Senate Bill sb1052

    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1052

    By Senator Smith





    14-332-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to autopsies; amending s.

  3         406.135, F.S.; providing for survivors of

  4         deceased persons to designate agents to view or

  5         obtain autopsy records from medical examiners;

  6         providing an effective date.

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  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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10         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 406.135, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         406.135  Autopsies; confidentiality of photographs and

13  video and audio recordings; exemption.--

14         (1)  A photograph or video or audio recording of an

15  autopsy in the custody of a medical examiner is confidential

16  and exempt from the requirements of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),

17  Art. I of the State Constitution, except that a surviving

18  spouse may view and copy a photograph or video or listen to or

19  copy an audio recording of the deceased spouse's autopsy. If

20  there is no surviving spouse, then the surviving parents shall

21  have access to such records. If there is no surviving spouse

22  or parent, then an adult child shall have access to such

23  records. However, any survivor may designate an agent to

24  obtain such records. A local governmental entity, or a state

25  or federal agency, in furtherance of its official duties,

26  pursuant to a written request, may view or copy a photograph

27  or video or may listen to or copy an audio recording of an

28  autopsy, and unless otherwise required in the performance of

29  their duties, the identity of the deceased shall remain

30  confidential and exempt. The custodian of the record, or his

31  or her designee, may not permit any other person, except an

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1052
    14-332-03




  1  agent designated in writing by a survivor, to view or copy

  2  such photograph or video recording or listen to or copy an

  3  audio recording without a court order. For the purposes of

  4  this section, the term "medical examiner" means any district

  5  medical examiner, associate medical examiner, or substitute

  6  medical examiner acting pursuant to this chapter, as well as

  7  any employee, deputy, or agent of a medical examiner or any

  8  other person who may obtain possession of a photograph or

  9  audio or video recording of an autopsy in the course of

10  assisting a medical examiner in the performance of his or her

11  official duties.

12         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

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15                          SENATE SUMMARY

16    Allows survivors to designate an agent to view or obtain
      autopsy records from a medical examiner.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.