03/04/1996 01:04 PM House JUD

 HB 520 - INQUESTS, CORONERS, POST MORTEMS, ETC.                             
                                                                               
 Number 1033                                                                   
                                                                               
 ART SNOWDEN, Administrative Director, Alaska Court System testified           
 by teleconference from Anchorage about HB 520.  He provided                   
 background to this legislation and noted that for many years the              
 state of Alaska ran a coroner's system wherein magistrates, judges            
 and other employees of the judiciary basically took on the coroners           
 function of determining cause of death.  This system was frowned              
 upon by prosecution and police as very unscientific.  The district            
 attorney felt often that they were unable to make good cases                  
 because the way this system works.  Jointly, the executive and                
 judicial branches some years back requested a creation of the                 
 officer of medical examiners after the crime lab was built.  This             
 took some of the burden off of the judiciary.  A problem in the               
 judiciary is that in these coroner designations most of the                   
 magistrates don't have a clue about the medical cause of death.               
                                                                               
 MR. SNOWDEN further stated that these magistrates are required to             
 certify in medical terms the cause of death.  They often ask for              
 autopsies since they don't feel as though they have the ability to            
 determine causes of death.  Otherwise, someone who was more skilled           
 in this area may perceive that an autopsy wasn't necessary.  He               
 noted the example of policeman in rural Alaska removing bodies to             
 conduct autopsies and this being met with great resistance from               
 villages who did not want bodies removed.  He added that trooper              
 planes have been surrounded by villagers at airports, etc.                    
                                                                               
 MR. SNOWDEN offered a variety of names from different departments             
 which felt as though this legislation had met it's time and to give           
 the responsibility to determine death ultimately to the medical               
 examiner.  The court system has held numerous meetings with the               
 executive branch, especially the Department of Health and Social              
 Services on this proposed legislation.  They intend to take the               
 legislative appropriation which comes to the judiciary, namely                
 $320,000 and five auxiliary positions and transfer them to the                
 Department of Health and Social Services to facilitate this                   
 legislation.  The net fiscal impact on the state is zero.                     
                                                                               
 Number 1265                                                                   
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE asked Mr. Snowden how this legislation would             
 prevent some of the unfortunate incidences he mentioned, such as              
 protests against having bodies removed from villages.                         
                                                                               
 MR. SNOWDEN said it was his understanding that instead of using               
 their magistrates and coroners with the money being transferred,              
 the medical examiner would contract with doctors in the state;                
 Therefore, a doctor would be dispatched to the scene to help the              
 medical examiner to determine the cause the death, rather than a              
 judicial officer.  He noted that there are regional hospitals                 
 throughout the state of Alaska and individual health nurses in                
 communities with no doctors to offset travel expenses of a                    
 contracting doctor.  They do not anticipate extensive travel, but             
 they would submit that if there is more travel, this would be off-            
 set by the lessening of costs in other areas which the court                  
 accrues.                                                                      
                                                                               
 Number 1370                                                                   
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE TOOHEY asked about private autopsies and how they              
 would be handled.                                                             
                                                                               
 MR. SNOWDEN stated that they'd be handled the same way they are               
 now, except the request would come through the medical examiner's             
 office rather than the court.                                                 
                                                                               
 Number 1388                                                                   
                                                                               
 ELMER LINDSTROM, Special Assistant to the Commissioner, Department            
 of Health & Social Services testified on HB 520.  He noted that the           
 department has been working with the court system for the last four           
 or five months and they fully support this legislation.  He stated            
 that this was the first time in recorded history that this program            
 was not in a deficit situation for fiscal year 1996.  In years past           
 there was traditionally a supplemental request for the post-mortem            
 examinations.  This is what largely drove the decision to create              
 the state medical examiner position.  This medical examiner has               
 done an extraordinary job in getting costs under control.                     
                                                                               
 MR. LINDSTROM spoke to the transportation costs which have been a             
 burden to the program for years.  This cost does not relate to                
 transporting live persons to the rural areas for an investigation,            
 but rather the transportation of remains of persons to Anchorage              
 for autopsy.  With the state medical examiner program in place they           
 have done a very good job in reducing the number of autopsies,                
 particularly from rural areas because the state medical examiner              
 has been able to consult with people on scene and feel comfortable            
 with the cause of death.  The families have not been disrupted by             
 the additional anguish which comes with transporting remains.                 
                                                                               
 MR. LINDSTROM stated that they thought this was the logical next              
 step in developing the medical examiner system and it is truly                
 something to serve the criminal justice system as a whole.                    
                                                                               
 Number 1486                                                                   
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE TOOHEY asked if they anticipate a drop in the                  
 financing for this legislation.                                               
                                                                               
 MR. LINDSTROM noted that the cost of the program has stayed level             
 for the past three years.   Unnecessary autopsies have been reduced           
 tremendously, but there is an increasing population in the state              
 and deaths associated with this increase.  There were a number of             
 air crashes last summer, for example, and the number of autopsies             
 needed to be performed is increasing.  By further limiting the                
 number of marginal or probably unnecessary autopsies, the                     
 department is able to hold their own.  With the additional                    
 resources being transferred to their department as outlined in this           
 legislation, they will be able to do more with training individuals           
 in rural communities which means cost containment.                            
                                                                               
 Number 1540                                                                   
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY noted that there were a few things which he              
 did not understand about this legislation.  He understood that                
 Alaska law requires that all deceased persons be embalmed before              
 their remains are disposed of.                                                
                                                                               
 MR. LINDSTROM said he wasn't sure about this, but did know that               
 this is one of the costs they incur when remains are transported to           
 Anchorage.  The bodies are then taken to a funeral home in                    
 Anchorage and embalmed.                                                       
                                                                               
 MR. SNOWDEN responded that the only time that people have to be               
 embalmed is if they are transported by common carrier following 24            
 hours after they've died.  If they are unable to transport the body           
 before this 24 hour period, they are required to be shipped in body           
 bags.                                                                         
                                                                               
 Number 1669                                                                   
                                                                               
 DR. MIKE PROPST, State Medical Examiner said he was available to              
 answer any questions which anyone might have.  In regards to the              
 shipment of remains from a remote site, the remains are placed in             
 body bags and then in a metal shipping container un-embalmed.  The            
 only time a body needs to be embalmed is when it is transported by            
 common carrier.  If transport is not necessary for autopsy the body           
 can be interred without embalming.                                            
                                                                               
 Number 1714                                                                   
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN PORTER asked if it was still procedure that any unattended           
 death required an autopsy.  He assumed that this had changed.                 
                                                                               
 DR. PROPST stated that this was one of the main things that the               
 establishment of the office of the State Examiner has done and now            
 they are trying to do only those autopsies which are necessary.               
                                                                               
 Number 1735                                                                   
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE asked when a body is shipped to Anchorage for            
 autopsy and then embalmed, was this done so at state expense.                 
                                                                               
 DR. PROPST said that this was correct.                                        
                                                                               
 Number 1769                                                                   
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE TOOHEY made a motion to move HB 520 from the                   
 Judiciary Committee with individual recommendations and fiscal                
 note.  Hearing no objection, it was so moved.