CHAPTER 42
House Bill No. 2358
(Amended by Chapter 100)
An Act concerning public health; relating to the uniform vital statistics act; certification of an individual’s cause of death; permitting cause of death certifiers to provide certification thereto; amending K.S.A. 65-2401 and 65-2412 and repealing the existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 65-2401 is hereby amended to read as follows: 65-2401. As used in this act:
(a) “Vital statistics” includes the registration, preparation, transcription, collection, compilation, and preservation of data pertaining to birth, adoption, legitimation, death, stillbirth, marriage, divorce, annulment of marriage, induced termination of pregnancy, and data incidental thereto.
(b) “Live birth” means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a human child, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached.
(c) “Gestational age” means the age of the human child as measured in weeks as determined by either the last date of the mother’s menstrual period, a sonogram conducted prior to the 20th week of pregnancy or the confirmed known date of conception.
(d) “Stillbirth” means any complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a human child the gestational age of which is not less than 20 completed weeks, resulting in other than a live birth, as defined in this section, and which is not an induced termination of pregnancy.
(e) “Induced termination of pregnancy” means abortion, as defined in K.S.A. 65-6701, and amendments thereto.
(f) “Dead body” means a lifeless human body or such parts of a human body or the bones thereof from the state of which it reasonably may be concluded that death recently occurred.
(g) “Person in charge of interment” means any person who places or causes to be placed a stillborn child or dead body or the ashes, after cremation, in a grave, vault, urn or other receptacle, or otherwise disposes thereof.
(h) “Secretary” means the secretary of health and environment.
(i) “Cause of death certifier” means a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery by the state board of healing arts, a physician assistant licensed by the state board of healing arts, an advanced practice registered nurse licensed by the state board of nursing or a district coroner, deputy coroner or special deputy coroner.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 65-2412 is hereby amended to read as follows: 65-2412. (a) A death certificate or stillbirth certificate for each death or stillbirth which that occurs in this state shall be filed with the state registrar within three days after such death and prior to removal of the body from the state and shall be registered by the state registrar if such death certificate or stillbirth certificate has been completed and filed in accordance with this section. If the place of death is unknown, a death certificate shall be filed indicating the location where the body was found as the place of death. A certificate shall be filed within three days after such occurrence; if death occurs in a moving conveyance, the death certificate shall record the location where the dead body was first removed from such conveyance as the place of death.
(b) (1) The funeral director or person acting as such who first assumes custody of a dead body shall file the death certificate. Such person shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available and shall obtain the medical certification of cause of death from the physician the cause of death certifier who was last in attendance prior to burial.
(2) The death certificate filed with the state registrar shall be the official death record, except that a funeral director licensed pursuant to K.S.A. 65-1714, and amendments thereto, may verify as true and accurate information pertaining to a death on a form provided by the state registrar, and any such form, verified within 21 days of date of death, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated for purposes of pertaining to establishing such death.
(3) The secretary of health and environment shall fix and collect a fee for each form provided to a funeral director pursuant to this subsection. The fee shall be collected at the time the form is provided to the funeral director and shall be in the same amount as the fee for a certified copy of a death certificate.
(c) When death occurred without medical attendance or when inquiry is required by the laws relating to postmortem examinations, the coroner shall investigate the cause of death and shall complete and sign the medical certification of cause of death within 24 hours after receipt of the death certificate or as provided in K.S.A. 65-2414, and amendments thereto.
(d) In every instance a certificate shall be filed prior to interment or disposal of the body.
(e) On and after January 1, 2017, Any death certificate, stillbirth certificate or medical certification of cause of death required to be filed by this section shall be filed through the Kansas electronic death registration system maintained by the Kansas department of health and environment.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 65-2401 and 65-2412 are hereby repealed.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book.
Approved April 12, 2024.
