THE NYC BOARD OF HEALTH PROPERLY REFUSED TO ADD GENEALOGISTS TO THE LIST OF PERSONS WHO CAN ACCESS DEATH CERTIFICATES (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the NYC Board of Health did not exceed the scope of its powers when it amended the NYC Health Code to add family members to the list of persons who can access death certificates but refused to add genealogists:
… New York City Board of Health did not “exceed[] the scope of its delegated powers” in amending 24 RCNY 207.11 … , by adding to the existing list of family members for whom requests for death certificates would automatically be deemed “necessary or required for a proper purpose” while declining to add genealogists … . Instead, it “balance[ed] costs and benefits according to preexisting guidelines” and did not create “its own comprehensive set of rules without benefit of legislative guidance” … . …
The stated goal of the proposal was to allow more family members access to death certificates, and the Board of Health reasonably expressed concern with family privacy issues, due to social security numbers and causes of death being listed on death certificates, when declining to add genealogists to the expanded list … . Matter of Reclaim the Records v New York City Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene, 2023 NY Slip Op 02395, First Dept 5-4-23
Practice Point: The NYC Board of Health did not exceed its administrative powers when it refused to add genealogists to the list of persons who can access death certificates.