BILL NUMBER: SB 1736 CHAPTERED 09/01/00 CHAPTER 284 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 31, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 8, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 23, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 6, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 3, 2000 INTRODUCED BY Senator Rainey (Coauthor: Senator Speier) FEBRUARY 23, 2000 An act to add Sections 27521 and 27521.1 to the Government Code, to amend Section 102870 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 14202 of the Penal Code, relating to unidentified corpses. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1736, Rainey. Unidentified bodies and human remains: coroners. Existing law requires a coroner to conduct a postmortem examination or autopsy under certain circumstances and, under all other circumstances, permits a coroner, at his or her discretion, to take possession of the body and make or cause to be made a postmortem examination or autopsy. Existing law also authorizes a coroner or medical examiner to engage the services of a dentist to assist in the identification of a body or human remains. This bill would require any postmortem examination or autopsy conducted at the discretion of a coroner upon an unidentified body or human remains to include specified procedures, including a dental examination, and the preparation of a final report of investigation containing specified information for submission to the Department of Justice. These procedures would also include a prohibition on the cremation or burial of an unidentified deceased person until specified samples are retained from the remains for possible future identification, and the retention of those samples for one year after a positive identification is made, and no civil or criminal challenges are pending, or indefinitely. This bill would also require any law enforcement agency investigating the death of an unidentified person to report the death to the department no later than 10 days after the body or human remains were discovered. The imposition of this requirement on local agencies would create a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to compare and retain dental examination records that coroners and medical examiners send to the department. This bill would also require the department to compare and retain the final report of investigation that coroners, under specified circumstances, send to the department. 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, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 27521 is added to the Government Code, to read: 27521. (a) Any postmortem examination or autopsy conducted at the discretion of a coroner upon an unidentified body or human remains shall be subject to this section. (b) A postmortem examination or autopsy shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following procedures: (1) Taking of all available fingerprints and palms prints. (2) A dental examination consisting of dental charts and dental X-rays of the deceased person's teeth, which may be conducted on the body or human remains by a qualified dentist as determined by the coroner. (3) The collection of tissue, including a hair sample, or body fluid samples for future DNA testing, if necessary. (4) Frontal and lateral facial photographs with the scale indicated. (5) Notation and photographs, with a scale, of significant scars, marks, tattoos, clothing items, or other personal effects found with or near the body. (6) Notations of observations pertinent to the estimation of the time of death. (7) Precise documentation of the location of the remains. (c) The postmortem examination or autopsy of the unidentified body or remains may include full body X-rays. (d) The coroner shall prepare a final report of investigation in a format established by the Department of Justice. The final report shall list or describe the information collected pursuant to the postmortem examination or autopsy conducted under subdivision (b). (e) The body of an unidentified deceased person may not be cremated or buried until the jaws (maxilla and mandible with teeth) and other tissue samples are retained for future possible use. Unless the coroner has determined that the body of the unidentified deceased person has suffered significant deterioration or decomposition, the jaws shall not be removed until immediately before the body is cremated or buried. The coroner shall retain the jaws and other tissue samples for one year after a positive identification is made, and no civil or criminal challenges are pending, or indefinitely. (f) If the coroner with the aid of the dental examination and any other identifying findings is unable to establish the identity of the body or human remains, the coroner shall submit dental charts and dental X-rays of the unidentified deceased person to the Department of Justice on forms supplied by the Department of Justice within 45 days of the date the body or human remains were discovered. (g) If the coroner with the aid of the dental examination and other identifying findings is unable to establish the identity of the body or human remains, the coroner shall submit the final report of investigation to the Department of Justice within 180 days of the date the body or human remains were discovered. SEC. 2. Section 27521.1 is added to the Government Code, to read: 27521.1. The law enforcement agency investigating the death of an unidentified person shall report the death to the Department of Justice, in a format acceptable to the Department of Justice, no later than 10 calendar days after the date the body or human remains were discovered. SEC. 3. Section 102870 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 102870. (a) In deaths investigated by the coroner or medical examiner where he or she is unable to establish the identity of the body or human remains by visual means, fingerprints, or other identifying data, the coroner or medical examiner may have a qualified dentist, as determined by the coroner or medical examiner, carry out a dental examination of the body or human remains. If the coroner or medical examiner with the aid of the dental examination and other identifying findings is still unable to establish the identity of the body or human remains, he or she shall prepare and forward the dental examination records to the Department of Justice on forms supplied by the Department of Justice for that purpose. (b) The Department of Justice shall act as a repository or computer center, or both, with respect to dental examination records and the final report of investigation specified in Section 27521 of the Government Code. The Department of Justice shall compare the dental examination records and the final report of investigation, if applicable, to records filed with the Violent Crime Information Center (Title 12 (commencing with Section 14200) of Part 4 of the Penal Code), shall determine which scoring probabilities are the highest for purposes of identification, and shall submit the information to the coroner or medical examiner who submitted the dental examination records and the final report of investigation, if applicable. SEC. 4. Section 14202 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 14202. (a) The Attorney General shall establish and maintain within the center an investigative support unit and an automated violent crime method of operation system to facilitate the identification and apprehension of persons responsible for murder, kidnap, including parental abduction, false imprisonment, or sexual assault. This unit shall be responsible for identifying perpetrators of violent felonies collected from the center and analyzing and comparing data on missing persons in order to determine possible leads which could assist local law enforcement agencies. This unit shall only release information about active investigations by police and sheriffs' departments to local law enforcement agencies. (b) The Attorney General shall make available to the investigative support unit files organized by category of offender or victim and shall seek information from other files as needed by the unit. This set of files may include, among others, the following: (1) Missing or unidentified, deceased persons dental files filed pursuant to this title, Section 27521 of the Government Code, or Section 102870 of the Health and Safety Code. (2) Child abuse reports filed pursuant to Section 11169. (3) Sex offender registration files maintained pursuant to Section 290. (4) State summary criminal history information maintained pursuant to Section 11105. (5) Information obtained pursuant to the parent locator service maintained pursuant to Section 11478.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (6) Information furnished to the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 11107. (7) Other Attorney General's office files as requested by the investigative support unit. This section shall become operative on July 1, 1989. SEC. 5. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains 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. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.