HB 301: "An Act relating to duties and procedures of the state medical examiner and the Department of Health and Social Services; and relating to death certificates."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 301 01 "An Act relating to duties and procedures of the state medical examiner and the 02 Department of Health and Social Services; and relating to death certificates." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 12.65.025(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The state medical examiner shall designate the facilities at which post 06 mortem examinations and autopsies ordered under this chapter may be performed 07 consistent with this section. The Department of Health and Social Services shall pay 08 the costs of 09 (1) post mortem examinations and autopsies ordered under this 10 chapter; 11 (2) related transportation to the location where the post mortem 12 examination is conducted and then to the community closest to where the death 13 occurred, except that transportation costs to another requested location shall [MAY] 14 be paid to the extent that the costs do not exceed the costs that would otherwise have
01 been paid by the department for [OF] returning the body to the community closest 02 to where the death occurred; 03 (3) embalming required by law or by a policy of the transporting 04 entity; and 05 (4) cosmetology necessary to make the head, face, neck, and hands of 06 the deceased presentable if those parts of the body are disfigured by the post mortem 07 examination. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 12.65.025 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 09 (f) The state medical examiner shall designate a location for conducting a post 10 mortem examination that is in the community closest to where the death occurred if 11 (1) a facility with adequate technology and personnel is available at the 12 location to enable the state medical examiner to direct a remote examination; and 13 (2) the cost of conducting the examination in the community closest to 14 where the death occurred is less than the cost of conducting the examination or 15 autopsy at another location, including the cost of transporting the body to and from 16 another location to conduct the examination. 17 (g) The Department of Health and Social Services shall provide to a person 18 responsible for the burial of a body written notice describing the duties and procedures 19 of the state medical examiner and the department under this chapter; the notice must 20 explain, in a form and language that is designed to be easy to understand, the 21 availability of 22 (1) an option to release the body after examination and autopsy to a 23 location other than a mortuary without a recommendation or stated preference to do 24 otherwise; 25 (2) the department's coverage of costs associated with the examination 26 or autopsy, transportation of the body, and necessary cosmetology as provided under 27 (a) of this section; 28 (3) clothing and a casket required under (b) of this section; 29 (4) transportation to a location other than the location where the death 30 occurred; 31 (5) a burial-transit permit as provided under AS 18.50.250; and
01 (6) a death certificate as provided under AS 18.50.230; 02 (h) When a body must be transported by air, the department shall provide for 03 temperature and other controls available to maintain the body. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 18.50.230(b) is amended to read: 05 (b) Except as provided in (g) of this section, the [THE] funeral director or 06 person acting as the funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body shall 07 file the death certificate. The funeral director or the person acting as the funeral 08 director shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the best qualified person 09 or source available and the medical certification of cause of death from the person 10 responsible for this information. 11 * Sec. 4. AS 18.50.230 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 12 (g) If a funeral director or person acting as a funeral director is not available in 13 the community in which the person has died, a person designated by the state registrar 14 who is a member of the deceased person's community shall file the death certificate 15 according to procedures established in this section and regulations adopted for the 16 purpose. The designated community member shall obtain the personal data from the 17 next of kin or the best qualified person or source available and the medical 18 certification of cause of death from the person responsible for this information. 19 * Sec. 5. AS 18.50.250(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) Except as provided in (e) of this section, the [THE] funeral director or 21 person acting as the funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus 22 shall obtain a burial-transit permit before final disposition or removal from the state of 23 the body or fetus and within 72 hours after death, except as otherwise authorized by 24 regulation for special problem cases. 25 * Sec. 6. AS 18.50.280 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 26 (e) The state medical examiner shall obtain the burial-transit permit before a 27 body is transported under AS 12.65.025(a)(2).