Florida Senate - 2024                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 768
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì581312qÎ581312                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/06/2024           .                                
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Stewart) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 406.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    6  read:
    7         406.12 Duty to report; prohibited acts.—
    8         (1) It is the duty of any person in the district where a
    9  death occurs, including all municipalities and unincorporated
   10  and federal areas, who becomes aware of the death of any person
   11  occurring under the circumstances described in s. 406.11 to
   12  report such death and circumstances forthwith to the district
   13  medical examiner or to a law enforcement agency having
   14  jurisdiction over the location.
   15         (2) Any person who knowingly fails or refuses to report
   16  such death and circumstances as required under subsection (1)
   17  or, who refuses to make available prior medical or other
   18  information pertinent to the death investigation commits a
   19  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
   20  775.082 or s. 775.083.
   21         (3) Any person, or who, with the intent to conceal such
   22  death or to alter the evidence or circumstances surrounding such
   23  death:
   24         (a) Violates subsection (2); or
   25         (b) Without an order from the office of the district
   26  medical examiner, willfully touches, removes, or disturbs the
   27  body, clothing, or any article upon or near the body, with the
   28  intent to alter the evidence or circumstances surrounding the
   29  death, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first
   30  
   31  commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in
   32  s. 775.082, or s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   33         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
   34  
   35  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   36  And the title is amended as follows:
   37         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   38  and insert:
   39                        A bill to be entitled                      
   40         An act relating to duties and prohibited acts
   41         associated with death; amending s. 406.12, F.S.;
   42         authorizing that a report regarding specified deaths
   43         and circumstances be made to a certain law enforcement
   44         agency in addition to the district medical examiner;
   45         increasing the criminal penalty for persons who fail
   46         or refuse to report a death or who refuse to make
   47         available certain information with the intent to
   48         conceal the death or alter the evidence and
   49         circumstances surrounding the death; increasing the
   50         criminal penalty for persons who willfully touch,
   51         remove, or disturb a body without an order from the
   52         office of the district medical examiner with the
   53         intent to conceal the death or alter the evidence and
   54         circumstances surrounding the death; providing an
   55         effective date.