BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2029
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2029 (Cooley) - As Amended: April 30, 2014
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
As proposed to be amended, this bill adds "sudden unexplained
death in childhood" (SUDC) to the statute that requires a
coroner to investigate specified types of unusual deaths,
including murders, suicide, poisoning, drowning, starvation, any
suspicious death, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). This
bill requires a coroner to inquire into and determine the
circumstances, manner, and cause of death where a child, between
the ages of one and 18, dies suddenly or unexpectedly, or where
the suspected cause of death is SUDC. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines sudden unexplained death in childhood as the sudden
death of a child between one and 18 that is unexplained by the
history and where a thorough postmortem fails to demonstrate
an adequate cause of death.
2)Authorizes a coroner to take tissue samples from children who
die suddenly and unexpectedly, without consent of the
responsible adult, if the tissue removal is not likely to
result in visible disfigurement, and specifies a coroner shall
not be liable in a civil action for any act or omission in
compliance with the sudden unexpected death in childhood
autopsy requirement.
3)Provides that a coroner shall, as soon as feasible, conduct an
autopsy when the suspected cause of death is SUDC.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown minor local costs to the extent coroners opt to take
tissue samples for research purposes.
AB 2029
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2)Unknown, likely minor potentially reimbursable local costs to
conduct additional autopsies when the suspected cause of death
is SUDC.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author's intent is to encourage the taking of
tissue samples from children who die suddenly and without
apparent reason, to assist research into SUDC.
According to the author, "In any case where an infant dies and
the suspected cause of death is SIDS, existing law requires a
coroner to perform an autopsy within twenty-four hours, or as
soon as is feasibly possible. Similar laws do not exist to
require rapid investigation or encourage the proper management
of the sudden and unexplained deaths of children no longer in
infancy.
"AB 2029 requires coroners to perform an autopsy on children
older than twelve months that die suddenly and without
explanation. The bill allows the coroner to take tissue
samples for research purposes from children that die under
such circumstances, but also requires the coroner to inform
the child's parent or guardian about the importance of taking
tissue samples for the purpose of further investigation."
2)Current law requires a coroner to investigate circumstances,
manner, and cause of specified types of deaths, including
violent, sudden, or unusual deaths; unattended deaths; and
deaths where the deceased has not been attended to by a
physician within 20 days before the death occurred. Provides
the coroner discretion to determine the extent of the inquiry
into a death occurring under natural circumstances, and allows
the coroner to authorize a physician to sign the certificate
of death if the physician has sufficient knowledge to
reasonably state the cause of a death occurring under natural
circumstances.
Requires a coroner to, within 24 hours, or as soon as feasible
thereafter, where the suspected cause of death is sudden
infant death syndrome, take possession of the body, and make a
postmortem examination or autopsy.
3)Amendments. The author has agreed to amendments deleting the
AB 2029
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provisions applying mandatory protocols required following
SIDS deaths to SUDC, including the mandatory autopsy within
24 hours.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081