Connecticut HB 5513: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH STATUTES.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5513
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 2311

Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH

Introduced by:
(PH)

AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE
PUBLIC HEALTH STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Public 1
Health may appoint a willing licensed embalmer, as defined in section 2
20-207 of the general statutes, to dispose of an abandoned dead human 3
body or the abandoned cremated remains of a dead human body. An 4
appointed embalmer may request any records necessary to identify 5
such dead human body or cremated remains. The appointed embalmer 6
shall notify the commissioner, in a form and manner prescribed by the 7
commissioner, of the date and time of disposition of any such dead 8
human body or cremated remains and the method of such disposition 9
not later than seven days after such disposition. A dead human body or 10
cremated remains of a dead human body shall be deemed to be 11
abandoned, for the purposes of this section, when a licensed or formerly 12
licensed funeral director or embalmer voluntarily or improperly 13
relinquishes custody of such human body or cremated remains in 14
violation of the requirements of state law, including, but not limited to, 15

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when a funeral director or embalmer ceases to operate a funeral home 16
and fails to arrange for the transfer or disposition of such dead human 17
body or cremated remains in the funeral director or embalmer's 18
possession prior to ceasing operations. 19
Sec. 2. Subsections (c) and (d) of section 7-51a of the general statutes 20
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 21
from passage): 22
(c) [For deaths occurring on or after July 1, 1997, the] The Social 23
Security number recorded on the death certificate of the deceased 24
person shall be [recorded in the "administrative purposes" section of the 25
death certificate. Such administrative purposes section, and the Social 26
Security number contained therein, shall be] restricted and disclosed 27
only to the following eligible parties: (1) All parties specified on the 28
death certificate, including the informant, licensed funeral director, 29
licensed embalmer, conservator, surviving spouse, physician or 30
advanced practice registered nurse and town clerk, for the purpose of 31
processing the certificate, (2) the surviving spouse, (3) the next of kin, or 32
(4) any state and federal agencies authorized by federal law to receive 33
the Social Security number. The department shall provide any other 34
individual, researcher or state or federal agency requesting a certified or 35
uncertified copy of a death certificate, [or the information contained 36
within such certificate, for a death occurring on or after July 1, 1997, such 37
certificate or information. The] in accordance with the provisions of this 38
section, such copy with the decedent's Social Security number [shall be] 39
removed or redacted. [from such certificate or information or the 40
administrative purposes section shall be omitted from such certificate.] 41
(d) The department shall provide, as electronic data, the information 42
contained within a certified copy of a death certificate to any individual, 43
researcher or state or federal agency upon request. The decedent's Social 44
Security number shall be removed, redacted or omitted from such data 45
unless the requester is a state or federal agency authorized by federal 46
law to receive the Social Security number. 47

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[(d)] (e) The registrar of vital statistics of any town or city in this state 48
that has access to an electronic vital records system, as authorized by the 49
department, may use such system to issue certified copies of birth, 50
death, fetal death or marriage certificates that are electronically filed in 51
such system. 52
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 19a-537 of the general statutes is 53
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 54
passage): 55
(a) As used in this section and section 19a-537a: 56
(1) "Vacancy" means a bed that is available for an admission; 57
(2) "Nursing home" means any chronic and convalescent facility or 58
any rest home with nursing supervision, as defined in section 19a-521; 59
(3) "Hospital" means a general short-term hospital licensed by the 60
Department of Public Health or a hospital for [mental illness] 61
psychiatric disabilities, as defined in section 17a-495, or a chronic 62
disease hospital. 63
Sec. 4. Section 19a-36g of the general statutes is repealed and the 64
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 65
As used in this section, [and] sections 19a-36b, 19a-36h to 19a-36o, 66
inclusive, as amended by this act, and section