by the State for maintenance be more than one-half Limit. Section 24. County commissioners or county engineers of the several counties of this State, and the officers of all cities, boroughs and townships in the State, who now have, or may hereafter have, by law, authority over the public highways and bridges, shall, upon the written request of the State Highway Department, furnish said Department with any information relative to the mileage, cost of building and maintenance, condition and character of the highways under their jurisdiction, and with any other needful information relating to the said highways. County, borough and township officers shall supinformation, ply missioner. roads. plan of State. Section 25. In addition to his other duties, the State Duties of comHighway Commissioner shall cause to be made a complete survey of all the roads in the State; and shall Survey of all cause to be made, and kept for the State Highway Department, a general highway plan of the State; General highway and compile statistics and collect information relative to the mileage, character and condition of the highways in the townships and counties of the State. He shall investigate, and determine upon, the various methods of road construction best adapted to the various sections of the State; and establish standards for the construction and maintenance of highways in the various sections, taking into consideration the topography of the country, the natural conditions, and the character and availability of road-building material, and the ability of the townships and counties to build and maintain roads under the provisions of this act. He may, at all reasonable times, be consulted He may be conby county, city, borough or township officers, having authority over highways and bridges, and shall, when requested, advise and give information to such officers relative to the construction, repairing, alteration and maintenance of the said highways and bridges. He shall at all times lend his aid in promoting improvement throughout the State, and shall prepare and disseminate useful information relative to road building and improvement. sulted by officers. Section 26. The sum of six millions three hundred Appropriation. and fifty-six thousand two hundred and thirty-two dollars and forty-seven cents is hereby appropriated to carry out the provisions of this act. Of this sum, eight hundred and fifty-six thousand two hundred and thirty-two dollars and forty-seven forty-seven cents shall be When available. Repeal. available in the fiscal year, ending on the thirty-first day of May, one thousand nine hundred and five; one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, in each of the two years next following; and one million five hundred thousand dollars, in each of the two years next following. Section 27. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not be construed to repeal any of the provisions of the road acts, approved June twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and ninetyfive (Pamphlet laws, three hundred and thirty-six), and June twenty-three, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven (Pamphlet laws, one hundred and ninety-four), and July ten, one thousand nine hundred one (Pamphlet laws, six hundred and thirty-six), nor the provisions of an act, approved June seventh, one thousand nine hundred and one, and entitled "An act relating to railroad crossings of highways, and for the regulation, alteration and abolition of grade crossings, except in cities of the first and second classes." APPROVED-The 1st day of May, A. D. 1905. SAML. W. PENNYPACKER. Registration of births and deaths. Central Bureau of Vital Statistics. No. 221. AN ACT To provide for the immediate registration of all births and deaths throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by means of certificates of births and deaths, and burial or removal permits; requiring prompt returns to the Central Bureau of Vital Statistics at the capital of the State, as required to be established by the State Board of Health; and to insure the thorough organization and efficiency of the registration of vital statistics throughout the State, as provided in section seven of "An act to establish a State Board of Health for the better protection of life and health, and to prevent the spread of contagious and infectious diseases in this Commonwealth," approved June third, eighteen hundred and eighty-five; and making an appropriation for establishing and maintaining such a Bureau, and providing certain penalties. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That it shall be the duty of the State Board of Health and Vital Statistics to have charge of the State system of registration of births and deaths; to prepare the necessary methods, forms and blanks for obtaining and preserving such records, and to insure the faithful registration of the same, in the townships, boroughs, cities, counties, and in the Central Bureau of Vital Statistics at the capital of the State. The said Board shall be charged with the uniform and thorough enforcement of the law throughout the State, and shall, from time to time, recommend any additional forms and amendments that may be necessary for this purpose. Vital Statistics. Section 2. That the secretary of the State Board of Health and Vital Statistics shall have general supervision over the Central Bureau of Vital Statistics, which is hereby authorized to be established by said Board, and which shall be under the immediate direction of the State Registrar of Vital Statistics, whom State Registrar of the State Board of Health shall appoint within thirty days after the taking effect of this law, and who shall be a medical practitioner of not less than ten years practice in his profession, and a competent vital statistician. The term of appointment of State Regis- Term. trar of Vital Statistics shall be four years, beginning with the first day in January of the year in which this act shall take effect, and any vacancy occurring in the office of State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall be filled by appointment of the State Board of Health. The State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall receive an annual salary at the rate of twenty-five hundred Salary. dollars, from the date of his appointment. The State Board of Health shall provide for such clerical and other assistance as may be necessary for the purposes of this act, and may fix the compensation of persons thus employed, within the amount appropriated therefor by the Legislature. Suitable apartments shall be provided by the custodian of the capitol for the State Bureau of Vital Statistics, in the State capitol at Harrisburg, which shall be properly equipped with fireproof vault and filing cases for the permanent and safe preservation of all official records made and returned under this act. tricts. Section 3. That for the purposes of this act, the Registration disState shall be divided into registration districts as follows: Each city, borough, and township shall constitute a primary registration district. Section 4. That within ninety days after the taking effect of this act, or as soon thereafter as possible, the State Board of Health and Vital Statistics shall appoint a local registrar of vital statistics for each registration district in the State, excepting such boroughs and cities as are otherwise provided for. The term of office of local registrars, appointed by said Board, Local registrars. shall be for four years, beginning with the first day Terms. of January of the year in which this act shall take · effect, and their successors shall be appointed at least ten days before the expiration of their terms of office. Any local registrar, appointed by said Board, who fails or neglects to efficiently discharge the duties of his office as laid down in this act, or who fails to make prompt and complete returns of births and deaths, as required hereby, shall be forthwith removed from his Removals. Proviso. office by the State Board of Health, and his successor appointed, in addition to any other penalties that may be imposed, under other sections of this act, for failure or neglect to perform his duty. Each local registrar, appointed by said Board, shall, immediately upon his acceptance of appointment as Deputy registrars. such, appoint a deputy, whose duty it shall be to act in his stead in case of absence, illness or disability, and who shall accept such an appointment, in writing, and who shall be subject to all rules and regulations governing the actions of local registrars: Provided, That in cities or boroughs where health officers, or secretaries of local boards of health, or other officials, at the date of this act, are officiating as registrars of births and deaths under local ordinances, such officers shall be continued as registrars in and for such cities or boroughs, but shall be subject to the rules and regu lations of the State Registrar, and to all of the provisions of this act. And, when it may appear necessary for the convenience of the people in any township, the local registrar is hereby authorized, with the ap proval of the State Registrar, to appoint one or more suitable and proper persons to act as sub-registrars, who shall be authorized to receive certificates, and to issue burial or removal permits, in and for such portions of the township as may be designated; and each sub-registrar shall note, over his signature, the date on which each certificate was filed, and forward all certificates to the registrar of the township within ten days, and, in all cases, before the third day of the following month: Provided, That all sub-registrars shall be subject to the supervision and control of the State Registrar, and may be by him removed for neglect or failure to perform their duties in accordance with the provisions of this act or the rules and regulations of the State Registrar, and they shall be liable to the same penalties for neglect of duties as the local registrar. Subregistrars. Proviso. Removals. Burial permit. Transit permit. Section 5. That the body of any person whose death occurs in the State shall not be interred, deposited in a vault or tomb, cremated, or otherwise disposed of, or removed from or into any registration district, until a permit for burial, removal or other disposition shall have been properly issued by the registrar of the reg istration district in which the death occurs. And no such burial or removal permit shall be issued by any registrar until a complete and satisfactory certificate and return of the death has been filed with him as hereinafter provided: Provided, That a transit permit issued in accordance with the law and health regulations of the place where the death occurred, whether in Pennsylvania or outside of the State, may be accepted by the local registrar of the district where the body is to be interred or otherwise finally disposed of, as a basis upon which he shall issue a local burial permit, in the same way as if the death occurred in his district, but shall plainly enter on the face of the copy of the record which he shall make for return Record of. to the State registrar the fact that it was a body shipped in for interment, and give the actual place of death. But when a body is removed from a district in Pennsylvania to an adjacent or nearby district for interment, not requiring the use of a common carrier or the issue of a transit permit, then the registrar's re moval permit from the district where death occurred may be accepted as authority for burial. Section 6. That stillborn children or those dead at Stillbirths. birth shall be registered as births and also as deaths, and a certificate of both the birth and the death shall be filed with the local registrar, in the usual form and manner, the certificate of birth to contain, in place of the name of the child, the word "stillbirth." The medical certificate of the cause of death shall be signed by the attending physician, if any; and shall state the cause of death as "stillborn," with the cause of the stillbirth, if known, whether a premature birth; and, if born prematurely, the period of uterogestation, in months if known; and a burial or removal permit in usual form shall be required. Midwives shall not sign certificates of death for stillborn children; but such cases, and stillbirths occurring without attendance of either physician or midwife, shall be treated as deaths without medical attendance, as provided for in section eight of this act. Section 7. That the certificate of death shall contain Certificate of the following items: (1) Place of death; including State, county, township, borough or city. If in a borough or city, the ward, street and house number. If in a hospital or other institution, the name of the same to be given instead of the street and house number. If in an industrial camp, the name to be given. (2) Full name of decedent. If an unnamed child, the surname preceded by "unnamed." (3) Sex. (4) Color or race: as white, black (negro or negro descent) Indian, Chinese, Japanese, or other. (5) Conjugal condition: as single, married, widowed, or divorced. (6) Date of birth, including the year, month and day. (7) Age, in years, months and days. (8) Place of birth, State or foreign country. (9) Name of father. (10) Birthplace of father, State or foreign country (11) Maiden name of mother. (12) Birthplace of mother, State or foreign country. death. |