BILL NUMBER: AB 1872 CHAPTERED 09/20/02 CHAPTER 717 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 20, 2002 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 20, 2002 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2002 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 28, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 26, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 5, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 1, 2002 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Canciamilla and Nation FEBRUARY 4, 2002 An act to amend Sections 103450 and 103490 of, and to add Sections 103451 and 103466 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to vital records. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1872, Canciamilla. Vital records: certificate of death: mass fatalities incident. Existing law permits a verified petition to be filed by any beneficially interested person with the county clerk of certain superior courts for an order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not obtainable. This bill would permit a coroner, medical examiner, or other beneficially interested person, in the event of a mass fatalities incident, to also file such a petition. The bill also would permit a coroner or medical examiner, in the event of a mass fatalities incident, to file a similar single verified petition with respect to all persons who died. Existing law requires the county clerk to set the time of hearing not less than 5 nor more than 10 days after the filing of the petition. This bill, notwithstanding the above provision, would provide that upon the filing of a petition for a determination of the fact of death in the event of a mass fatalities incident, the clerk shall set a hearing no later than 15 days from the date the petition was filed. It would also require the petitioner to make a reasonable effort to provide notice of the hearing to the known heirs of the deceased up to the 2nd degree of relationship, but failure to provide this notice would not invalidate the judicial proceedings regarding the determination of the fact of death. Existing law requires the State Registrar to send certified copies of the court order delayed certificate to the local registrar and the county recorder within the area in which the event occurred and in whose offices copies of records of the year of occurrence of the event are on file. This bill would require the State Registrar, in the event of a mass fatalities incident, without delay, to send these certified copies of the court order delayed death certificates to the local registrar and the county recorder of the county in which the incident occurred and in whose offices copies of records of the year of occurrence of the incident are on file, and to the spouse or next of kin of the decedent, if there is no spouse, provided the spouse or next of kin's name and address information are included in the court order or on the application form submitted by the spouse, next of kin, coroner, or medical examiner. The bill would also define "mass fatalities incident" for purposes of the above provisions. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 103450 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 103450. (a) A verified petition may be filed by any beneficially interested person with the clerk of the superior court in and for (1) the county in which the birth, death, or marriage is alleged to have occurred, (2) the county of residence of the person whose birth or marriage it is sought to establish, or (3) the county in which the person was domiciled at the date of death for an order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not obtainable. (b) In the event of a mass fatalities incident, a verified petition may be filed by a coroner, medical examiner, or any beneficially interested person with the clerk of the superior court in and for (1) the county in which the death is alleged to have occurred, or (2) the county in which the person was domiciled at the date of death for an order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a death that is not registered or for which a certified copy of the death certificate is not obtainable. (c) In the event of a mass fatalities incident, a single verified petition with respect to all persons who died may be filed by a coroner or medical examiner with the clerk of the superior court in and for the county in which the mass fatalities incident occurred for an order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, each person's death that is not registered or for which a certified copy of the death certificate is not obtainable. SEC. 2. Section 103451 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 103451. (a) For purposes of this chapter, "mass fatalities incident" means a situation in which any of the following conditions exist: (1) There are more dead bodies than can be handled using local resources. (2) Numerous persons are known to have died, but no bodies were recovered from the site of the incident. (3) Numerous persons are known to have died, but the recovery and identification of the bodies of those persons is impracticable or impossible. (b) The county coroner or medical examiner may make the determination that a condition described in subdivision (a) exists. SEC. 3. Section 103466 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 103466. Notwithstanding Section 103465, upon the filing of a petition for a determination of the fact of death in the event of a mass fatalities incident, the clerk shall set a hearing no later than 15 days from the date the petition was filed. The petitioner shall make a reasonable effort to provide notice of the hearing to the known heirs of the deceased up to the second degree of relationship. Failure to provide the notice specified in this section shall not invalidate the judicial proceedings regarding the determination of the fact of death. SEC. 4. Section 103490 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 103490. (a) The State Registrar shall send certified copies of the court order delayed certificate to the local registrar and the county recorder within the area in which the event occurred and in whose offices copies of records of the year of occurrence of the event are on file. However, if the event occurred outside the state, a certified copy shall be sent only to the county recorder of the county in which the petitioner resides. (b) In the event of a mass fatalities incident, the State Registrar, without delay, shall send certified copies of the court order delayed death certificate to the local registrar and the county recorder of the county in which the incident occurred and in whose offices copies of records of the year of occurrence of the incident are on file. The State Registrar, without delay, also shall send a certified copy of the court order delayed death certificate to the spouse or next of kin of the decedent, if there is no spouse, provided the spouse or next of kin's name and address information are included in the court order or on the application form submitted by the spouse, next of kin, coroner, or medical examiner. However, if the incident occurred outside the state, a certified copy shall be sent only to the county recorder of the county in which the decedent was domiciled at the date of death.