AL
Alabama House Bill HB544

Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB544 Compare Versions

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11 HB544INTRODUCED
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33 HB544
44 G33DL26-1
55 By Representative Baker (N & P)
66 RFD: Local Legislation
77 First Read: 08-Apr-25
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1212 5 G33DL26-1 03/03/2025 THR (L)THR 2025-1074
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1414 First Read: 08-Apr-25
1515 A BILL
1616 TO BE ENTITLED
1717 AN ACT
1818 Relating to Escambia County; to amend Sections
1919 45-27-60.01, 45-27-60.02, 45-27-60.03, 45-27-60.04,
2020 45-27-60.06, 45-27-60.07, 45-27-60.12, and 45-27-60.15, Code
2121 of Alabama 1975; to further provide for the powers, duties,
2222 and appointment of the county medical examiner; and to repeal
2323 Section 45-27-60.14, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the
2424 compensation of the county medical examiner.
2525 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
2626 Section 1. Sections 45-27-60.01, 45-27-60.02,
2727 45-27-60.03, 45-27-60.04, 45-27-60.06, 45-27-60.07,
2828 45-27-60.12, and 45-27-60.15, Code of Alabama 1975, are
2929 amended to read as follows:
3030 "§45-27-60.01
3131 (a) The county medical examiner Escambia County Medical
3232 Examiner shall be a physician licensed to practice medicine in
3333 Alabama.
3434 (b) The Escambia County Medical Examiner county medical
3535 examiner shall be appointed by the senior state medical
3636 examiner in Region IV of the Alabama Department of Forensic
3737 Sciences. The appointment shall be made, with the approval of
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6767 Sciences. The appointment shall be made, with the approval of
6868 the Director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences,
6969 from a list of qualified physicians candidates submitted by
7070 the Escambia County Medical Society after review by the
7171 district attorney of the county a nominating committee
7272 consisting of all of the following individuals:
7373 (1) The Chair of the Escambia County Commission, or his
7474 or her designee.
7575 (2) The Escambia County District Attorney, or his or
7676 her designee.
7777 (3) The Sheriff of Escambia County, or his or her
7878 designee.
7979 (4) The Chief Medical Examiner of the Alabama
8080 Department of Forensic Sciences, or his or her designee .
8181 (c) The nominating committee shall submit a list to the
8282 director at least 90 days before the end of a term.
8383 (d) The appointment shall establish the Escambia County
8484 Medical Examiner county medical examiner as a contract
8585 employee an agent of the Alabama Department of Forensic
8686 Sciences with the same liability coverage as provided to Merit
8787 System employees of the State of Alabama.
8888 (e) The county medical examiner shall serve a term of
8989 six years beginning the first Monday after the second Tuesday
9090 in January in the same manner and cycle as the Escambia County
9191 District Attorney.
9292 (f) The first county medical examiner appointed after
9393 October 1, 2025, shall serve until the expiration of the
9494 current district attorney term on January 20, 2029.
9595 (g) If a vacancy occurs during a term, the Director of
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125125 (g) If a vacancy occurs during a term, the Director of
126126 the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences shall appoint an
127127 interim county medical examiner within 14 days of the vacancy.
128128 The nominating committee shall submit a list to the director
129129 within 90 days of the vacancy, after which the director shall
130130 make an appointment to serve the remainder of the term.
131131 (h) The Director of the Alabama Department of Forensic
132132 Sciences may waive the requirement that the county medical
133133 examiner be a physician when appointing an interim county
134134 medical examiner. "
135135 "§45-27-60.02
136136 The Escambia County Medical Examiner shall may appoint
137137 one or more assistant county medical examiners to assist the
138138 investigation and certification of deaths from the list of
139139 qualified physicians provided by the Escambia County Medical
140140 Society. Each assistant county medical examiner shall also
141141 have approval of the senior medical examiner of Region IV and
142142 the Director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences
143143 and also shall be a contract employee of the Alabama
144144 Department of Forensic Sciences ."
145145 "§45-27-60.03
146146 The county medical examiners examiner shall complete
147147 eight hours of training in death investigation each year. The
148148 Department of Forensic Sciences state medical examiners shall
149149 may provide the training , or the county medical examiners may
150150 attend other training in death investigation with prior
151151 approval of the senior medical examiner of Region IV of the
152152 Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. All training shall be
153153 approved for continuing medical education credits ."
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183183 approved for continuing medical education credits ."
184184 "§45-27-60.04
185185 It shall be the duty of the county medical examiner, or
186186 designated assistant county medical examinerexaminers, to
187187 investigate any death in Escambia County when the death falls
188188 within one or more of the following categories:
189189 (1) Deaths that occur suddenly and unexpectedly, that
190190 is, when the person has not been under medical care for
191191 significant disease of the heart or lung, or other disease.
192192 (2) Deaths suspected to be due to violence, resulting
193193 from anyone of the following: Suicide, accident, homicide, or
194194 undetermined injury, regardless of when or where the injury
195195 occurred.
196196 (3) Deaths suspected to be due to alcohol, or drugs, or
197197 exposure to toxic agents.
198198 (4) Deaths due to poisoning.
199199 (5) Deaths of persons in the custody of law enforcement
200200 officers or in penal institutions.
201201 (6) Deaths suspected to be involved with the occupation
202202 of the decedent.
203203 (7) Deaths unattended by a physician.
204204 (8) Deaths due to neglect.
205205 (9) Any stillbirth of 20 or more weeks gestation
206206 unattended by a physician.
207207 (10) Deaths due to criminal abortion.
208208 (11) Any death of an infant or child under 19 years of
209209 age where the medical history has not established some
210210 preexisting medical condition to clearly explain the death and
211211 the preterminal circumstances.
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241241 the preterminal circumstances.
242242 (12) Deaths which are possibly directly or indirectly
243243 attributable to environmental exposure not otherwise
244244 specified.
245245 (13) Deaths suspected to be caused by infectious or
246246 contagious disease wherein the diagnosis and extent of disease
247247 at the time are undetermined.
248248 (14) Deaths occurring under suspicious or unusual
249249 circumstances.
250250 (15) When a body is to be cremated, dissected, or
251251 buried at sea.
252252 (16) When a body is brought into Escambia County
253253 without proper medical certification."
254254 "§45-27-60.06
255255 (a) After investigating a death, if the county medical
256256 examiner or the a designated assistant is satisfied that the
257257 death was not caused by criminal act or omission and that
258258 there are no suspicious circumstances about the death, then
259259 the county medical examiner, or designated assistant, may
260260 execute a death certificate as required by law, and authorize
261261 release of the body for final disposition on a certificate as
262262 prescribed by the State Health Department.
263263 (b) The county medical examiner shall contact the
264264 office of the district attorney and the State Chief Medical
265265 Examiner of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences under
266266 the following circumstances:
267267 (1) If the deceased is unidentified.
268268 (2) If the county medical examiner suspects a death was
269269 caused by a criminal act or omission.
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299299 caused by a criminal act or omission.
300300 (3) If the cause of death is obscure.
301301 (c) The In the event of a death qualifying under
302302 subsection (b), the State Medical Examiner county medical
303303 examiner shall further examine the body, take, retain, and
304304 examine or have examined whatever tissues, biological fluids,
305305 or other evidence from the body that he or she deems necessary
306306 to determine the cause, manner, or circumstances of death, and
307307 the identity of the deceased. The county medical examiner or
308308 state medical examiner shall then execute a death certificate,
309309 as required by law, and also shall authorize release of the
310310 body for final disposition by executing a certificate required
311311 by the State Health Department."
312312 "§45-27-60.07
313313 (a) An In compliance with the provisions of Section
314314 36-18-2, an autopsy or postmortem examination may be performed
315315 by a state medical examiner at the written direction of the
316316 Governor, the Attorney General, a circuit judge, or the
317317 Escambia County District Attorney or his or her authorized
318318 representative in any case in which the Attorney General or
319319 the district attorney is conducting a criminal investigation.
320320 (b) The county A state medical examiner or the State
321321 Medical Examiner may authorize an autopsy or postmortem
322322 examination, or the autopsy may be performed by the State
323323 Medical Examiner a state medical examiner, when the county
324324 medical examiner suspects the death was caused by a criminal
325325 act or omission, or the cause of death is obscure or, in his
326326 or her opinion, an autopsy is advisable and in the public
327327 interest.
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357357 interest.
358358 (c) In a death where the county medical examiner does
359359 not deem it advisable and in the public interest that an
360360 autopsy be performed, but the next of kin of the deceased
361361 requests that an autopsy be performed, the State Medical
362362 Examiner, or a designated pathologist, may perform the autopsy
363363 and the cost therefor shall be paid by the next of kin. The
364364 funds paid by the next of kin shall be deposited by the State
365365 Treasurer into the Forensic Services Trust Fund. "
366366 "§45-27-60.12
367367 The county medical examiner shall maintain the reports
368368 of death investigations conducted by the Escambia County
369369 Medical Examiner and a copy shall be forwarded to the Region
370370 IV Laboratory of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.
371371 These reports, or true copies thereof duly certified by the
372372 county medical examiner or the director of the department, are
373373 admissible in evidence in any court in Escambia County, with
374374 or without testimony by the county medical examiner or
375375 Department of Forensic Sciences officials, provided, any
376376 person preparing a report given in evidence pursuant to this
377377 article may be summoned as a witness in any civil or criminal
378378 case by either party to the cause."
379379 "§45-27-60.15
380380 Upon Beginning January 15, 1998, title and control of
381381 all equipment in the office of the Escambia County Coroner
382382 shall be transferred by Escambia County the county to the
383383 county medical examiner and to the Alabama Department of
384384 Forensic Sciences . The Escambia County Commission shall
385385 establish a Medical Examiner Fund. Thereafter, all funds
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415415 establish a Medical Examiner Fund. Thereafter, all funds
416416 previously appropriated by the county commission to the office
417417 of coroner shall be appropriated to the Medical Examiner Fund.
418418 The appropriation shall be in the amount agreed to between the
419419 county commission and the Alabama Department of Forensic
420420 Sciences county medical examiner's office each year, but the
421421 amount shall not be less than the amount appropriated to the
422422 office of the coroner in the Escambia County 1997-98 fiscal
423423 year budget. The senior state medical examiner in Region IV of
424424 the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, in conjunction
425425 with the Escambia County Medical Examiner, shall review the
426426 funding of the county medical examiner each year with the
427427 Escambia County Commission to assure adequate support for the
428428 investigations of death in the county. "
429429 Section 2. Section 45-27-60.14, Code of Alabama 1975,
430430 relating to the compensation of the county medical examiner,
431431 is repealed.
432432 Section 3. This act shall become effective on October
433433 1, 2025.
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