BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 345
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
AB 345 (Pan) - As Introduced: February 13, 2013
SUBJECT : Counties: coroner.
SUMMARY : Eliminates the authority of county coroners to
determine whether a death is the result of a criminal act for
purposes of imposing a charge for keeping and holding the
deceased and, instead, grants this authority to the law
enforcement agency investigating the death.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that it shall be the duty of the coroner to inquire
into and determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of all
violent, sudden, or unusual deaths and a number of additional
deaths with specified circumstances, and provides that a
coroner's inquiry does not include those investigative
functions usually performed by other law enforcement agencies.
2)Allows a coroner, if authorized by the county board of
supervisors by ordinance, whenever he or she takes custody of
a dead body pursuant to law, to charge and collect from the
person entitled to control the disposition of the remains, as
specified, the actual expense incurred by the coroner in
removing the body from the place of death and keeping the body
until its release to the person responsible for its interment.
3)Provides that the charge shall not exceed one hundred dollars
($100), shall not be imposed upon a person who claims and
proves to be indigent, or in cases in which the body is that
of a child not more than 14 years of age, or in cases in which
the coroner ascribes the death to the criminal act of another
unless the coroner has reasonable grounds to believe that the
deceased was involved in any criminal activity which
contributed to his or her own death.
4)Provides that the charge shall not include expenses of keeping
the body during the time necessary for the coroner to perform
his or her duties in connection with it. The charge, if not
paid, may be considered a part of the funeral expenses and
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paid as a preferred charge against the estate of the decedent.
5)Allows a county board of supervisors to increase or decrease a
fee or charge that is otherwise authorized to be levied by
another provision of law, in the amount reasonably necessary
to recover the cost of providing any product or service or the
cost of enforcing any regulation for which the fee or charge
is levied.
6)Designates coroners and deputy coroners as peace officers, as
specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)This bill shifts authority from the coroner to the
investigating law enforcement agency to determine if a death
is the result of a criminal act by another, when this
determination affects the ability of a coroner to charge a fee
for holding and removing the body from the place of death and
keeping it until its release to the person responsible for its
interment. This bill is sponsored by Sacramento County
District Attorney Jan Scully.
2)According to the author's office, "AB 345 is necessary to
protect families from having to pay for a coroner's
transportation fee of their deceased family member killed by
impaired drivers, criminally negligent drivers and drivers who
fail to render aid. Currently, coroners in California have
the discretion to deem any deaths caused by a driver under the
influence of alcohol and or drugs to be accidental and not
criminal. Most coroners' offices also classify other
vehicular deaths including ones involving a hit and run as
accidents. Therefore, transportation fees are being charged
to the families of victims who are killed by impaired drivers,
criminally negligent drivers and those who fail to stop and
render aid."
3)Each county within the state is mandated to perform the
functions of Coroner. Thirteen counties have a separate
Coroner's Office or Medical Examiner/District Attorney
Coroner, while the remaining 45 counties combine this function
with the Sheriff's Department. The purpose of the Coroner is
to ensure that sudden and unexpected deaths, or deaths that
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occur under violent or suspicious circumstances, are
thoroughly investigated. Coroner's offices include
investigative and medical staff who determine information
about the death that impact the deceased's family, law
enforcement agencies, insurance companies, the California
Department of Health Services, and others. Coroners examine
the circumstances surrounding all "reportable" deaths and
determine the identity of the deceased and the time, place,
cause and manner of death. Coroners also comment on matters
connected with the death.
4)Current law allows a coroner to impose a charge, commonly
referred to as a transportation fee, on the person entitled to
control the disposition of remains for collecting and removing
a body from the place of death and keeping the body until its
release to the person responsible for its interment. However,
this transportation fee cannot be imposed if the person
entitled to control the remains is indigent, or if the
deceased is under 14 years of age, or in cases in which the
coroner ascribes the death to the criminal act of another
unless the coroner has reasonable grounds to believe that the
deceased was involved in any criminal activity which
contributed to his or her own death.
5)According to information provided by the author and sponsor, a
number of Coroner's offices have been imposing a
transportation fee even when a person is killed in a traffic
accident that was caused by a third party who was driving
drunk or in an otherwise criminal fashion. The coroner
interprets this situation as an accident, rather than a death
due to a criminal act of another, and is allowed to impose the
charge. These transportation fees range from $175 to $463,
depending on the county. In one case, a family who lost three
relatives in the same drunk-driving collision was charged a
total of $1,200 by the county coroner, despite a subsequent
conviction of the driver who caused the crash.
6)Support arguments : According to the California Crime Victims
Assistance Association, "Victims of impaired or negligent
drivers are classified by most coroners as victims of motor
vehicle accidents and charged this (transportation) fee?It is
time that victims of impaired or negligent drivers are
considered to be victims of crime. These surviving family
members should be treated as equitably as surviving family
members of other criminal homicides who are not charged
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coroner's fees."
Opposition arguments : The California State Coroner's
Association states, "(W)e see no apparent statewide issue that
this bill is seeking to address. This issue had been a local
matter that has since been resolved and we therefore see no
need for the bill. This bill will significantly weaken the
vital and extremely important autonomous investigative
authority currently afforded California coroners and would
only further divert limited resources away from providing
current services and add additional costs that would be
incurred for counties to transport and store bodies."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully [SPONSOR]
California Crime Victims Assistance Association
California District Attorneys Association
Opposition
California State Coroner's Association
California State Sheriff's Association
Analysis Prepared by : Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958