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| To amend sections 313.05, 313.10, and 313.16, and to | 1 |
| enact section 313.211 of the Revised Code to | 2 |
| change certain powers and duties of coroners and | 3 |
| to specify that certain records of a decedent | 4 |
| relating to the criminal investigation of the | 5 |
| decedent's death are not public records. | 6 |
| Section 1. That sections 313.05, 313.10, and 313.16 be | 7 |
| amended and section 313.211 of the Revised Code be enacted to | 8 |
| read as follows: | 9 |
| Sec. 313.05. (A)(1) The coroner may appoint, in writing, | 10 |
| deputy coroners, who shall be licensed physicians of good standing | 11 |
| in their profession, one of whom may be designated as the chief | 12 |
| deputy coroner. The coroner also may appoint pathologists as | 13 |
| deputy coroners, who may perform autopsies, make pathological and | 14 |
| chemical examinations, and perform other duties as directed by the | 15 |
| coroner or recommended by the prosecuting attorney. The coroner | 16 |
| may appoint any necessary technicians. | 17 |
| The coroner may contract for the services of deputy coroners | 18 |
| to aid the coroner in the execution of the coroner's powers and | 19 |
| duties. Contracts for the services of deputy coroners are exempt | 20 |
| from any competitive bidding requirements of the Revised Code. | 21 |
| (2) The coroner may appoint, in writing, one or more | 22 |
| secretaries and an official stenographer, who shall record the | 23 |
| testimony of witnesses in attendance upon the coroner's inquest, | 24 |
| preserve and file properly indexed records of all official | 25 |
| reports, acts, and communications of the office, and perform other | 26 |
| services as required by the coroner. | 27 |
| (3) The coroner may appoint clerks, stenographers, | 28 |
| custodians, and investigators and shall define their duties. | 29 |
| (4) For the performance of their duties, deputy coroners, | 30 |
| pathologists serving as deputy coroners, and technicians, | 31 |
| stenographers, secretaries, clerks, custodians, and investigators | 32 |
| shall receive salaries fixed by the coroner and payable from the | 33 |
| county treasury upon the warrant of the county auditor. The | 34 |
| compensation shall not exceed, in the aggregate, the amount fixed | 35 |
| by the board of county commissioners for the coroner's office. | 36 |
| (B) A coroner may appoint, as a deputy coroner, as a | 37 |
| pathologist serving as a deputy coroner, or as a technician, | 38 |
| stenographer, secretary, clerk, custodian, investigator, or other | 39 |
| employee a person who is an associate of, or who is employed by, | 40 |
| the coroner or a deputy coroner in the private practice of | 41 |
| medicine in a partnership, professional association, or other | 42 |
| medical business arrangement. A coroner may appoint, as an | 43 |
| investigator, a deputy sheriff within the county or a law | 44 |
| enforcement officer of a political subdivision located within the | 45 |
| county. | 46 |
| Sec. 313.10. (A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this | 47 |
| section, the records of the coroner who has jurisdiction over the | 48 |
| case, including, but not limited to, the detailed descriptions of | 49 |
| the observations written during the progress of an autopsy and | 50 |
| the conclusions drawn from those observations filed in the office | 51 |
| of the coroner under division (A) of section 313.13 of the | 52 |
| Revised Code, made personally by the coroner or by anyone acting | 53 |
| under the coroner's direction or supervision, are public records. | 54 |
| Those records, or transcripts or photostatic copies of them, | 55 |
| certified by the coroner shall be received as evidence in any | 56 |
| criminal or civil action or proceeding in a court in this state, | 57 |
| as to the facts contained in those records. The coroner of the | 58 |
| county where the death was pronounced shall be responsible for | 59 |
| the release of all public records relating to that death. | 60 |
| (2) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) or (E) of | 61 |
| this section, the following records in a coroner's office that has | 62 |
| jurisdiction over the case are not public records: | 63 |
| (a) Preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and findings | 64 |
| made by the coroner or by anyone acting under the coroner's | 65 |
| direction or supervision; | 66 |
| (b) Photographs of a decedent made by the coroner or by | 67 |
| anyone acting under the coroner's direction or supervision; | 68 |
| (c) Suicide notes; | 69 |
| (d) Medical and psychiatric records provided to the coroner, | 70 |
| a deputy coroner, or a representative of the coroner or a deputy | 71 |
| coroner under section 313.091 of the Revised Code; | 72 |
| (e) Records of a deceased individual that are confidential | 73 |
| law enforcement investigatory records as defined in section 149.43 | 74 |
| of the Revised Code; | 75 |
| (f) Laboratory reports generated from the analysis of | 76 |
| physical evidence by the coroner's laboratory that is discoverable | 77 |
| under Criminal Rule 16. | 78 |
| (3) In the coroner's discretion, photographs of a decedent | 79 |
| may be used for medical, legal, or educational purposes. | 80 |
| (B) All records in the coroner's office that has | 81 |
| jurisdiction over the case that are public records are open to | 82 |
| inspection by the public, and any person may receive a copy of | 83 |
| any such record or part of it upon demand in writing, accompanied | 84 |
| by payment of a record retrieval and copying fee, at the rate of | 85 |
| twenty-five cents per page or a minimum fee of one dollar. | 86 |
| (C)(1) The coroner who has jurisdiction over the case shall | 87 |
| provide a copy of the full and complete records of the coroner | 88 |
| with respect to a decedent to a person who makes a written | 89 |
| request as the next of kin of the decedent. The following persons | 90 |
| may make a request pursuant to this division as the next of kin | 91 |
| of a decedent: | 92 |
| (a) The surviving spouse of the decedent; | 93 |
| (b) If there is no surviving spouse, or if the surviving | 94 |
| spouse has died without having made a request pursuant to this | 95 |
| division, any child of the decedent over eighteen years of age, | 96 |
| with each child over eighteen years of age having an independent | 97 |
| right to make a request pursuant to this division; | 98 |
| (c) If there is no surviving spouse or child over eighteen | 99 |
| years of age, or if the surviving spouse and all children over | 100 |
| eighteen years of age have died without having made a request | 101 |
| pursuant to this division, the parents of the decedent, with each | 102 |
| parent having an independent right to make a request pursuant to | 103 |
| this division; | 104 |
| (d) If there is no surviving spouse, child over eighteen | 105 |
| years of age, or parents of the decedent, or if all have died | 106 |
| without having made a request pursuant to this division, the | 107 |
| brothers and sisters of the decedent, whether of the whole or the | 108 |
| half blood, with each having an independent right to make a | 109 |
| request pursuant to this division. | 110 |
| (2) If there is no surviving person who may make a written | 111 |
| request as next of kin for a copy of the full and complete records | 112 |
| of the coroner pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, or if | 113 |
| all next of kin of the decedent have died without having made a | 114 |
| request pursuant to that division, the coroner shall provide a | 115 |
| copy of the full and complete records of the coroner with respect | 116 |
| to a decedent to the representative of the estate of the decedent | 117 |
| who is the subject of the records upon written request made by the | 118 |
| representative. | 119 |
| (D) A journalist may submit to the coroner who has | 120 |
| jurisdiction over the case a written request to view preliminary | 121 |
| autopsy and investigative notes and findings, suicide notes, or | 122 |
| photographs of the decedent made by the coroner or by anyone | 123 |
| acting under the coroner's discretion or supervision. The request | 124 |
| shall include the journalist's name and title and the name and | 125 |
| address of the journalist's employer and state that the granting | 126 |
| of the request would be in the best interest of the public. If a | 127 |
| journalist submits a written request to the coroner to view the | 128 |
| records described in this division, the coroner shall grant the | 129 |
| journalist's request. The journalist shall not copy the | 130 |
| preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and findings, suicide | 131 |
| notes, or photographs of the decedent. | 132 |
| (E)(1) An insurer may submit to the coroner who has | 133 |
| jurisdiction over the case a written request to obtain a copy of | 134 |
| the full and complete records of the coroner with respect to a | 135 |
| deceased person. The request shall include the name of the | 136 |
| deceased person, the type of policy to which the written request | 137 |
| relates, and the name and address of the insurer. | 138 |
| (2) If an insurer submits a written request to the coroner to | 139 |
| obtain a copy of records pursuant to division (E)(1) of this | 140 |
| section, the coroner shall grant that request. | 141 |
| (3) Upon the granting of a written request to obtain a copy | 142 |
| of records by the coroner, the insurer may utilize the records for | 143 |
| the following purposes: | 144 |
| (a) To investigate any first party claim or third party claim | 145 |
| asserted under a policy of insurance issued by the insurer that | 146 |
| arises from the death of the deceased person; | 147 |
| (b) To determine coverage for any first party claim or third | 148 |
| party claim asserted under a policy of insurance issued by the | 149 |
| insurer that arises from the death of the deceased person; | 150 |
| (c) To determine the insurer's liability for any first party | 151 |
| claim or third party claim asserted under a policy of insurance | 152 |
| issued by the insurer that arises from the death of the deceased | 153 |
| person. | 154 |
| (4) Prior to the delivery of records that are the subject of | 155 |
| a request made pursuant to division (E)(1) of this section, the | 156 |
| coroner may require the insurer who submitted the written request | 157 |
| for the records to provide a payment to the coroner of a record | 158 |
| retrieval and copying fee at the rate of twenty-five cents per | 159 |
| page or a minimum fee of one dollar. | 160 |
| (5) Any records produced by the coroner in response to a | 161 |
| written request under division (E)(1) of this section shall remain | 162 |
| in the care, custody, and control of the insurer and its employees | 163 |
| or representatives at all times. The insurer may not release or | 164 |
| disclose the records to any other person unless any of the | 165 |
| following apply: | 166 |
| (a) The release of the records is reasonably necessary to | 167 |
| further a purpose described in division (E)(3) of this section. | 168 |
| (b) A court of competent jurisdiction orders the insurer to | 169 |
| produce the records. | 170 |
| (c) The insurer is required to produce the records in | 171 |
| response to a civil or criminal subpoena. | 172 |
| (d) The insurer is responding to a request for the records | 173 |
| from a law enforcement agency, the department of insurance or a | 174 |
| department of insurance from another state, or another | 175 |
| governmental authority. | 176 |
| (F) The coroner may contact the decedent's next of kin to | 177 |
| inform the next of kin that a journalist or an insurer has | 178 |
| submitted a written request pursuant to division (D) or (E) of | 179 |
| this section and whether the coroner has granted the journalist's | 180 |
| or the insurer's request. | 181 |
| (G) As used in this section: | 182 |
| (1) "Full and complete records of the coroner" includes, but | 183 |
| is not limited to, the following: | 184 |
| (a) The detailed descriptions of the observations written by | 185 |
| the coroner or by anyone acting under the coroner's direction or | 186 |
| supervision during the progress of an autopsy and the conclusions | 187 |
| drawn from those observations that are filed in the office of the | 188 |
| coroner under division (A) of section 313.13 of the Revised Code; | 189 |
| (b) Preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and findings | 190 |
| made by the coroner or by anyone acting under the coroner's | 191 |
| direction or supervision; | 192 |
| (c) Photographs of a decedent made by the coroner or by | 193 |
| anyone acting under the coroner's direction or supervision; | 194 |
| (d) Suicide notes; | 195 |
| (e) Medical and psychiatric records provided to the coroner, | 196 |
| a deputy coroner, or a representative of the coroner or a deputy | 197 |
| coroner under section 313.091 of the Revised Code; | 198 |
| (f) Records of a deceased individual that are confidential | 199 |
| law enforcement investigatory records as defined in section 149.43 | 200 |
| of the Revised Code; | 201 |
| (g) Laboratory reports generated from the analysis of | 202 |
| physical evidence by the coroner's laboratory that is discoverable | 203 |
| under Criminal Rule 16. | 204 |
| (2) "Insurer" has the same meaning as in section 3901.07 of | 205 |
| the Revised Code. | 206 |
| (3) "Journalist" has the same meaning as in section 149.43 of | 207 |
| the Revised Code. | 208 |
| Sec. 313.16. In counties where no coroner's laboratory has | 209 |
| been established or where the coroner's laboratory does not have | 210 |
| the equipment or personnel to follow the protocol established by | 211 |
| rule of the public health council adopted under section 313.122 of | 212 |
| the Revised Code, the coroner may request a coroner of a county in | 213 |
| which such a laboratory is established or that has a laboratory | 214 |
| able to follow the public health council's protocol to perform | 215 |
| necessary laboratory examinations, the cost of which shall be no | 216 |
| greater than the actual value of the services of technicians and | 217 |
| the materials used in performing such examination. Money derived | 218 |
| from the fees paid for these examinations shall be kept in a | 219 |
| special fund, for the use of the coroner's laboratory, from which | 220 |
| fund replacements can be made. Such funds shall be used to | 221 |
| purchase necessary supplies and equipment for the laboratory and | 222 |
| to pay any associated costs incurred in the administration of this | 223 |
| section at the coroner's discretion. | 224 |
| Sec. 313.211. The coroner may secure, catalog, record, and, | 225 |
| with the approval of the prosecuting attorney, destroy any | 226 |
| dangerous drugs found at the scene of an investigation the | 227 |
| coroner conducts, if the dangerous drugs are no longer needed for | 228 |
| investigative or scientific purposes. | 229 |
| Section 2. That existing sections 313.05, 313.10, and 313.16 | 230 |
| of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. | 231 |