BILL NUMBER: AB 2029 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Dickinson)
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to amend Sections 27491 and 27491.4
Section 27491 of, and to add Section 27491.42 to, the
Government Code, relating to inquests.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2029, as amended, Cooley. Inquests: sudden unexplained death in
childhood.
Existing law states findings and declarations of the Legislature
that sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of
death for children under age one. Under existing law, a coroner has a
duty to inquire into and determine the circumstances, manner, and
cause of, among other things, deaths where the suspected cause of
death is sudden infant death syndrome. The coroner is required to
perform an autopsy, within 24 hours or as soon thereafter as
feasible, in any case where an infant has died suddenly and
unexpectedly. Under existing law, it is a misdemeanor for a funeral
director, physician, or other person who has charge of a deceased
person's body to not immediately notify the coroner if death occurred
as a result of any of the causes or circumstances that the coroner
has a duty to inquire into.
This bill would expand the duty of the coroner to also inquire
into and determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of deaths
where a child, who is one year of age or older but under 18 years of
age, dies suddenly and unexpectedly or where the suspected cause of
death is sudden unexplained death in childhood. This bill would
define "sudden unexplained death in childhood" as the sudden death of
a child one year of age or older but under 18 years of age that is
unexplained by the history of the child and where a thorough
postmortem examination fails to demonstrate an adequate cause of
death. This bill would require the coroner to perform an autopsy
within 24 hours or as soon thereafter
as feasible in any case where a child has died suddenly and
unexpectedly. This bill would also exempt the coroner from liability
for damages in a civil action for any act or omission done in
compliance with a specified statute.
By expanding the duties of a local agency and expanding the scope
of an existing crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 27491 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
27491. It is the duty of the coroner to inquire into and
determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of all violent,
sudden, or unusual deaths; unattended deaths; deaths if the deceased
has not been attended by either a physician or a registered nurse,
who is a member of a hospice care interdisciplinary team, as defined
by subdivision (g) of Section 1746 of the Health and Safety Code 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 if the suspected cause
of death is sudden infant death syndrome; deaths where a child, who
is one year of age or older but under 18 years of age, dies suddenly
and unexpectedly, or where the suspected cause of death is sudden
unexplained death in childhood; 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.
Inquiry pursuant to this section does not include those investigative
functions usually performed by other law enforcement agencies.
In any case in which the coroner conducts an inquiry pursuant to
this section, the coroner or a deputy shall personally sign the
certificate of death. If the death occurred in a state hospital, the
coroner shall forward a copy of his or her report to the state agency
responsible for the state hospital.
The coroner shall have discretion to determine the extent of
inquiry to be made into any death occurring under natural
circumstances and falling within the provisions of this section, and
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.
For the purpose of inquiry, the coroner shall have the right to
exhume the body of a deceased person when necessary to discharge the
responsibilities set forth in this section.
Any funeral director, physician, or other person who has charge of
a deceased person's body, when death occurred as a result of any of
the causes or circumstances described in this section, shall
immediately notify the coroner. Any person who does not notify the
coroner as required by this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
SEC. 2. Section 27491.4 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
27491.4. (a) For purposes of inquiry the coroner shall, within 24
hours or as soon as feasible thereafter, where the suspected cause
of death is sudden infant death syndrome or sudden unexplained death
in childhood, and, in all other cases, the coroner may, in his or her
discretion, take possession of the body, which shall include the
authority to exhume the body, order it removed to a convenient place,
and make or cause to be made a postmortem examination or autopsy
thereon, and make or cause to be made an analysis of the stomach,
stomach contents, blood, organs, fluids, or tissues of the body. The
detailed medical findings resulting from an inspection of the body or
autopsy by an examining physician shall be either reduced to writing
or permanently preserved on recording discs or other similar
recording media, shall include all positive and negative findings
pertinent to establishing the cause of death in accordance with
medicolegal practice and this, along with the written opinions and
conclusions of the examining physician, shall be included in the
coroner's record of the death. The coroner shall have the right to
retain only those tissues of the body removed at the time of the
autopsy as may, in his or her opinion, be necessary or advisable to
the inquiry into the case, or for the verification of his or her
findings. No person may be present during the performance of a
coroner's autopsy without the express consent of the coroner.
(b) In any case in which the coroner knows, or has reason to
believe, that the deceased has made valid provision for the
disposition of his or her body or a part or parts thereof for medical
or scientific purposes in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 7150) of Part 1 of Division 7 of the Health and Safety
Code, the coroner shall neither perform nor authorize any other
person to perform an autopsy on the body unless the coroner has
contacted or attempted to contact the physician last in attendance to
the deceased. If the physician cannot be contacted, the coroner
shall then notify or attempt to notify one of the following of the
need for an autopsy to determine the cause of death: (1) the
surviving spouse; (2) a surviving child or parent; (3) a surviving
brother or sister; (4) any other kin or person who has acquired the
right to control the disposition of the remains. Following a period
of 24 hours after attempting to contact the physician last in
attendance and notifying or attempting to notify one of the
responsible parties listed above, the coroner may perform or
authorize the performance of an autopsy, as otherwise authorized or
required by law.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the
discretion of the coroner to conduct autopsies upon any victim of
sudden, unexpected, or unexplained death or any death known or
suspected of resulting from an accident, suicide, or apparent
criminal means, or other death, as described in Section 27491.
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. Section 27491.42 is
added to the Government Code, to read:
27491.42. (a) For purposes of this article, "sudden unexplained
death in childhood" means the sudden death of a child one year of age
or older but under 18 years of age that is unexplained by the
history of the child and where a thorough postmortem examination
fails to demonstrate an adequate cause of death.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Sudden unexplained death in childhood accounts for 1.2 deaths
out of every 100,000 children.
(2) Most deaths from sudden unexplained death in childhood occur
between one year of age and three years of age, but researchers have
studied cases of children as old as 15 years of age.
(3) Sudden unexplained death in childhood cannot be predicted or
prevented because the cause of sudden unexplained death in childhood
is unknown.
(4) The public interest is served by research and study of sudden
unexplained death in childhood, and its potential causes and
indications.
(c) (1) To facilitate these purposes, the
(b) (1) The
coroner shall, within 24 hours, or as soon
thereafter as feasible, perform an autopsy in any
case where a child, who is one year of age or older but under 18
years of age, has died suddenly and unexpectedly.
(2) However, if the attending physician desires to certify that
the cause of death is sudden unexplained death in childhood, an
autopsy may be performed at the discretion of the coroner. If the
coroner performs an autopsy pursuant to this section, he or she shall
certify the cause of death.
(d)
( c) The coroner may take tissue samples for
research purposes from children who have died suddenly and
unexpectedly without consent of the responsible adult if the tissue
removal is not likely to result in any visible disfigurement. The
coroner shall notify the parent or responsible adult of the child
about the importance of taking tissue samples.
(e)
( d) A coroner shall not be liable for
damages in a civil action for any act or omission in compliance with
this section.
(f)
( e) The consent of any person is not
required prior to undertaking the autopsy required by this section.
SEC. 4. SEC. 3. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a
local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act
creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction,
or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning
of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of
a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.