SB 9

Existing law does not require the Department of Forensic Sciences to notify the next of kin when retaining a deceased person's organs

This bill would require the Department of Forensic Sciences to notify the next of kin when retaining a deceased person's organs

This bill would also prohibit a state medical examiner from retaining an organ of the deceased for research or any other purpose not in conjunction with a determination of the identification or cause of death without notification to and approval by the next of kin and would make any violation a Class C felony

This bill further provides for technical revisions of the duties of the Director of the Department of Forensic Sciences

Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds from becoming effective with regard to a local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote unless: it comes within one of a number of specified exceptions; it is approved by the affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to the entity for the purpose

The purpose or effect of this bill would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of the amendment. However, the bill does not require approval of a local governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to become effective because it comes within one of the specified exceptions contained in the amendment

To amend Section 36-18-2, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the Director of Forensic Sciences; to require the Department of Forensic Sciences to notify the next of kin when retaining a deceased person's organs; to further provide for technical revisions of the duties of the Director of the Department of Forensic Sciences; to add Section 36-18-2.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to prohibit a state medical examiner from retaining an organ of the deceased for research or any other purpose not in conjunction with a determination of the identification or cause of death without notification to and approval by the next of kin; to provide for penalties; and in connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended.

Section 1

Section 36-18-2, Code of Alabama 1975, is amended to read as follows:

§36-18-2.

The duties of the director shall be (a) The director shall have the following duties:

(1) to make Make such investigations, including any necessary autopsy, to be performed by physicians licensed to practice medicine in Alabama and recognized and trained in forensic medicine and pathology; provided, however, that the director may waive this requirement temporarily whenever a medical examiner vacancy exists which he is seeking to fill. Said investigations of crimes and of unlawful, suspicious, or unnatural deaths and crimes as are ordered by the Governor, the Attorney General, any circuit judge, or any district attorney in the State of Alabama,.

(2) Cooperate and the director and his staff shall cooperate with the coroners, sheriffs, and other police officers in Alabama in their investigations of crimes and deaths from unlawful, suspicious, or unnatural causes when cooperation is requested by the Governor, the Attorney General, any circuit judge, or any district attorney.

(3) Within his or her The director shall within his discretion, visit the scene of any crime in the state for the purpose of securing evidence for the state.

(4) The director shall furnish Furnish a certified copy of his or her report of any investigation that the department conducts to the person or persons who ordered the investigation conducted.

(5) The director shall As provided in subsection (b), keep the original reports of all investigations that he or she conducts in his or her office; provided, that the director shall be authorized to photograph or microphotograph keep a digital or other electronic copy of any record, document, or photograph two years old or older currently maintained or acquired, received, or produced in the future as a result of his or her duties as prescribed by law.

(6) Cooperate with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and the State Veterinarian in their investigations of deaths of domestic animals in cases of suspected criminal poisoning of such animals.

(7) Perform such other duties as are prescribed by law or by the Governor or the Attorney General.

(8) Notify the next of kin of the deceased when a medical examiner retains an organ of the deceased in conjunction with a determination of the identification of, or causes or manner of death of the deceased, or the presence of disease in conjunction with the forensic examination.

(b) Such photographs, microfilms or prints made therefrom, when duly authenticated, shall have the same force and effect at law as the original record or of a record made by any other legally authorized means and may be offered in like manner and shall be received in evidence in any court where such original record or record made by other legally authorized means could have been so introduced and received. In like manner, reproductions made from such records by photographic or like process, when otherwise in compliance with applicable statutes, rules and regulations, shall be received and treated in any court of this state as fully as would a transcription or reproduction of such records made by any other means or process. The director may require any record, document, or photograph two years old or older made, acquired, or received as required by law to be maintained in a digital or other electronic format. Digital or other electronic copies of records, documents, or photographs, when duly authenticated by the director, shall have the same force and effect at law as the original record, or of a record made by any other legally authorized means and may be offered in like manner, and shall be received in evidence in any court where such original record, or record made by other legally authorized means, could have been introduced and received. All original records, documents, and photographs two years old or older currently maintained and acquired in the future may be destroyed at the discretion of the director, provided photographed or microphotographed digital reproductions of the destroyed material are maintained. The director shall furnish a certified copy in the form of reproductions from the photographed or microphotographed reports of any investigation that he conducts to the person or persons who ordered the investigation conducted. The director shall keep photographed or microphotographed reproductions of original reports of all investigations that he conducts in his office. Reproductions of such materials shall be public records and shall be open to public inspection at all reasonable times. Any person desiring reproductions of original reports shall be furnished same upon payment of the fee now prescribed by law.

It shall be the further duty of the director to cooperate with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and the State Veterinarian in their investigations of deaths of domestic animals in cases of suspected criminal poisoning of such animals. The director shall perform such other duties as are prescribed by the Governor or the Attorney General of Alabama.

(c) The director and his or her designated assistants shall exercise the same police authority as any deputy sheriff or state trooper in the State of Alabama."

Section 2

Section 36-18-2.1 is added to the Code of Alabama to read as follows: (a) A medical examiner, in any case ordered pursuant to Section 36-18-2 may perform or have performed whatever autopsies or laboratory examinations he or she deems necessary to determine the identification of, or cause or manner of death of the deceased, or to obtain evidence necessary for forensic examination. (b) A medical examiner may not retain or furnish an organ of the deceased for research or any other purpose which is not in conjunction with a determination of the identification of, or causes or manner of death of the deceased, or the presence of disease or which is not otherwise authorized by law, without notification to and approval by the next of kin of the deceased. (c) A person who knowingly and willfully violates subsection (b) shall be guilty of a Class C felony.

Section 3

Although this bill would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds, the bill is excluded from further requirements and application under Amendment 621, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, because the bill defines a new crime or amends the definition of an existing crime.

Section 4

This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.