HLS 18RS-548 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 458
BY REPRESENTATIVE JAMES
PUBLIC HEALTH/OFFICE: Requires state participation in the National Violent Death
Reporting System
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 44:4.1(B)(26) and to enact R.S. 40.3.2, relative to state
3 participation in the National Violent Death Reporting System; to provide for duties
4 of coroners and law enforcement agencies in submitting reports of violent deaths to
5 the office of public health; to provide for a time delay in which reports will be
6 received; to provide for liability protection for entities submitting certain reports to
7 the office of public health; to provide for a public records exception; and to provide
8 for related matters.
9Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 40:3.2 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 §3.2. Investigation of violent deaths
12 A. The legislature finds that violence is a public health concern that
13 negatively impacts the health of Louisiana residents, the quality of life in Louisiana
14 communities, and Louisiana's economy. Accordingly, the office of public health is
15 hereby authorized to participate in and submit data to the National Violent Death
16 Reporting System, referred to hereafter in this section as the "NVDRS", operated
17 by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, referred to
18 hereafter in this Section as the "CDC".
19 B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each coroner
20 in this state shall submit to the office of public health, within thirty days of request,
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HB NO. 458
1 subject to reasonable extension, entire copies of all reports and records, including
2 any autopsy reports, toxicology reports, and investigative narratives, in their then-
3 existing level of completeness, prepared or compiled in connection with the death
4 of an individual who has suffered a violent death.
5 C. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each law
6 enforcement agency in this state shall submit to the office of public health, within
7 thirty days of request, subject to reasonable extension, entire copies of all
8 investigative reports, investigative narratives, and crime laboratory data, in their
9 then-existing level of completeness, prepared or compiled in connection with the
10 death of an individual who has suffered a violent death.
11 D. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each
12 department, agency, office, and political subdivision of the state, including each
13 parish or municipality, shall submit to the office of public health, within thirty days
14 of request, subject to reasonable extension, entire copies of any records in its
15 possession, in their then-existing level of completeness, related to the death of an
16 individual who has suffered a violent death.
17 E. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any individual
18 or entity not required by this Section to provide to the office of pubic health records
19 related to the death of an individual who has suffered a violent death may, at such
20 individual's or entity's discretion, provide such records.
21 F. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require that crime scene
22 photos or any audio or video recordings be submitted to the office of public health.
23 G. Records required to be submitted to the office of public health by this
24 Section shall be unredacted, except that information concerning social security
25 numbers, names and identifying information of witnesses and the victim's family
26 members, and any information that the office of public health determines, in its sole
27 discretion, is not needed to fulfill the mission of the office of public health or
28 NVDRS, may be redacted.
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HB NO. 458
1 H. All records and documents obtained by the office of public health under
2 the authority of this Section shall be considered confidential data as that term is
3 defined in R.S. 40:3.1, and shall accordingly be subject to the restrictions on use,
4 disclosure, discoverability, subpoena, or dissemination set forth therein, except that
5 the office of public health is expressly authorized to remit de-identified coded data
6 extracted from such records or documents to the CDC.
7 I. The furnishings of records or documents to the office of public health in
8 accordance with this Section by any person, agency, or entity acting in good faith
9 shall not expose such person, agency, or entity to liability and shall not be considered
10 a violation of any privileged or confidential relationship.
11 J. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the publishing by the office of public
12 health of statistical compilations relating to violent deaths which do not identify
13 individual cases or individual physicians, hospitals, clinics, other healthcare
14 providers, individual law enforcement personnel, or law enforcement agencies.
15 K. As used in this Section, the term "violent death" means any death listed
16 or classified on a death certificate or coroner's autopsy report or investigative
17 narrative as a homicide, suicide, death of undetermined intent, death due to legal
18 intervention, unintentional firearm death, or death due to terrorism.
19 Section 2. R.S. 44:4.1(B)(26) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
20 §4.1. Exceptions
21 * * *
22 B. The legislature further recognizes that there exist exceptions, exemptions,
23 and limitations to the laws pertaining to public records throughout the revised
24 statutes and codes of this state. Therefore, the following exceptions, exemptions, and
25 limitations are hereby continued in effect by incorporation into this Chapter by
26 citation:
27 * * *
28 (26) R.S. 40:3.1, 3.2, 31.14, 31.27, 39.1, 41, 73, 95, 96, 526, 528, 1007,
29 1061.21, 1079.18, 1081.10, 1105.6, 1105.8, 1133.8, 1171.4, 1203.4, 1231.4,
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HB NO. 458
1 1379.1.1(D), 1379.3, 2009.8, 2009.14, 2010.5, 2017.9, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2106,
2 2138, 2532, 2845.1.
3 * * *
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 458 Original 2018 Regular Session James
Abstract: Requires coroners and law enforcement agencies to report violent deaths to the
office of public health and authorizes state participation in the National Violent
Death Reporting System.
Proposed law authorizes the office of public health to participate and submit data to the
National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS).
Proposed law requires coroners and law enforcement agencies to report violent deaths to the
office of public health.
Proposed law requires coroners and law enforcement agencies to report violent deaths to the
office of public health within 30 days of incident.
Proposed law defines "violent death" as any death listed or classified on a death certificate
or coroner's autopsy report or investigative narrative as a homicide, suicide, death of
undetermined intent, death due to legal intervention, unintentional firearm death, or death
due to terrorism.
Proposed law adds a public records exception for NVDRS.
(Amends R.S. 44:4.1(B)(26); Adds R.S. 40:3.2)
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