SB 1303: Coroner: county office of the medical examiner.

Existing law specifies the officers of a county, including, but not limited to, the coroner. The California Constitution requires that certain county officers, other than the coroner, be elected. Existing statutory law requires that certain other county officers are to be elected, but establishes a process by which those offices that are required by statute to be elected may be converted to offices appointed by the board of supervisors.

Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors to abolish the office of coroner and provide instead for the office of medical examiner, to be appointed by the board and to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the coroner and requires that the medical examiner be a licensed physician and surgeon duly qualified as a specialist in pathology.

Commencing July 1, 2020, this bill would, for counties with a population of 500,000 or greater, excluding a county that has adopted a charter, require that the office of the coroner or the sheriff-coroners office, as applicable, either be replaced with an office of the medical examiner to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the coroner without a public vote or election, or adopt a policy requiring referral of death investigations to a county that has implemented an office of medical examiner for any case when there is a potential conflict of interest for the office of the coroner or the sheriff-coroners office, as specified. By requiring that counties comply with these requirements, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that the office of medical examiner operate independently from any other county agency or official in the conduct of autopsies.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.