Complete Story
03/06/2015
Legislative Reception Position Paper
OFDA supports Ohio Department of Health’s efforts to update Ohio’s Electronic Death Registration System
The Ohio Funeral Directors Association (OFDA) supports the Ohio Department of Health’s current efforts to update Ohio’s Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS). A pilot project is expected to start in Mayto help funeral directors expedite the process of obtaining an attending physician’s signature relating to the cause of death so the death certificate can be transmitted electronically to a licensed funeral director for filing with the Ohio Department of Health. To help facilitate this process, language has been included in the Budget Bill (H.B. 64) to amend Ohio Revised Code Section 3705.08 to allow physician signatures on death certificates to be filed and registered by photographic, electronic, or other means as prescribed by the Director of the Ohio Department of Health.
The OFDA supports this pilot project and further enhancements, as a means to transition to a more efficient Electronic Death Registration System that better serves Ohioans.
OFDA supports S.B. 61 to protect against identity theft when death occurs
Senator Jim Hughes recently introduced S.B. 61 to restrict to whom a certified copy of death certificate, containing a decedent’s social security number, can be issued. According to Senator Hughes’s office, Ohio is one of ten states that allow open access to certified copies of death certificates that may include social security numbers, which could increase the likelihood of identity theft. S.B. 61 states for the first 5 years after death, a decedent’s social security number shall not be included on a certified copy of a death certificate unless the information is specifically requested by certain persons who present proof satisfactory to the Director of Health, state registrar or local registrar of the person’s identity. One of the entities that can request a death certificate with a social security number is a licensed funeral director, or an employee or agent of the funeral director.
The OFDA supports this commonsense legislation. In most cases the person holding the right of disposition will be a spouse or lineal descendant who is entitled to a certified copy of a death certificate in accordance with S.B. 61. However, OFDA supports adding language to S.B. 61 to authorize a person who is appointed, pursuant to current Ohio law, as a deceased’s representative to be able to receive a certified copy of a death certificate that includes a social security number. This is necessary because in some cases the person holding the right of disposition may not be a spouse or lineal descendant. For example, a decedent who has no family may decide to appoint a trusted friend to carry out his or her disposition. The social security number on a certified copy of a death certificate is typically necessary to conduct activities related to administration of a deceased’s estate. S.B. 61 has been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.
