Legislature(2013 - 2014)SENATE FINANCE 532
03/05/2014 05:00 PM Senate FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB169 | |
| SB129 | |
| SB161 | |
| SB191 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 129 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 161 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 191 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 169 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 138 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SENATE BILL NO. 161
"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."
6:07:00 PM
Co-Chair Kelly MOVED to ADOPT the proposed committee
substitute for SB 161, Work Draft 28-LS 1405\N (Mischel
3/5/14) as a working document. There being NO OBJECTION, it
was so ordered.
6:07:42 PM
DAVID SCOTT, STAFF, SENATOR DONALD OLSON, stated that the
legislation would make minor changes to the medical
examiners duties in the effort to be more compassionate to
in interactions with family members of the deceased. He
provided one example of the way in which current practices
were disrespectful to mourning families. He stressed that
some of the forms currently available to families could be
misleading; for example, offering unnecessary funeral home
services that resulted in burdensome expense. He shared
that in some cases families could not afford to ship the
remains of loved ones home for burial.
6:10:47 PM
Mr. Scott stated that Section 1 had been changed to
reflect:
* Section 1. AS 12.65.025(a) is amended to read:
(a) The state medical examiner shall designate
the facilities at which post mortem examinations
and autopsies ordered under this chapter may be
performed consistent with this section. The
Department of Health and Social Services shall
pay the costs of
(1) post mortem examinations and autopsies
ordered under this chapter;
(2) related transportation to the location
where the post mortem examination is
conducted and then to the community closest
to where the death occurred, except that
transportation costs to another requested
location shall [MAY] be paid to the extent
that the costs do not exceed the costs that
would otherwise have been paid by the
department for [OF] returning the body to
the community closest to where the death
occurred;
(3) embalming required by law; and
(4) cosmetology necessary to make the
head, face, neck, and hands of the
deceased presentable if those parts of
the body are disfigured by the post
mortem examination.
Mr. Scott spoke to the changes in Section 2:
* Sec. 2. AS 12.65.025 is amended by adding new
subsections to read:
(f) The state medical examiner shall designate a
location for conducting a post mortem examination
that is in the community closest to where the
death occurred if
(1) the state medical examiner has verified
that a facility with adequate technology,
personnel, and training is available at the
location to enable the state medical
examiner to direct a remote examination;
(2) the facility meets applicable standards,
including inspection and accreditation, for
conducting remote post mortem examinations
established in the Forensic Autopsy
Performance Standards by the National
Association of Medical Examiners; and
(3) the cost of conducting the examination
in the community closest to where the death
occurred is less than the cost of conducting
the examination or autopsy at another
location, including the cost of transporting
the body to and from another location to
conduct the examination.
(g) The Department of Health and Social Services
shall provide to a person responsible for the
burial of a body written notice describing the
duties and procedures of the state medical
examiner and the department under this chapter;
the notice must explain, in a form and language
that is designed to be easy to understand, the
availability of
(1) an option to release the body after
examination and autopsy to a location other
than a mortuary without a recommendation or
stated preference to do otherwise;
(2) the department's coverage of costs
associated with the examination or autopsy,
transportation of the body, and necessary
cosmetology as provided under
(a) of this section;
(3) clothing and a casket required under (b)
of this section;
(4) transportation to another location other
than the location where the death occurred;
(5) a burial-transit permit as provided
under AS 18.50.250; and
(6) a death certificate as provided under AS
18.50.230;
Mr. Scott spoke to Sections 3 and 4 of the legislation:
*Sec. 3. AS 18.50.250(a) is amended to read:
(a) Except as provided in (e) of this section,
the [THE] funeral director or person acting as
the funeral director who first assumes custody of
a dead body or fetus shall obtain a burial-
transit permit before final disposition or
removal from the state of the body or fetus and
within 72 hours after death, except as otherwise
authorized by regulation for special problem
cases.
*Sec. 4. AS 18.50.250 is amended by adding a new
subsection to read:
(e) The state medical examiner shall obtain the
burial-transit permit before a body is
transported under AS 12.65.025(a)(2).
6:13:07 PM
Co-Chair Meyer OPENED public testimony.
6:13:11 PM
KERRI SHELTON, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF PUBLIC HEALTH,
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES, ANCHORAGE (via
teleconference), testified that in 2013 the division
processed 1630 cases that were reported to the state
medical examiner's office, 850 of which jurisdiction was
assumed by the medical examiner's office, meaning that the
deaths required further investigation. She said that
approximately 95 of the 850 cases required an external
examination, the remaining cases required a full autopsy.
She stated that the division was willing to work with the
sponsor to support families in rural Alaska. She relayed
that transporting bodies to a location other than the
location of death was standard practice with the medical
examiner's office; if the cost was more than shipping the
body back to the location nearest death, the family was
responsible for any extra cost. The division provided the
burial transit permit as a courtesy. She agreed that the
formerly used release of remains form was misleading and
had been revised for clarity by the division. She mentioned
that the current bill version was accompanied by a new
fiscal note. The division believed that any cost incurred
would be by local jurisdictions and not the state.
6:17:19 PM
Co-Chair Meyer understood that the new fiscal note was a
zero note.
Ms. Shelton relied in the affirmative.
6:18:07 PM
Co-Chair Meyer requested that the updated fiscal note be
supplied to the committee so it could travel with the bill.
6:18:28 PM
MARCIA DAVIS, GENERAL COUNSEL, CALISTA CORPORATION,
ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support the SB
161. She stated that the corporation had looked into issues
involving funeral homes and the medical examiner's office
pertaining to rural Alaska. She said that the non-profits
would run out of money for trying to get the bodies from
Anchorage back to her region for burial about midway
through the year, which resulted in families going to great
extent to get the bodies released for burial. With the help
of other native corporations several problems were finally
diagnosed. She believed that continuing discussions would
result in cost savings to the state, maintenance of tribal
justice standards and minimize harm to families. She
highlighted that the form provided by the medical
examiner's office was misunderstood by native families and
was causing them to unnecessarily select funeral homes and
once they were on that path the funeral homes would
indicate that the families were legally required to embalm
when that was not the case, or they would indicate that it
was required by the airlines for transport. She believed
that the form was being misinterpreted by funeral homes and
air carriers, which lead to the changes in Section 1. She
explained that embalming was not culturally at part if the
natural burial process and that embalmed bodies posed
environmental hazards because the bodies being buried in
the region were exposed to water seepage and inundation,
which resulted in the embalming chemicals getting into the
ecosystem. She believed the bill would be greatly
beneficial to the state and the people of Alaska.
6:25:13 PM
Co-Chair Meyer CLOSED public testimony.
6:25:28 PM
SB 161 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.