BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2029
Author: Cooley (D), et al.
Amended: 7/1/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/25/14
AYES: Hernandez, Morrell, Beall, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans,
Monning, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 64-0, 5/29/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Inquests: sudden unexplained death in childhood
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill defines sudden unexplained death in
childhood (SUDC) 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 for which a thorough postmortem
examination fails to demonstrate an adequate cause of death.
This bill requires the coroner to notify the parent or
responsible adult of a child within that definition about the
importance of taking tissue samples. This bill also exempts the
coroner from liability for damages in a civil action for any act
or omission done in compliance with these provisions.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing law:
1.Requires a coroner to investigate the 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. Affords the coroner the
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.
2.Requires a coroner to, within 24 hours or a soon as feasible
thereafter, where the suspected cause of death is sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS), take possession of the body and
make or cause to be made a postmortem examination or autopsy.
Requires the detailed medical findings resulting from an
examination of the body or autopsy by an examining physician
to either be reduced to writing or permanently preserved, as
specified. Defines SIDS as the sudden death of an infant that
is unexpected by the history of the infant and where a
thorough postmortem fails to demonstrate an adequate cause of
death.
3.Requires that an autopsy, when the suspected cause of death is
SIDS, be conducted pursuant to a standardized protocol
developed by the Department of Public Health. Requires that
all coroners throughout the state follow the established
protocol when conducting autopsies where the death is
suspected to be caused by SIDS. Requires a coroner to state
on the certificate of death that SIDS was the cause of death
when the findings are consistent with the definition.
This bill:
1.Defines "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.
2.Requires the coroner to notify the parent or responsible adult
AB 2029
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of a child whose death is a result of SUDC about the
importance of taking tissue samples.
3.Prohibits a coroner from being liable for damages in a civil
action for any act or omission in compliance with these
provisions.
Background
SUDC . According to the SUDC Program's Internet Web site, SUDC
is a rare condition that occurs in children over the age of 12
months. According to the SUDC Program, SUDC is a diagnosis of
exclusion that is given when all known and possible causes of
death have been ruled out, and when deaths go unexplained after
an autopsy, a death scene investigation, and a medical history
review. The SUDC Program states that the incidence of SUCD is
approximately 1.2 deaths per 100,000 children, compared to 54
deaths per 100,000 live births for SIDS. The SUDC Program
further states that most SUDC deaths occur in children between
the ages of one and three but that researchers have looked at
cases in children as old as 15 years of age.
Comments
According to the author's office, though there is existing law
that outlines the procedures for investigating deaths caused by
SIDS, there is no existing law outlining the procedures for
cases where the suspected cause of death is SUDC. As a result,
parents whose children die under these circumstances are often
left with little or no information on how to process the death
of their children or how to address further investigation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/14)
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Safe Kids California
Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation
Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Program
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/12/14)
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California State Coroners Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters state that it is critical to
examine all child deaths to determine if they are intentional or
unintentional and to what causes they are attributable. They
further state that unexplained deaths in children are rare and
poorly understood in the United States.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California State Coroner's
Association states that adding SUDC to statute suggests it, like
SIDS, is a syndrome and creates a new label absent scientific
vetting or validation and sees this as problematic for purposes
of signing a death certificate that is in compliance with
existing standards.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 64-0, 5/29/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dickinson, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Medina,
Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea,
John A. P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Waldron, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Conway, Donnelly, Eggman, Beth Gaines,
Gorell, Hagman, Harkey, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez,
Patterson, Wagner, Weber, Wilk, Vacancy
JL:d 8/12/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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