New York A 5624: Enacts the mental health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act

Bill Text

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A05624 Summary:

BILL NOA05624A

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORLucas

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Amd §674, County L; amd §4141, Pub Health L; amd §§3203, 3209, 3220 & 4510, Ins L

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Enacts the mental health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act; requires the coroner, coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner, to conduct a mental health assessment when a death occurs in such person's jurisdiction; requires death certificates list an underlying mental illness as the cause of death when a person commits suicide; requires life insurance policies to pay upon a suicide which the coroner, coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner indicated an underlying mental illness as the cause of death.

Go to top A05624 Actions:

BILL NOA05624A

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02/18/2025referred to local governments

05/06/2025amend (t) and recommit to local governments

05/06/2025print number 5624a

01/07/2026referred to local governments

Go to topA05624 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA05624 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA05624 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 5624--A

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 February 18, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. LUCAS -- read once and referred to the Committee
 on Local Governments -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
 reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

 AN ACT to amend the county law, the public health law and the insurance
 law, in relation to enacting the mental health assessment and record
 keeping for the coroner's office act

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "mental
 2 health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act".
 3 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 674 of the county law is amended by
 4 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
 5 (c) (i) The coroner or coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical
 6 examiner, also shall make or cause to be made, a mental health assess-
 7 ment which shall include, but not be limited to, a thorough evaluation
 8 of the individual's medical and psychiatric history after a review of
 9 any available documentation, including but not limited to medication
 10 records or therapy reports. The coroner or coroner and coroner's physi-
 11 cian, or the medical examiner, shall acquire any necessary medical,
 12 psychiatric, or therapy records required to perform the mental health
 13 assessment.
 14 (ii) Upon completion of the mental health assessment, the coroner or
 15 coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner, shall reduce
 16 to writing on a form prescribed by the commissioner of health any find-
 17 ings including, but not limited to, any indications of mental distress
 18 or illness and any evidence of mental health disorders, including but
 19 not limited to schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder.
 20 (iii) Any documents acquired for or produced by the mental health
 21 assessment, including but not limited to any medical records, therapy
 22 notes, and the coroner's findings other than such findings included on
 23 the death certificate, shall be kept confidential and protected in

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD08248-02-5

 A. 5624--A 2

 1 accordance with any applicable privacy laws and shall not be made avail-
 2 able for disclosure or inspection under the state freedom of information
 3 law. Such documents shall only be used for research and prevention
 4 efforts.
 5 § 3. Subdivision 4 of section 4141 of the public health law is amended
 6 by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
 7 (e) No death certificate shall cite suicide as a diagnosis, label,
 8 cause of death, or contributing factor to any death where the coroner,
 9 coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner's mental health
 10 assessment, conducted under subdivision three of section six hundred
 11 seventy-four of the county law, determined the individual had indi-
 12 cations of mental distress or illness and/or