New Mexico Register / Volume XXXIII,
Issue 15 / August 9, 2022
NOTICE OF PUBLIC
HEARING
The New Mexico
Department of Health will hold a public hearing on the proposed repeal and
replacement of rule,
7.2.2 NMAC, “Vital Records and Statistics”.
The public hearing will be held on September 20, 2022
at 9 a.m. via Cisco WebEx online, via telephone, and comments will be received
via email through the conclusion of the hearing.
The hearing is
being held via internet, email, and telephonic means due to the concerns
surrounding Coronavirus and in consideration of Governor Michelle Lujan
Grisham’s Executive Order 2020-004, Declaration of a Public Health Emergency,
and any subsequent executive orders. Members of
the public who wish to submit public comment regarding the proposed rule
changes will be able to do so via video conference and via telephone during the course of the hearing, and by submitting written
comment before the conclusion of the hearing.
The hearing will
be conducted to receive public comments regarding the proposed repeal and
replacement of the current rule, 7.2.2 NMAC, concerning vital records and
health statistics. The proposed
replacement rule is intended to provide greater clarity in existing regulatory
and statutory requirements, to address recent statutory revisions to the Vital
Statistics Act, Sections 24-14-1 to 24-14-31 NMSA 1978, and to add the
reporting requirements as found in Section 24-1-43, NMSA 1978, Reporting;
medical aid in dying.
The legal
authority authorizing the proposed repeal and replacement of the rule by the
Department is at Subsection E of Section 9-7-6 NMSA 1978, Sections 24-14-1 to
24-14-31 NMSA, 1978, as amended, and Section 24-1-43 NMSA 1978.
Purpose of
changes are listed below:
7.2.2.3 -
Statutory Authority:
·
To revise the section to reflect the statutory authority for the
regulations.
7.2.2.7 -
Definitions:
·
The purpose of the changes is to:
o
add the definition of “Healthcare provider” to define who is required to
report prescribed medical aid in dying prescriptions pursuant to the
End-of-Life Options Act;
o
add the definition of “medical aid in dying” to provide a description of
the act of medical aid in dying as found in the Medical Aid in Dying Act;
o
add a definition of “homeless” for the purposes of waiving fees for
vital records for homeless individuals pursuant to Subsection XX of Section
XX-X-XX; and
o
Renumber definitions section to incorporate the new definitions.
7.2.2.13 -
Registration of death:
·
The purpose of the changes in this section are to:
o
Change the title to be consistent with the style of the current regulations;
o
Require electronic registration of death by all parties involved in the
death registration process.
§ Electronic
registration of deaths allows deaths to be recorded more quickly and in a
standardized fashion consistent with the state’s electronic vital records
systems.
o
Clarifying deadlines for the registration of death
§ Timely
reporting of deaths is important to assist families and executors in the timely
administration of all duties and legal processes required after a death
including processing the estate, the probate process, and funeral services.
Timely reporting of deaths also provides accurate data for health equity
purposes.
o
Providing a process for what happens to a birth record after the death
of a registrant and providing for a mechanism to obtain an original certificate
of birth for an infant who was born alive and dies within two months of birth.
§ This
change is to put into rule the process of what happens to a birth record after
the registrant is deceased. For purposes of fraud prevention, It is important that birth records for deceased individuals
not be released without the corresponding watermark. Also understanding that a
new parent may not have a chance to get an original birth certificate for their
child if a death occurs soon after birth, the department is creating a limited
mechanism to access an unmarked record for a short amount of time.
7.2.2.16 - Authorization
for final disposition:
·
The purpose of the change in section D is to add a requirement of
providing vital records a certified copy of a death certificate for a death
that did not occur in New Mexico for a Disinterment or reinterment permit.
o
This requirement is important because vital records must confirm the
death of an individual to issue a disinterment or reinterment permit. As the
New Mexico Vital Records does not have access to other state’s records, they
must have the requesting party provide that death certificate.
7.2.2.17
- Amendment of Live Birth and Death Certificates
·
The purpose of the changes in this section are to add sections (3) and
(4) to 7.2.2.17(D) which state that a name may not be removed from a vital
record without a court order and that no amendment may be made to a birth
record after the registrant is deceased without a court order. The section is
additionally renumbered as necessary.
o
Vital Records may only make certain changes without a court order. For
the purposes of fraud prevention, any change that occurs after a death or
significantly alters a name on a record including dropping a name must be
sanctioned by the court.
7.2.2.23 - Fees
for Copies, Searches and Other Services
·
The purposes of the changes in this section are as follows:
o
Section C adds a process to remove fees for vital records for
individuals who are homeless at the time of the records request.
§ This
part is added for compliance with 24-14-29 NMSA 1978
o
Section G adds notification of administrative closures of cases after
six months of inactivity.
§ Cases
cannot be kept open indefinitely by vital records. After more than six months
of inactivity, a new search would need to be conducted and the law requires
that a fee be charged for that search -24-14-29 NMSA 1978
7.2.2.24 - Court
Orders:
·
This amendment adds section C clarifying that changes in a court order
are only applicable to those registrants named in the court order and may not change
any other record unless specified in the court order.
o
This is to provide extra clarity on an issue that has caused confusion
for the public regarding which documents can be changed when a court order is
issued that only affects a single individual. For example
a court order changing the name of one individual would only permit a change on
that individual’s record. If that individual is also listed on a separate
record that belongs to another individual, a child for example, that child’s
record may only be changed if the court order specifically directs a change to
that record as well.
7.2.2.25 -
Naming
·
This is a new section added to provide clear requirements for any record
in which a name is given to a registrant. The name given must comply with the
requirements listed.
o
The requirements are derived from New Mexico statutes and New Mexico and
Federal case law.
7.2.2.26 -
Reporting; Medical Aid in Dying
·
This is a new section added to provide a process for reporting
prescriptions of medical aid in dying pursuant to the requirements of Section
24-1-43, NMSA 1978.
Any
interested member of the public may attend the hearing and submit data, views,
or arguments either orally or in writing on the proposed rule amendments during
the hearing. To access the hearing by telephone: please
call 1-844-992-4726. Your telephone comments will be recorded. To access the hearing via internet: please go
to Webex.com; click the “Join” button; click the “Join a meeting” button; enter
the following meeting number and password where
indicated on screen—Meeting number (access code): 2495 982 5553 #, Meeting password: Kfpzw3mmY42 click the “OK”
button. You may also provide comment via
Chat during the live streaming.
Written public comment regarding the proposed rule amendments
can be submitted by either mailing the comment to the following address:
Sheila Apodaca
Paralegal/Legal
Assistant
Office of
General Counsel
New Mexico
Department of Health
1190 S. St.
Francis Drive, Suite N-4095
Santa Fe, NM
87505
(505) 827-2723
Or preferably by e-mailing the comment to the e-mail address:
Sheila.Apodaca@state.nm.us.
Written
comments must be received by the close of the public rule hearing on September
15, 2022. All written comments will be
published on the agency website at http://nmhealth.org/about/asd/cmo/rules/
within three (3) days of receipt, and will be
available at the New Mexico Department of Health Public Health Division for
public inspection.
If you are an
individual with a disability who is in need of special
assistance or accommodations to attend or participate in the hearing, please
contact Sheila Apodaca by telephone at (505) 827-2997. The Department requests at least ten (10)
days advance notice to provide requested special accommodations.
The
foregoing are summaries of the proposed rule.
The proposed rule includes various additional substantive revisions not
identified here. Free copies of the full
text of the proposed rule may be obtained online from the Department’s website at https://nmhealth.org/publication/regulation/.