BILL NUMBER: SB 1644 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 16, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 5, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 15, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 24, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 22, 2004
INTRODUCED BY Senator Romero
(Principal coauthors: Senators Escutia and Kuehl)
(Coauthor: Senator Machado)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Laird and Pavley)
FEBRUARY 20, 2004
An act to add Section 102336 to the Health and Safety Code, and to
add Section 11174.85 to the Penal Code, relating to elder death.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1644, as amended, Romero. Elder death review teams: access to
vital record information.
Existing law requires each death to be registered with the local
registrar of births and deaths in the district in which the death was
officially pronounced or the body was found. Under existing law, a
local registrar, deputy registrar, or subregistrar, who fails,
neglects, or refuses to perform his or her duty as required by the
existing law relating to the creation and maintenance of vital
records, including certificates of death, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Existing law requires the State Department of Health Services to
implement an Internet-based electronic death registration system on
or before January 1, 2005. Existing law authorizes each county to
establish an interagency elder death team to assist local agencies in
identifying and reviewing suspicious elder deaths. Under existing
law, an oral or written communication or a document shared within or
produced by an elder death review team, as well as certain
communications and documents of a 3rd party provided to an elder
death review team, is confidential. Existing law provides that the
disclosure of information relevant to the work of an elder death
review team by any individual or agency is intended to be voluntary.
This bill would require the local registrar of births and deaths
in a county that elects to participate in the Internet-based
electronic death registration system, upon the request of the chair,
cochair, or any agent thereof, of a county elder death review team,
to provide a report of 3 4 pieces of
information from death certificates. The bill would require the
local registrar to comply with this requirement on or before July 1,
2005, or a reasonable time thereafter, but in no case later than
December 1, 2005.
Under existing law, local registrars are required, upon request
and payment of the required fee, to supply to any applicant who is an
authorized person a certified copy, or to any other applicant an
informational certified copy, of the record of any death registered
with the official.
This bill would authorize an organization represented on an elder
death review team to request and obtain copies of death certificates
from the local registrar of births and deaths, subject to existing
law confidentiality, disclosure, and fee requirements.
By expanding the definition of an existing crime with respect to
the duty of a local registrar to provide reports, or copies of death
certificates, pursuant to these provisions, the bill would impose 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 no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
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 102336 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
102336. (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of
Section 11174.8 of the Penal Code, a local registrar of births and
deaths in a county that elects to participate in the Internet-based
electronic death registration system established by the department
pursuant to Section 102778 shall provide, from information obtained
from death certificates, to the chair, cochair, or any agent of the
chair or cochair, of a county elder death review team established
pursuant to Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 11174.4) of Chapter
2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, upon request, a report for
a date period specified by the requester that shall contain all of,
and be sorted by any one of, the following three
four elements:
(1) Place of death.
(2) Last name, followed by first name, of the deceased person.
(3) Date of death.
(4) Cause of death.
(b) A local registrar subject to this section shall comply with
the requirements of this section on or before July 1, 2005, or a
reasonable time thereafter, but in no case later than December 1,
2005.
SEC. 2. Section 11174.85 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
11174.85. An organization represented on an elder death review
team may request and obtain copies of certificates of death from the
local registrar of births and deaths, subject to any fee
requirements. Each organization represented on an elder death review
team may share with any other member of the team any information
obtained from a death certificate obtained from the local registrar
of births and deaths. Information received by a member of an elder
death review team pursuant to this section shall be subject to the
confidentiality and disclosure requirements of Section 11174.8.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because 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.