(a) The department shall, by legislative rule, provide for the extension of the time periods prescribed in sections nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two and twenty-three of this article for the filing of certificates of death, reports of fetal death, reports of induced termination of pregnancy, medical certifications of the cause of death, and for obtaining authorization for disposition, in cases in which compliance with the applicable prescribed period would result in undue hardship.
(b) The legislative rules shall provide for the authorization for disposition under section twenty-three of this article prior to the filing of a certificate of death in circumstances in which compliance with the requirement that the certificate be filed prior to the issuance of the permit would result in undue hardship.