AB867: Bill Text

AB867,25,3 b. Obtain a waiver from the requirement under subd. 2. a. in the method described under par. (c).

AB867,25,8 (c) The board may grant a waiver of the education requirement under par. (b) 2. a. to a coroner, nonaccredited medical examiner, or medicolegal investigation staff member who holds a credential, in good standing, from a nationally recognized accreditation organization specializing in death investigation education and who applies to the board for a waiver in the method prescribed by the board.

AB867,25,10 (d) Notwithstanding sub. (2) (a) 2. and s. 465.05 (2) (a), no initial license fee may be imposed for individuals issued an initial license under par. (a).

AB867,25,13 (4) Optional license. (a) Initial license. The board may issue a license in medicolegal investigation to an individual, other than an individual required to hold a license under sub. (1), who satisfies all of the following criteria:

AB867,25,15 1. The individual successfully completes 40 hours of training, as prescribed by the board, and any additional requirements set by the board.

AB867,25,17 2. The individual applies to the board for a license in the manner prescribed by the board.

AB867,25,19 3. The individual pays any licensing fee imposed by the board under s. 465.05 (2) (a).

AB867,25,22 (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:

AB867,25,23 1. Any fee established by the board under s. 465.05 (2) (a).

AB867,26,3 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.

AB867,26,5 3. Proof that the individual has fulfilled any other requirements of licensure as prescribed by the board.

AB867,26,10 (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.

AB867,26,12 465.15 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.

AB867,41 Section 41. 979.001 of the statutes is created to read:

AB867,26,14 979.001 Definitions. In this chapter:

AB867,26,15 (1) "Health care provider" means all of the following:

AB867,26,16 (a) A midwife licensed under subch. XIII of ch. 440.

AB867,26,17 (b) A nurse licensed under ch. 441.

AB867,26,18 (c) A chiropractor licensed under ch. 446.

AB867,26,19 (d) A dentist licensed under ch. 447.

AB867,26,21 (e) A physician, physician assistant, or respiratory care practitioner licensed or certified under subch. II of ch. 448.

AB867,26,22 (f) A physical therapist licensed under subch. III of ch. 448.

AB867,26,23 (g) A podiatrist licensed under subch. IV of ch. 448.

AB867,26,24 (h) A dietitian certified under subch. V of ch. 448.

AB867,26,25 (i) An athletic trainer licensed under subch. VI of ch. 448.

AB867,27,2 (j) An occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant licensed under subch. VII of ch. 448.

AB867,27,3 (k) An optometrist licensed under ch. 449.

AB867,27,4 (L) A pharmacist licensed under ch. 450.

AB867,27,5 (m) An acupuncturist certified under ch. 451.

AB867,27,6 (n) A psychologist licensed under ch. 455.

AB867,27,8 (o) A social worker, marriage and family therapist, or professional counselor certified or licensed under ch. 457.

AB867,27,11 (p) A speech-language pathologist or audiologist licensed under subch. II of ch. 459 or a speech and language pathologist licensed by the department of public instruction.

AB867,27,12 (q) A massage therapist or bodyworker certified under ch. 460.

AB867,27,14 (2) "Hospice" means an organization, program, or place that meets the definition in s. 50.90 (1) and that is licensed under s. 50.92.

AB867,27,16 (3) "Hospital" means a facility licensed under s. 50.35 or a facility operated as a hospital by the federal government, a state, or a political subdivision of a state.

AB867,27,17 (4) "Human remains" has the meaning given in s. 157.061 (8).

AB867,27,18 (5) "Law enforcement agency" has the meaning given in s. 165.83 (1) (b).

AB867,27,22 (6) "Law enforcement officer" means any person employed by the state, or any political subdivision of the state, for the purpose of detecting and preventing crime and enforcing laws or ordinances and who is authorized to make arrests for violations of the laws or ordinances that the person is employed to enforce.

AB867,27,24 (7) "Nursing home" means a facility that meets the definition in s. 50.01 (3) and that is licensed under subch. I of ch. 50.

AB867,28,3 (8) "Representative of the deceased" means any member of one of the following classes of individuals, in the order of priority listed, who is available, if no member of a prior class is available:

AB867,28,4 (a) The deceased's spouse.

AB867,28,5 (b) An adult son or daughter of the deceased.

AB867,28,6 (c) A parent of the deceased.

AB867,28,7 (d) An adult brother or sister of the deceased.

AB867,28,8 (e) A person appointed as a representative of the deceased by the circuit court.

AB867,42 Section 42. 979.01 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB867,28,11 979.01 (title) Reporting deaths required; penalty; taking specimens by coroner or medical examiner jurisdiction for investigating deaths.

AB867,43 Section 43. 979.01 (1) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

AB867,28,23 979.01 (1) (a) If a death occurs outside a hospital, physician's office, nursing home, or hospice, and is not required to be reported under par. (b) or (c), a law enforcement officer, health care provider, or funeral director who has knowledge of the death and any person who discovers the body or remains of a deceased individual shall immediately report the death to an appropriate law enforcement agency and to the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the individual was pronounced dead or in which the deceased's body or remains were located except that a person who is required to report a death because he or she discovered a body or the remains of a deceased individual may report the death to a law enforcement officer in lieu of reporting the death to the coroner or medical examiner. Deaths that are required to be reported under this paragraph include all of the following:

AB867,28,24 1. A death that involves unexplained, unusual, or suspicious circumstances.

AB867,28,25 2. A death that the person has reason to believe is the result of a homicide.

AB867,29,1 3. A death that the person has reason to believe is the result of a suicide.

AB867,29,3 4. A death of a woman that is associated with an abortion, as defined in s. 253.10 (2) (a).

AB867,29,7 5. A death, if the person has reason to believe that an injury or poisoning was a contributing cause of the death, whether or not the person has reason to believe that the injury or poisoning was the primary cause of the death and regardless of the interval between the injury or poisoning and the death.

AB867,29,9 6. A death that occurred when the individual was not under the care of a physician for the illness or condition that caused the death.

AB867,29,13 7. A death, if after reasonable efforts, a physician cannot within 6 days after the pronouncement of death, or sooner under circumstances that the coroner or medical examiner determines to be an emergency, be obtained to sign the medical certification as required under s. 69.18 (2) (b) or (c).

AB867,29,16 8. A death that the person has reason to believe is associated with the abuse of a chemical substance that may be legally used or with the use of a controlled substance, as defined in s. 961.01 (4).

AB867,29,20 9. A death that the person has reason to believe is associated with an epidemic or pandemic, with the spread of a dangerous communicable disease, as defined by the department of health services, or with a disease-causing agent that may pose a threat to public health.

AB867,29,23 (b) A law enforcement officer shall immediately report to the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which an individual was pronounced dead all of the following:

AB867,29,25 1. A death that occurs while an individual is in the actual or constructive custody of a law enforcement officer.

AB867,30,2 2. A death of an individual that occurs during the pursuit of the individual by a law enforcement officer or otherwise involves a law enforcement officer.

AB867,30,7 3. A death that occurs while the individual is confined in a federal prison in this state, a state prison, county jail or house of correction, a juvenile correctional facility, as defined in s. 938.02 (10p), or a juvenile detention facility, as defined in s. 938.02 (10r), or is otherwise incarcerated in the custody of the department or of a county sheriff.

AB867,30,11 (c) A facility where a deceased individual was being detained or institutionalized under s. 51.20, 971.14, or 971.17 or ch. 980 at the time of his or her death shall immediately report the death to the coroner or medical examiner in the county where the facility is located.

AB867,30,14 (d) A health care provider shall immediately report a death that occurs in a physician's office, as defined in s. 460.01 (5), to the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the physician's office is located.

AB867,30,17 (e) A hospital shall immediately report to the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the hospital is located a death that occurs at the hospital and satisfies any of the following conditions:

AB867,30,18 1. The death occurred in the emergency department of the hospital.

AB867,30,21 2. The death was not the result of a natural disease process. For purposes of this subdivision, deaths described in par. (a) 1. to 5., 8., and 9. are not considered to be the result of a natural disease process.

AB867,31,2 (f) A nursing home shall immediately report to the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the nursing home is located a death that occurs at the nursing home and that the nursing home has reason to believe was not the result of a natural disease process. For purposes of this paragraph, deaths described in par. (a) 1. to 5., 8., and 9. are not considered to be the result of a natural disease process.

AB867,31,5 (g) 1. A hospice shall report a death that occurred while an individual was receiving care from the hospice in accordance with the written policy created under subd. 2. that applies to the county in which the death occurred.

AB867,31,10 2. A coroner or medical examiner shall create and distribute to each hospice that operates in the county under his or her jurisdiction a written policy that describes the circumstances under which a hospice must report to the coroner or medical examiner a death that occurs while an individual is receiving care from the hospice.

AB867,44 Section 44. 979.01 (1d) of the statutes is created to read:

AB867,31,14 979.01 (1d) Notwithstanding sub. (1), no person specified in sub. (1) need report a death under sub. (1) if that person knows that another person specified in sub. (1) has already reported the death to a coroner or medical examiner.

AB867,45 Section 45. 979.01 (1g) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

AB867,31,19 979.01 (1g) If discovery of a body or remains of a deceased individual is reported to law enforcement under sub. (1) but not to the coroner or medical examiner, the law enforcement officer shall immediately notify the coroner or the medical examiner of the county in which the body or human remains were located.

AB867,46 Section 46. 979.01 (1i) of the statutes is created to read:

AB867,32,2 979.01 (1i) If a coroner or medical examiner is notified of a death under sub. (1) and determines that the death was caused by a crime, injury, trauma, or other event in a county other than the county in which the death was reported, the coroner or medical examiner shall notify an appropriate law enforcement agency and the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the crime, injury, trauma, or other event is believed to have occurred.

AB867,47 Section 47. 979.01 (1k) of the statutes is created to read:

AB867,32,8 979.01 (1k) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), if a death must be reported under sub. (1), the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the crime, injury, trauma, or other event that caused the death occurred has jurisdiction to investigate the cause and manner of death including access to a death investigation scene and specimens necessary for death investigation.

AB867,32,14 (b) If there is reason to believe that a death that must be reported under sub. (1) was caused by a crime, injury, trauma, or other event that occurred outside this state, or if after reasonable efforts it cannot be determined where the crime, injury, trauma, or other event that caused the death occurred, the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which death is pronounced has jurisdiction to investigate the cause and manner of death.

AB867,48 Section 48. 979.01 (1m) of the statutes is renumbered 979.01 (1m) (a) and amended to read:

AB867,32,21 979.01 (1m) (a) The Except as provided in par. (b), the coroner or medical examiner receiving notification under sub. (1) or (1g) who has jurisdiction to investigate cause and manner of a death under this section shall immediately, within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the death, notify the district attorney for his or her county of the death.

AB867,49 Section 49. 979.01 (1m) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB867,32,25 979.01 (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.

AB867,50 Section 50. 979.01 (1p) of the statutes is created to read:

AB867,33,3 979.01 (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.

AB867,51 Section 51. 979.01 (1r) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB867,33,9 979.01 (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).

AB867,52 Section 52. 979.01 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 979.01 (2) (a) and amended to read:

AB867,33,14 979.01 (2) (a) Unless s. 948.23 (1) (b) applies and except as provided in par. (b), any person who violates this section shall sub. (1) may be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 90 days or both.