Florida Senate - 2026 SB 188
By Senator Garcia
36-00570-26 2026188__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to medical examiners’ duties; amending
3 s. 406.11, F.S.; defining terms; specifying autopsy
4 requirements for certain cases involving sudden and
5 unexpected deaths; requiring medical examiners to
6 document certain information in the autopsy reports
7 for such cases; requiring medical examiners to report
8 specified cases to the national Sudden Unexpected
9 Infant Death and Sudden Death in the Young Case
10 Registry in accordance with protocols established by
11 the Department of Health and the United States Centers
12 for Disease Control and Prevention; requiring the
13 department to impose certain administrative penalties
14 against medical examiners for failure to report such
15 cases in a specified timeframe; providing that
16 compliance with specified provisions is deemed a
17 permissible disclosure for purposes of state and
18 federal medical privacy laws; providing an effective
19 date.
20
21 WHEREAS, the United States Centers for Disease Control and
22 Prevention operates the Sudden Unexpected Infant Death and
23 Sudden Death in the Young Case Registry, a national surveillance
24 program coordinated with the National Institutes of Health to
25 establish a valuable repository of information for researchers
26 studying the characteristics of sudden deaths in young
27 individuals, and
28 WHEREAS, district medical examiners in this state are
29 currently not required to report to the registry, resulting in
30 inconsistent data collection, and
31 WHEREAS, uniform reporting and the inclusion of relevant
32 medical information, including recent immunizations and
33 emergency countermeasures, are essential to strengthen public
34 health research, identify risk factors, and improve prevention
35 strategies, NOW, THEREFORE,
36
37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39 Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 406.11,
40 Florida Statutes, to read:
41 406.11 Examinations, investigations, and autopsies.—
42 (3)(a) As used in this subsection, the term:
43 1. “Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome(SADS)” means the
44 sudden and unexpected death due to cardiac arrhythmia, as
45 determined by performance of an autopsy or a clinical
46 investigation, of a young, apparently healthy individual with no
47 previously diagnosed structural heart disease.
48 2. “Sudden Death in the Young (SDY)” means the sudden and
49 unexpected death of an individual younger than 20 years of age
50 due to natural causes, including, but not limited to, sudden
51 cardiac death or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, which
52 death remains unexplained after initial investigation.
53 3. “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)” means the sudden
54 death of an infant younger than 1 year of age which remains
55 unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including
56 performance of an autopsy, scene investigations, and a review of
57 clinical history.
58 4. “Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID)” means the sudden
59 and unexpected death of an infant younger than 1 year of age,
60 whether explained or unexplained, including, but not limited to,
61 death caused by SIDS, accidental suffocation, and other
62 potential causes.
63 5. “Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Death
64 in the Young (SDY) Case Registry” means the national
65 surveillance system coordinated by the Centers for Disease
66 Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health
67 which collects standardized data on sudden and unexpected deaths
68 in individuals younger than 20 years of age.
69 (b) In the case of an infant or child who dies suddenly and
70 unexpectedly, including cases of SIDS, SUID, or SDY, the autopsy
71 must include microscopic and toxicology studies and a review of
72 the child’s immunization and medical records, as available
73 through the state’s immunization registry established pursuant
74 to s. 381.003, from the child’s pediatrician or primary care
75 practitioner, or from other sources. The medical examiner shall
76 document in the autopsy report any immunizations or emergency
77 countermeasures administered to the child within 90 days before
78 the child’s death and report the case to the SUID and SDY Case
79 Registry in accordance with protocols established by the
80 Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and
81 Prevention.
82 (c) In the case of a sudden death suspected to be caused by
83 SADS in an individual of any age, the autopsy must include
84 microscopic and toxicology studies and a review of the
85 individual’s immunization and medical records, as available
86 through state health databases or other sources. The medical
87 examiner shall document in the autopsy report any immunizations
88 or emergency countermeasures administered to the individual
89 within 90 days before his or her death and report the case to
90 the SUID and SDY Case Registry if the individual was younger
91 than 20 years of age at the time of death, in accordance with
92 protocols established by the Department of Health and the
93 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
94 (d) The Department of Health shall impose the following
95 administrative penalties against a district medical examiner who
96 fails to report a case of SIDS, SUID, SDY, or SADS, for
97 individuals younger than 20 years of age, to the SUID and SDY
98 Case Registry within 30 days after completing the autopsy
99 report:
100 1. For the first unreported case, a fine of up to $1,000.
101 2. For the second unreported case, a fine of up to $5,000.
102 3. For repeated noncompliance, referral to the Medical
103 Examiners Commission for disciplinary action, which may include
104 suspension or removal pursuant to s. 406.075.
105 (e) Compliance with the reporting and documentation
106 requirements of this section is deemed a permissible disclosure
107 under state and federal medical privacy laws, including the
108 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
109 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.