Amended in Assembly May 8, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 30, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2029

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Dickinson)

February 20, 2014

An act to amend begin delete Sections 27491 and 27491.4 end delete begin insert Section 27491 end insert 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 begin delete within 24 hours or end delete as soon begin delete thereafter end delete 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.

begin delete

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.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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.

begin delete

(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

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert coroner shall, begin delete within 24 hours, or end delete as soon begin delete thereafter end delete
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.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert c) end insert  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.

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert d) end insert  A coroner shall not be liable for damages in a civil action
for any act or omission in compliance with this section.

begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert e) end insert  The consent of any person is not required prior to
undertaking the autopsy required by this section.

begin delete SEC. 4. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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.