; and residential history. Such records may be 11 provided to family members upon written request. The commissioner shall 12 not authorize the release of such records where the deceased individual 13 had previously objected to the release of his or her records and such 14 objection was in writing or otherwise documented in the individual's 15 services plan and had not been withdrawn. In the case of an individual 16 who lacked capacity to consent to the release of his or her records, a 17 qualified person as defined in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of 18 section 33.16 of this chapter may object to such release. 19 § 2. Subdivision (c) of section 33.13 of the mental hygiene law is 20 amended by adding a new paragraph 18 to read as follows: 21 18. upon written request by the physician of a family member of an 22 individual, who has a demonstrable medical need for such information as 23 it is relevant to the family member's own health care. The commissioner EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04609-01-7

S. 690 2 1 shall promulgate regulations to define family member for purposes of 2 this section. 3 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that section one 4 of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it 5 shall have become a law.