LRB-3706/1
RLR:bjk:rs
2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE
January 29, 2008 - Introduced by Senators Lassa, Schultz, A. Lasee, Robson and
Hansen, cosponsored by Representatives
Vruwink, Gronemus, A. Ott,
Sheridan, Molepske, Van Roy, Nelson, F. Lasee, Soletski, Nygren, Hahn,
Hixson and Seidel. Referred to Committee on Public Health, Senior Issues,
Long Term Care and Privacy.
SB428,2,9
1An Act to repeal 69.18 (4) (bm), 979.01 (3), 979.01 (3m), 979.03 and 979.10 (3);
2to renumber 69.18 (4) (a) 1. to 6. and 979.10 (1) (c);
to renumber and amend
369.18 (4) (a) (intro.), 157.02 (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5), 979.01 (1m), 979.01 (2),
4979.01 (4), 979.02 and 979.10 (1) (a) 1., 2. and 3.;
to amend 59.34 (1) (a), 69.01
5(12), 69.18 (2) (d) 1., 69.18 (3) (a), 69.20 (2) (a) 2., 157.03 (1), 157.03 (2), 157.055
6(2) (intro.), 157.70 (3) (a), 346.71 (2), 440.78 (1) (b), 979.01 (title), 979.01 (1)
7(intro.), 979.01 (1) (a), 979.01 (1) (d), 979.01 (1) (e), 979.01 (1) (g), 979.01 (1) (i),
8979.01 (1r), 979.015, 979.02 (title), 979.025 (title), 979.025 (1), 979.025 (2),
9979.025 (3), 979.04, 979.05 (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6), 979.06 (1), (2) and (4), 979.07
10(1) (a), 979.08 (1), 979.08 (5), 979.08 (6), 979.08 (7), 979.09, 979.10 (1) (a) (intro.),
11979.10 (1) (b), 979.10 (2), 979.10 (4), 979.11 and 979.22;
to repeal and recreate
12979.01 (1) (b), 979.01 (1) (c), 979.01 (1) (f), 979.01 (1) (h) and 979.01 (1g); and
13to create 15.255 (3), 17.103, 51.30 (4) (b) 28., 59.34 (1) (cm), 59.35 (3m), 59.38
14(3m), 69.18 (4) (am) (intro.), 69.18 (4) (b), 69.18 (4) (d), 69.18 (4) (e), 69.18 (4) (f),
1157.02 (1m) (title), 157.02 (2m), 157.113 (title), 165.50 (4), 165.65, 979.001,
2979.01 (1) (j) to (p), 979.01 (1i), 979.01 (1k), 979.01 (1m) (b), 979.01 (1p), 979.01
3(2) (b), 979.017, 979.02 (2) to (7), 979.027, 979.032, 979.034, 979.036, 979.10 (1)
4(a) 1m. and 2m., 979.10 (1) (d), 979.10 (5) and 979.10 (6) of the statutes;
5relating to: reporting deaths, death investigations and other duties of
6coroners and medical examiners, inquests, disposition of bodies, training and
7testing requirements for coroners and medical examiners, creating the Board
8on Medicolegal Investigations, requiring the exercise of rule-making authority,
9and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, coroners or medical examiners investigate certain deaths.
In a county with a population of 500,000 or more, and in any county that has
instituted a medical examiner system, a medical examiner appointed by the county
board is responsible for death investigations. In all other counties, the coroner, who
is an elected constitutional officer, is responsible for death investigations.
Reporting Deaths
Under current law, any person who has knowledge of certain deaths must
report the death to the sheriff, police chief, or medical examiner or coroner for the
locality in which the death occurred. The following types of deaths must be reported:
a death that involves unexplained, unusual, or suspicious circumstances; a homicide
or suicide; a death following an accident; a death that is due to poisoning; a death
following an abortion; a death for which a physician or spiritual advisor did not
attend the deceased within 30 days before death; and a death for which a physician
refuses to sign the death certificate or for which a physician cannot timely be
obtained to sign the medical certification that is required for a death certificate. A
sheriff or police chief who is notified of such a death must notify the coroner or
medical examiner of the death, and the coroner or medical examiner must notify the
district attorney. Any person who fails to report a death as required is subject to a
fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days.
This bill requires that if a death must be reported, any person who has
knowledge of the death must report it to the coroner or medical examiner and may,
in addition, report it to a law enforcement officer.
The bill requires reporting of the following additional types of deaths: a death
for which injury may be a contributing cause; a death of a person who is in the custody
of a law enforcement officer or under active pursuit by a law enforcement officer, or
that otherwise involves a law enforcement officer; a death of a person who is confined
in a federal prison, state prison, jail, juvenile facility, or otherwise confined by the
Department of Corrections or a sheriff; a death of an individual who is detained or
institutionalized in connection with a civil commitment, preliminary proceedings for
civil commitment, or criminal trial competency proceedings; a death of an individual
receiving emergency care at a hospital or other medical facility; a death associated
with medical error; a death associated with abuse of a chemical substance that may
be legally used or with use of a controlled substance; a death associated with an
epidemic, a pandemic, or the spread of a dangerous communicable disease; when
human remains are discovered outside a cemetery; and any other death that the
coroner or medical examiner in a written policy requires reported. In addition, the
bill clarifies that the requirement to report a death associated with an abortion
applies to the death of a woman. Also, the bill provides that a death of an individual
who was not under the care of a physician for the illness or condition that caused
death must be reported regardless of whether the person was attended by a spiritual
adviser.
The bill provides that the penalty for failure by a partnership, association,
organization, institution, or body politic or corporate to report a death for which
reporting is required is a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment for not more
than 90 days, or both.
Jurisdiction to investigate death and notifications
The bill assigns jurisdiction to investigate a death to the coroner or medical
examiner in the county in which occurred the crime, injury, or other event that
caused the death. However, if it cannot be determined where the event that caused
the death occurred, or if the death occurred outside the state, the coroner or medical
examiner in the county in which death was pronounced has jurisdiction to
investigate. The bill provides that the coroner or medical examiner who has
jurisdiction to investigate a death has custody of the deceased's body and prohibits
any person from moving the body at or from a death scene without authorization from
the coroner or medical examiner. The bill requires a coroner or examiner who
receives notice of a death to notify the deceased's next of kin. The bill provides that
a coroner or medical examiner need not notify the district attorney of certain types
of reported deaths if the district attorney has waived notice in writing.
Autopsies and other diagnostic procedures
Currently, a coroner, medical examiner, or district attorney may order an
autopsy conducted on a body if there is reason to believe that the death resulted from
a homicide or certain other crimes or suicide, or occurred under unexplained or
suspicious circumstances. A coroner or medical examiner must order an autopsy on
any person who dies while confined in a correctional facility in this state. If a child
who is under two years of age dies unexpectedly or under circumstances indicating
sudden infant death syndrome, the coroner or medical examiner must order an
autopsy unless the parent or guardian in writing requests that an autopsy not be
performed. If the autopsy reveals that sudden infant death syndrome is the cause
of death, that cause shall be stated in the autopsy report. No person may perform
an autopsy on the body of a person whose death must be reported without obtaining
written authorization from the coroner or medical examiner.
Under current law, if an autopsy is not performed in connection with a death
that must be reported, the coroner or medical examiner may take specimens from the
body for analysis to assist in determining the cause of death. The coroner or medical
examiner shall take specimens for analysis in such cases if requested to do so by the
spouse, parent, child, or sibling of the deceased.
The bill requires a coroner or medical examiner to order an autopsy for the
following deaths: a death that likely resulted from a crime; a death of a person under
18 years of age that is unusual or unexplained; a death of an person who is in the
custody of a law enforcement officer or under active pursuit by a law enforcement
officer, or that otherwise involves a law enforcement officer; a death of a person who
is confined in federal prison, a jail, or otherwise confined by a sheriff; and a death of
a person who is detained or institutionalized in connection with a civil commitment,
preliminary proceedings for civil commitment, or criminal trial competency
proceedings. The bill repeals the requirement that a coroner or medical examiner,
in cases where a death must be reported, must take specimens from a deceased's body
upon request of the deceased's spouse, parent, child, or sibling. Under the bill, if a
coroner or medical examiner does not order an autopsy for a death that must be
reported, the bill requires the coroner or medical examiner to inform the deceased's
representative that the representative may independently contract for pathology
related services. Finally, the bill repeals the requirement that, when applicable,
coroners and medical examiners cite sudden infant death syndrome as the cause of
death in an autopsy report.
Investigation records and handling of personal property
The bill requires that each coroner or medical examiner keep records of each
death investigation and specifies the contents of the records. The bill further
requires that the coroner or medical examiner keep death investigation records in
an office that is owned or leased by the county and designated as the office of the
coroner or medical examiner.
The bill provides that records of autopsies and other diagnostic procedures are
confidential. Under the bill, a coroner or medical examiner may release such records
only to persons who have authority to access the deceased's health care records
without informed consent, to the deceased's representative, or for educational
purposes. The bill requires that a coroner or medical examiner keep all confidential
records that are gathered for an investigation, such as health care records,
confidential. At the request of a law enforcement agency investigating a death, a
coroner or medical examiner must keep death investigation records and information
related to an investigation confidential during the course of the investigation. The
bill also requires that each coroner or medical examiner maintain written policies
regarding access to death investigation records.
The bill requires a coroner or medical examiner to maintain an inventory of
personal property that the coroner or medical examiner takes from a death scene or
from a deceased. The bill specifies that the coroner or medical examiner must destroy
or donate to a drug repository program any prescription medications that the coroner
or medical examiner collects in an investigation and does not provide to a law
enforcement agency.
Disposition of bodies
Under current law, the coroner or medical examiner's authorization is required
for various activities related to the disposition of bodies.
Authorization to embalm. Under current law, a coroner's or medical examiner's
authorization is required to embalm the body of a person whose death must be
reported. A coroner or medical examiner must issue the authorization within 12
hours of receiving notice of the death or as soon thereafter as possible in the event
of unexplained, unusual, or suspicious circumstances.
The bill specifies certain information that coroners and medical examiners
must include on an authorization for embalming, eliminates the general 12 hour
deadline for issuing an authorization to embalm, and provides that a coroner or
medical examiner must issue an authorization to embalm as soon as possible after
being notified of a death.
Cremation permit. Under current law, a coroner's or medical examiner's
authorization is required for cremation of the body of any deceased person.
Currently, a person may not cremate a body within 48 hours of death, or discovery
of death, unless the death was caused by a contagious or infectious disease. A coroner
or medical examiner must view a body and make inquiry into the cause and manner
of death before issuing a cremation permit. Finally, a cremation authorization for
the body of a person who died outside the state may be used only in the county in
which it is issued.
The bill provides that even when a death is caused by a contagious or infectious
disease, the body may not be cremated within 48 hours of the pronouncement of
death unless the body must be cremated immediately to effectively contain the
disease or a public health authority orders the sooner disposal of the body during a
state of emergency that is related to public health. The bill requires that if the
medical certification of the cause and manner of death on a death certificate is
completed by a physician, the coroner or medical examiner must review the medical
certification before issuing a cremation release. The bill further requires that a
coroner or medical examiner must specify on a cremation release the earliest date
and time that cremation may occur. Finally, the bill requires that a person who
receives a body for medical research or education must obtain a cremation release
before receiving the body.
Authorization to disinter and reinter. Under current law, a coroner or medical
examiner must issue an authorization to disinter and reinter a body upon an order
of the court or at the request of various next of kin of the deceased or another person
who has authority to dispose of the body.
The bill clarifies that no person, other than a cemetery, may disinter a body or
human remains without authorization from the coroner or medical examiner. The
bill adds, as a condition for obtaining a coroner's or medical examiner's authorization
for disinterment without a court order, that the person requesting authorization
provide proof of intent to cremate or bury the disintered remains.
Disposition of unidentified or unclaimed bodies. Under current law, if an
inmate of state, county, or municipal institution dies, and a relative or friend of the
deceased does not claim the body and a medical or mortuary school does not take the
body, the superintendent of the institution must bury the body.
This bill provides that if a person other than the superintendent of a state,
county, or municipal institution has an unidentified or unclaimed body, the person
shall notify the coroner or medical examiner, who must bury or cremate the body.
Under the bill, if a coroner or medical examiner buries or cremates the body, the
county must pay the costs of burial or cremation with funds other than funds
appropriated for the operation of the coroner's or medical examiner's office. The bill
further provides that if the coroner or medical examiner makes reasonable efforts to
identify a body and notify the deceased's representative of disposal of the body, the
coroner or medical examiner is immune from civil liability for his or her choice of
method for disposing of the body.
Board on Medicolegal Investigations
This bill creates a Board on Medicolegal Investigations (Board) that is attached
to the Department of Justice and requires the Board to establish training and testing
requirements for coroners, deputy coroners, medical examiners, and medical
examiner assistants. The bill requires the Board to notify the appropriate county
board if a medical examiner does not satisfy the training and testing requirements,
and to notify both the governor and the appropriate county board if a coroner does
not satisfy the training and testing requirements. The bill provides that failure to
satisfy the training or testing requirements constitutes cause for a county board to
remove a medical examiner and cause for the governor to remove a coroner. The bill
also requires the Board to promulgate rules regarding the content and maintenance
of, and public access to, coroner and medical examiner death investigation records.
And, finally, the bill requires the Board to develop a form that coroners and medical
examiners must use when issuing permits for disinterment or reinterment.
Inquests
Under current law, if there is reason to believe that a death resulted from
criminal activity or occurred under other unexplained or suspicious circumstances,
the district attorney in the county in which suspected criminal activity or other event
that resulted in death occurred may order that an inquest be conducted. An inquest
is a proceeding before a jury or judge at which witnesses may be called. The judge
or jury must determine whether there is probable cause to believe that a death
occurred as a result of a crime, and, if so, which crimes were committed and who may
have committed them.
The bill grants the attorney general the same authority that district attorneys
currently have to order, and represent the state in, an inquest, if there is reason to
believe that a death resulted from criminal activity or other unexplained or
suspicious circumstances.
Mental health treatment records
Under current law, a coroner or medical examiner may obtain a decedent's
health care records without informed consent for the purpose of conducting a death
investigation. This bill provides a coroner or medical examiner access to a decedent's
mental health treatment records without informed consent for the purpose of
conducting a death investigation.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB428, s. 1
1Section
1. 15.255 (3) of the statutes is created to read:
SB428,7,52
15.255
(3) Board on medicolegal investigations. There is created a board on
3medicolegal investigations that is attached to the department of justice under s.
415.03 and that shall consist of the following members appointed for staggered 6-year
5terms:
SB428,7,76
(a) A coroner, a medical examiner, and a forensic pathologist, who are members
7of the Wisconsin Coroners and Medical Examiners Association.
SB428,7,88
(b) A member of the Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association.
SB428,7,99
(c) A member of the Wisconsin District Attorney's Association.
SB428,7,1010
(d) A member of the Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association.
SB428,7,1111
(e) A member of the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association, Inc.
SB428,7,1212
(f) A member of the Wisconsin Counties Association.
SB428,7,1313
(g) The attorney general or his or her designee.
SB428,7,1414
(h) The state public defender or his or her designee.
SB428, s. 2
15Section
2. 17.103 of the statutes is created to read:
SB428,8,2
1617.103 Cause to remove coroner or medical examiner. Failure of a
17coroner to satisfy the testing and training requirements for coroners under s. 165.65
18(1) constitutes cause for the governor to remove a coroner under s. 17.09 (5). Failure
19of a medical examiner to satisfy the testing or training requirements for medical
1examiners under s. 165.65 (1) constitutes cause for a county board to remove a
2medical examiner under s. 17.10 (2).
SB428, s. 3
3Section
3. 51.30 (4) (b) 28. of the statutes is created to read:
SB428,8,134
51.30
(4) (b) 28. To a medical examiner, assistant medical examiner, coroner,
5or deputy coroner upon an oral or written request from that person, if the treatment
6records are relevant to completion of a medical certification under s. 69.18 (2) or to
7an investigation of the cause or manner of the patient's death under s. 979.01 or
8979.10. A custodian of treatment records may initiate contact with a coroner or
9medical examiner to inform him or her of treatment records of a deceased patient
10that may be relevant to the completion of a medical certification or the investigation
11of a death. The recipient of any information under this subdivision shall keep the
12information confidential except as necessary to comply with s. 69.18, 979.01, or
13979.10.
SB428, s. 4
14Section
4. 59.34 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB428,9,615
59.34
(1) (a) Participate in inquest proceedings when required by law, except
16that in any county with a population of 500,000 or more and all counties which have
17instituted the medical examiner system this duty and the powers incident thereto
18shall be vested exclusively in the office of the medical examiner. Except as provided
19under s. 59.38 (5), the board shall appoint the medical examiner. The office may be
20occupied on a full-time or part-time basis and the officeholder shall be paid
21compensation as the board by ordinance provides. The duties performed by the
22county coroner and not vested in the medical examiner shall be performed by the
23clerk. The medical examiner may appoint such assistants as the board authorizes.
24Whenever requested by the court or district attorney, the medical examiner shall
25testify to facts and conclusions disclosed by autopsies performed by him or her, at his
1or her direction or in his or her presence; shall make physical examinations and tests
2incident to any matter of a criminal nature up for consideration before either the
3court or district attorney
or attorney general upon request; shall testify as an expert
4for either the court or the state in all matters where the examinations or tests have
5been made; and shall perform such other duties of a pathological or medicolegal
6nature as may be required.
SB428, s. 5
7Section
5. 59.34 (1) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB428,9,98
59.34
(1) (cm) Complete training and testing required by the board of
9medicolegal investigations under s. 165.65.
SB428, s. 6
10Section
6. 59.35 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:
SB428,9,1211
59.35
(3m) A deputy coroner shall complete training and testing required by
12the board of medicolegal investigations under s. 165.65.
SB428, s. 7
13Section
7. 59.38 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:
SB428,9,1614
59.38
(3m) Training and testing. The medical examiner and his or her
15assistants shall complete training and testing required by the board of medicolegal
16investigations under s. 165.65.
SB428, s. 8
17Section
8. 69.01 (12) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB428,9,2218
69.01
(12) "Final disposition" means the disposition of a corpse or stillbirth by
19burial, interment, entombment, cremation, delivery to a university or school under
20s. 157.02
(3) (1m) (c) or delivery to a medical or dental school anatomy department
21under s. 157.06. "Final disposition" does not include disposition of the ashes
22produced by cremation of a corpse or stillbirth.
SB428, s. 9
23Section
9. 69.18 (2) (d) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB428,9,2524
69.18
(2) (d) 1. Except as provided under par. (e), if a death
is the subject of a
25coroner's or medical examiner's determination must be reported to a coroner or
1medical examiner under s. 979.01
or 979.03, the coroner or medical examiner or a
2physician supervised by a coroner or medical examiner in the county where the event
3which caused the death occurred shall complete and sign the medical certification
4for the death and mail the death certificate within 5 days after the pronouncement
5of death or present the certificate to the person responsible for filing the death
6certificate under sub. (1) within 6 days after the pronouncement of death.
SB428, s. 10
7Section
10. 69.18 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read: