(a) By regulation and upon the conditions it prescribes to assure compliance with the purposes of this chapter, the department may provide for the extension of the periods prescribed in AS 18.50.160 and 18.50.230 - 18.50.250 for the filing of birth certificates, death certificates, fetal death certificates, medical certifications or causes of death, and for the obtaining of permits, in cases in which compliance with the applicable prescribed period would result in undue hardship.
(b) Regulations may provide for the issuance of a burial-transit permit under AS 18.50.250 before the filing of a certificate of death or fetal death upon conditions designed to assure compliance with the purposes of this chapter in a case in which compliance with the requirement that the certificate be filed before the issuance of the permit would result in undue hardship.