AB366: Bill Text

AB366,22,7 (b) License renewal. The renewal date for a license issued under this subsection is specified under s. 440.08 (2) (a). Renewal applications shall include all of the following:

AB366,22,8 1. Any fee established by the board under s. 465.05 (2).

AB366,22,13 2. Proof satisfactory to the board that the individual has completed, in the 4-year period preceding the renewal date, 24 hours of education, as prescribed by the board. This subdivision does not apply to an individual applying for an initial renewal who is issued a license under par. (a) when there is less than one year remaining until the next license renewal date.

AB366,22,15 3. Proof that the individual has fulfilled any other requirements of licensure as prescribed by the board.

AB366,22,20 (5) Board notification requirement. An individual who is elected as a coroner, is appointed to fill a vacancy as a coroner, is appointed as a nonaccredited medical examiner, or is hired by a coroner or medical examiner to serve as a medicolegal investigation staff member shall, if he or she leaves his or her position as a coroner, medical examiner, or medicolegal investigation staff member, so inform the board.

AB366,22,22 465.15 Penalty. Any person who violates s. 465.10 (1) (a) shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 90 days.

AB366,39 Section 39. 979.01 (1m) of the statutes is renumbered 979.01 (1m) (a) and amended to read:

AB366,23,4 979.01 (1m) (a) The Except as provided in par. (b), the coroner or medical examiner receiving notification under sub. (1) or (1g) shall immediately, within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the death, notify the district attorney for his or her county of the death.

AB366,40 Section 40. 979.01 (1m) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB366,23,8 979.01 (1m) (b) Except as provided in s. 979.04 (2), the coroner or medical examiner is not required to notify the district attorney of any deaths for which the district attorney, in writing, waives notice.

AB366,41 Section 41. 979.01 (1p) of the statutes is created to read:

AB366,23,11 979.01 (1p) A coroner or medical examiner who receives notice of a death under sub. (1), or his or her designee, shall notify the deceased's next of kin of the death.

AB366,42 Section 42. 979.01 (1r) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,23,17 979.01 (1r) If the coroner or medical examiner is notified of a death under sub. (1) or (1g) and determines that his or her notification of the death was not required under sub. (1) or (1g), the discovery of human remains under this section and determines that the human remains have no forensic significance, he or she shall notify the director of the historical society under s. 157.70 (3).

AB366,43 Section 43. 979.01 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 979.105 and amended to read:

AB366,24,8 979.105 Authorization to embalm a body. No person may embalm or perform an autopsy on the body of any person who has died under any of the circumstances listed in this section or on the body of any person whose death has been must be reported under s. 948.23 (1) (b) unless the person obtains or 979.01 (1) without the written authorization of the coroner or medical examiner of the county in which the injury or cause of death occurred. Such authorization shall be issued by the An authorization under this section shall include information necessary to identify the deceased, the date and place of death, and the name of the funeral director or person acting in place of the funeral director and shall specify that the authorization does not override the wishes of the next of kin of the deceased with respect to disposition of the body. The coroner or a deputy or a medical examiner, or his or her designee, shall issue an authorization under this section within 12 hours after notification of the reportable death, or as soon thereafter as possible in the event of unexplained, unusual or suspicious circumstances.

AB366,44 Section 44. 979.025 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,24,21 979.025 (2) Inmate confined in an institution in another state. If an individual dies while he or she is in the legal custody of the department and confined to a correctional facility in another state under a contract under s. 301.07, 301.21, or 302.25, the department shall have an autopsy and any other appropriate diagnostic procedure performed by an appropriate authority in the other state or by the coroner or medical examiner of the county in which the circuit court is located that sentenced the individual to the custody of the department. If the coroner or medical examiner who performs the autopsy or other diagnostic procedure in this state determines that the individual's death may have been the result of any of the situations that would permit the district attorney to order an inquest under s. 979.04 (1), the coroner or medical examiner shall forward the results of the autopsy or other diagnostic procedure to the appropriate authority in the other state.

AB366,45 Section 45. 979.025 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,24,25 979.025 (3) Costs of an autopsy and diagnostic procedure. The costs of an autopsy or other diagnostic procedure performed under sub. (1) or (2) shall be paid by the department.

AB366,46 Section 46. 979.027 of the statutes is created to read:

AB366,25,10 979.027 Disinterment for autopsy or other diagnostic procedure. The district attorney may move the circuit court for the county in which a body is buried for an order disinterring the body for the purpose of conducting an autopsy or other diagnostic procedures. The order shall be granted by the circuit court upon a reasonable showing that any of the criteria specified in s. 979.04 (1) exists. The clerk of the circuit court shall send a copy of the order to the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the body is buried. Upon receipt of the order, the coroner or medical examiner shall issue a permit for disinterment and reinterment under s. 69.18 (4) (c).

AB366,47 Section 47. 979.036 of the statutes is created to read:

AB366,25,19 979.036 Handling of personal property of deceased. (1) Each coroner or medical examiner shall keep an inventory of any money or other property that the coroner or medical examiner takes from a death scene or from a deceased and does not immediately provide to a law enforcement agency as evidence. The coroner or medical examiner shall release any such property, other than prescription medication, that belonged to the deceased to a representative of the deceased unless the property is needed as evidence or unless a court has issued an order to hold the property for payment of fees associated with the disposal of the body.

AB366,26,5 (2) If the coroner or medical examiner takes prescription medications from a death scene or from the body of a deceased, the coroner or medical examiner shall list them on an inventory sheet and sign the inventory sheet. If the coroner or medical examiner does not provide the prescription medications to a law enforcement agency as evidence, the coroner or medical examiner shall destroy them in accordance with applicable county evidence retention policies and appropriate standards for disposal of medications, except that the coroner or medical examiner shall donate those prescription medications that satisfy the requirements under s. 255.056 (3) to the drug repository program under s. 255.056 or to another similar drug repository program. The coroner or medical examiner shall indicate on the inventory sheet the disposition of the prescription medications.

AB366,48 Section 48. 979.09 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,26,21 979.09 Burial Disposition of an unidentified or unclaimed body. If any judge or circuit court commissioner conducts an inquest as to the death of a stranger or of a person whose identity is unknown or whose body is unclaimed or if the district attorney determines that no inquest into the death of such a person is necessary and the circuit judge has not ordered an inquest under s. 979.04 (2), a coroner or medical examiner has custody of an unidentified or unclaimed body of an individual whose death was investigated under s. 979.01, and the coroner or medical examiner has made reasonable efforts to identify the body or locate a representative of the deceased, the coroner or medical examiner shall cause the body to be decently buried or cremated and shall certify to all the charges incurred in taking any inquest by him or her and to the expenses of burial or cremation of the dead body. The charges and expenses shall be audited by the county board of the proper county and paid out of the county treasury with funds other than funds appropriated for the operation of the coroner's or medical examiner's office. The immunity provisions under s. 157.02 (2m) (b) and (c) apply to a coroner's or medical examiner's actions under this section.

AB366,49 Section 49. 979.10 (1) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,27,2 979.10 (1) (a) (intro.) No person may cremate the corpse body of a deceased person within 48 hours after the pronouncement of death, or the discovery of the death, of the deceased person unless the death was caused by a contagious or infectious disease. and one of the following conditions applies:

AB366,27,4 (ag) No person may cremate a corpse body unless the person has received a cremation permit from one of the following:

AB366,50 Section 50. 979.10 (1) (a) 1., 2. and 3. of the statutes are renumbered 979.10 (1) (ag) 1., 2. and 3. and amended to read:

AB366,27,9 979.10 (1) (ag) 1. The coroner or medical examiner in the county where the death occurred was pronounced if the death occurred was pronounced in this state; and the death was not subject to an investigation under s. 979.01.

AB366,27,13 2. The coroner or medical examiner in the county where the event which caused the death occurred if the death occurred in this state and who investigated the death if the death was pronounced in this state and is the subject of to an investigation under s. 979.01; or.

AB366,27,17 3. The coroner or medical examiner of the county where the corpse body is to be cremated if the death occurred was pronounced outside this state. A cremation permit issued under this subdivision may not be used in any county except the county in which the cremation permit is issued.

AB366,51 Section 51. 979.10 (1) (a) 1m. and 2m. of the statutes are created to read:

AB366,27,20 979.10 (1) (a) 1m. The person determines that the body must be cremated immediately to effectively contain the disease.

AB366,27,22 2m. A public health authority orders sooner disposal of the body under s. 157.055 (2) (c) during a state of emergency related to public health.

AB366,52 Section 52. 979.10 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,28,4 979.10 (1) (b) A coroner or medical examiner shall include in any cremation permit issued under par. (a) (ag) a statement that he or she has viewed the corpse body which is the subject of the permit and made personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death under sub. (2) and is of the opinion that no further examination or judicial inquiry is necessary. The permit shall also specify the earliest date and time that the cremation may occur.

AB366,53 Section 53. 979.10 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,28,15 979.10 (2) If a corpse body is to be cremated, the coroner or medical examiner shall make a careful personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death, and conduct an autopsy or order the conducting of an autopsy, if in his or her or the district attorney's opinion it is necessary to determine the cause and manner of death. If the coroner or medical examiner determines that no further examination or judicial inquiry is necessary, he or she shall certify that fact. Upon written request by the district attorney the coroner or medical examiner shall obtain the concurrence of the district attorney before issuing the certification. If the coroner or medical examiner determines that further examination or judicial inquiry is necessary, he or she shall notify the district attorney under s. 979.04 (2).

AB366,54 Section 54. 979.10 (3) of the statutes is repealed.

AB366,55 Section 55. 979.10 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,28,22 979.10 (4) Whoever accepts, receives, or takes any corpse body of a deceased person with intent to destroy the corpse body by means of cremation, or who cremates or aids and assists in the cremation of any corpse body of a deceased person without having presented the permit specified in sub. (1) (ag), shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than 9 months or both.

AB366,56 Section 56. 979.22 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB366,29,4 979.22 Autopsies Fees for other autopsy and toxicological services by coroners or medical examiners. A coroner or medical examiner may perform autopsies and toxicological services not required under this chapter and may charge a fee established by the county board for such autopsies and services. The fee may not exceed an amount reasonably related to the actual and necessary cost of providing the service and autopsy.

AB366,57 Section 57 . Nonstatutory provisions.

AB366,29,9 (1) Examining board; initial terms. Notwithstanding the length of terms specified for the members of the medicolegal investigation examining board under section 15.405 (18) of the statutes, initial appointments to the medicolegal investigation examining board shall be made as follows:

AB366,29,12 (a) The members under section 15.405 (18) (a) of the statutes, the member under section 15.405 (18) (c) of the statutes, and the member under section 15.405 (18) (e) of the statutes shall be appointed for terms expiring on July 1, 2018.

AB366,29,15 (b) The members under section 15.405 (18) (am) of the statutes, the member under section 15.405 (18) (d) of the statutes, and the member under section 15.405 (18) (g) of the statutes shall be appointed for terms expiring on July 1, 2020.

AB366,29,18 (c) The members under section 15.405 (18) (b) of the statutes and the member under section 15.405 (18) (i) of the statutes shall be appointed for terms expiring on July 1, 2022.

AB366,29,19 (2) Examining board; provisional appointments.

AB366,30,2 (a) Notwithstanding section 15.08 (1) of the statutes, the governor may provisionally appoint initial members of the medicolegal investigation examining board under section 15.405 (18) of the statutes. Those provisional appointments remain in force until withdrawn by the governor or acted upon by the senate, and if confirmed by the senate shall continue for the remainder of the unexpired term, if any, of the member and until a successor is chosen and qualifies. A provisional appointee may exercise all the powers and duties of board membership to which the person is appointed during the time in which the appointee qualifies.

AB366,30,8 (b) A provisional appointment made under paragraph (a ) that is withdrawn by the governor lapses upon withdrawal and creates a vacancy for provisional appointment of another initial member of the medicolegal investigation examining board. Any provisional appointment made under paragraph (a) that is rejected by the senate lapses upon rejection and creates a vacancy for nomination and appointment under section 15.08 (1) of the statutes of another initial board member.

AB366,30,19 (3) Examining board; emergency rule authority. The medicolegal investigation examining board may promulgate emergency rules under section 227.24 of the statutes as required under section 465.05 (1) (a) of the statutes. Notwithstanding section 227.24 (1) (c) and (2) of the statutes, emergency rules promulgated under this subsection remain in effect for one year, or until the date on which permanent rules take effect, whichever is sooner. Notwithstanding section 227.24 (1) (a) and (3) of the statutes, the medicolegal investigation examining board is not required to provide evidence that promulgating a rule under this subsection as an emergency rule is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare and is not required to provide a finding of emergency for a rule promulgated under this subsection.

AB366,58 Section 58. Initial applicability.

AB366,31,4 (1) Death investigations; authorization to embalm or dispose of a body; cremation permit; disposition of bodies. The treatment of sections 69.01 (12), 69.18 (2) (d) 1., 2., and 3., and (3) (a), (b), and (d), 157.02 (1), (1m) (title), (2), (2m), (3), (4), and (5), 157.03 (1) and (2), 157.055 (2) (intro.), 346.71 (2), 440.78 (1) (b), 979.01 (1p), (1r), and (4), 979.025 (2) and (3), 979.036, 979.09, 979.10 (1) (a) (intro.), 1., 1m., 2., 2m., and 3. and (b), (2), (3), and (4), and 979.22 of the statutes, the renumbering and amendment of section 979.01 (1m) of the statutes, and the creation of section 979.01 (1m) (b) of the statutes first apply to deaths occurring on the effective date of this subsection.

AB366,31,7 (2) Disinterment permits. The treatment of sections 69.18 (4) (a) (intro.) and 1g. to 6., (am) (intro.), (b), (bm), (d), (e), and (f) and 157.112 (3) (intro.) of the statutes first applies to disinterments performed on the effective date of this subsection.

AB366,59 Section 59. Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after publication, except as follows:

AB366,31,13 (1) The treatment of sections 440.03 (9) (a) (intro.) and (bm) and (13) (b) 38d., 440.08 (2) (a) 46t., 465.05 (1) (b), (c), (dm), and (e) and (2) (a), 465.10, and 465.15 of the statutes and the amendment of section 440.05 (intro.) of the statutes take effect on the first day of the 13th month beginning after publication.

AB366,31,15 (2) The repeal and recreation of section 440.05 (intro.) takes effect on December 16, 2019.

AB366,31,16 (End)