BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 739
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 7, 2013
Counsel: Shaun Naidu
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 739 (Salas) - As Introduced: February 21, 2013
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Specifies who is a coroner's appointed deputy or
authorized deputy for the purpose of performing inquests.
Specifically, this bill :
1)States that for the purpose of performing inquests, a
coroner's appointed deputy or authorized deputy is meant to
include the following:
a) Any deputy coroner who is regularly employed and paid in
that capacity.
b) Any part-time or volunteer personnel of the coroner's
office who meets the same background, training, and
certification requirements established by the Commission on
Peace Officer Standards and Training for regularly-employed
deputy coroners.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies that coroners and deputy coroners, who are regularly
employed and paid in that capacity, are peace officers whose
authority extends to any place in the state for the purpose of
performing their primary duties or when making an arrest, as
specified. Authorizes these peace officers to carry firearms
only if authorized and under terms and conditions specified by
their employing agency. (Penal Code Section 830.35.)
2)Requires the coroner to discharge the duties of sheriff in any
action or proceeding in which the sheriff is a party.
(Government Code Section 27469.)
3)Requires the coroner to inquire into and determine the
circumstances, manner, and cause of all violent, sudden, or
unusual deaths; unattended deaths; deaths where the deceased
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has not been attended by either a physician or a registered
nurse, who is a member of a hospice care interdisciplinary
team, as defined, in the 20 days before death; deaths related
to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal
abortion; known or suspected homicide, suicide, or accidental
poisoning; deaths known or suspected as resulting in whole or
in part from or related to accident or injury either old or
recent; deaths due to drowning, fire, hanging, gunshot,
stabbing, cutting, exposure, starvation, acute alcoholism,
drug addiction, strangulation, aspiration, or where the
suspected cause of death is sudden infant death syndrome;
death in whole or in part occasioned by criminal means; deaths
associated with a known or alleged rape or crime against
nature; deaths in prison or while under sentence; deaths known
or suspected as due to contagious disease and constituting a
public hazard; deaths from occupational diseases or
occupational hazards; deaths of patients in state mental
hospitals serving the mentally disabled and operated by the
State Department of State Hospitals; deaths of patients in
state hospitals serving the developmentally disabled and
operated by the State Department of Developmental Services;
deaths under such circumstances as to afford a reasonable
ground to suspect that the death was caused by the criminal
act of another; and any deaths reported by physicians or other
persons having knowledge of death for inquiry by coroner.
(Government Code Section 27491.)
4)Requires the coroner or a deputy coroner to personally sign
personally the certificate of death in any case in which the
coroner conducts an inquiry described in the above provision,
except if inquiry determines that the physician of record has
sufficient knowledge to reasonably state the cause of a death
occurring under natural circumstances, the coroner may
authorize that physician to sign the certificate of death.
(Government Code Section 27491.)
5)Requires the coroner, in all cases in which a person has died
under circumstances that afford a reasonable ground to suspect
that the person's death has been occasioned by the act of
another by criminal means, upon determining that those
reasonable grounds exist, to immediately notify, by the most
direct communication available, the law enforcement agency
having jurisdiction over the criminal investigation.
(Government Code Section 27491.1.)
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6)Authorizes the coroner or the coroner's appointed deputy, on
being informed of a death and finding it to fall into the
classification of deaths requiring his or her inquiry, to
proceed immediately to where the body lies, examine the body,
make identification, make inquiry into the circumstances,
manner, and means of death, and, as circumstances warrant,
either order its removal for further investigation or
disposition or release the body to the next of kin.
(Government Code Section 27491.2(a).)
7)Requires the coroner, or the coroner's appointed deputy, on
being notified of a death occurring while the deceased was
driving or riding in a motor vehicle, or as a result of the
deceased being struck by a motor vehicle, to take blood and
urine samples from the body of the deceased before it has been
prepared for burial and make appropriate related chemical
tests to determine the alcoholic contents, if any, of the
body. Authorizes the coroner to perform other chemical tests
including, but not limited to, barbituric acid and amphetamine
derivative as deemed appropriate. (Government Code Section
27491.25.)
8)Authorizes the coroner, in any death into which the coroner is
to inquire, to take charge of any and all personal effects,
valuables, and property of the deceased at the scene of death
or related to the inquiry and hold or safeguard them until
lawful disposition of the items can be made. Authorizes the
coroner to lock the premises and apply a seal to the door or
doors prohibiting entrance to the premises, pending arrival of
a legally-authorized representative of the deceased.
(Government Code Section 27491.3.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 739 expand
[sic] PC 830.35(c) to provide for volunteer and/or part time
personnel to serve as reserve deputy coroners. These
employees would be required to abide by the established
eligibility and training standards (including PC 832
certification), currently required of full time coroner
personnel. This language is permissive and intended to help
sheriffs in counties, like Kern, respond to incidents in
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remote areas in a more time and cost effective manner."
2)Principal Duties of Deputy Coroners : In holding that deputy
coroners are not "active law enforcement," the Court of Appeal
discussed the essential duties that deputy coroners are tasked
to perform. (Riverside Sheriffs' Association v. Board of
Administration, California Public Employees' Retirement System
(2010) 184 Cal.App.4th 1.) As stated by the court:
Deputy coroners conduct investigations into the causes
of death, as opposed to investigating crimes. While
most death scenes do not involve criminal conduct,
some do, and in such cases, the coroner's
investigation supports and parallels that of the
appropriate law enforcement agency. A deputy coroner's
duties include: receiving reports of death from
physicians, law enforcement and hospital personnel;
initiating investigations at death scenes to determine
if death is due to homicide, suicide, accident or
nontraumatic causes; securing scientific and
pathological evidence such as clothing, weapons,
drugs, body fluids; fingerprinting and attempting to
identify the decedent; locating and notifying
relatives of the decedent; speaking with physicians
about the decedent's medical history and checking
other medical records to determine the cause of death;
ordering autopsies or other services from skilled
technicians to aid in arriving at an exact cause of
death; testifying in court; and preparing and signing
death certificates. A deputy coroner's determination
about the cause of death may initiate a criminal
investigation. (Id. at 6-7.)
3)Argument in Support : According to the California State
Sheriffs' Association , "In large, rural counties it can take
hours for staff to arrive at an accident scene, which results
in extraordinary costs for local law enforcement. The use of
part-time or volunteer personnel with the appropriate training
and credentials would allow for greater efficiencies without
jeopardizing public safety."
4)Related Legislation : AB 398 (Fox) adds coroners and deputy
coroners to the list of public safety officers covered by the
Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act, which
provides specific conditions and procedures to be followed
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whenever a public safety officer is investigated for
misconduct. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
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PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 739
Strike the entire contents of the bill (version 99) and add the
following:
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 27513 of the Government Code is added to
read:
27513. For the purpose of this Article only, a coroner's
appointed deputy or authorized deputy shall mean to include the
following:
(a) Any deputy coroner who is regularly employed and paid
in that capacity.
(b) Any part-time or volunteer personnel of the coroner's
office who meets the same background, training, and
certification requirements established by the Commission on
Peace Officer Standards and Training for regularly employed
deputy coroners.