CHAPTER 119
HOUSE BILL No. 2666
An Act concerning autopsies; relating to payment; amending
K.S.A. 22a-242 and 22a-245
and K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 65-2418 and repealing the existing sections;
also repealing K.S.A.
2001 Supp. 65-2418a.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 22a-242 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 22a-
242. (a) When a child dies, any law enforcement officer, health
care pro-
vider or other person having knowledge of the death shall
immediately
notify the coroner of the known facts concerning the time, place,
manner
and circumstances of the death. If the notice to the coroner
identifies any
suspicious circumstances or unknown cause, as described in the
protocol
developed by the state review board under K.S.A. 22a-243 and
amend-
ments thereto, the coroner shall immediately: (1) Investigate the
death
to determine whether the child's death included any such suspicious
cir-
cumstance or unknown cause; and (2) direct a pathologist to perform
an
autopsy.
(b) If, after investigation and an
autopsy, the coroner determines that
the death of a child does not include any suspicious circumstances
or
unknown cause, as described in the protocol developed by the state
re-
view board under K.S.A. 22a-243 and amendments thereto, the
coroner
shall complete and sign a nonsuspicious child death form.
(c) If, after investigation and an
autopsy, the coroner determines that
the death of a child includes any suspicious circumstance or
unknown
cause, as described in the protocol developed by the state review
board
under K.S.A. 22a-243 and amendments thereto, the coroner shall
notify,
within 30 days, the chairperson of the state review board and shall
notify,
within 24 hours, the county or district attorney of the county
where the
death of the child occurred.
(d) The coroner shall attempt to notify
any parent or legal guardian
of the deceased child prior to the performance of an autopsy
pursuant to
this section and attempt to notify any such parent or legal
guardian of the
results of the autopsy.
(e) A coroner shall not make a
determination that the death of a child
less than one year of age was caused by sudden infant death
syndrome
unless an autopsy is performed.
(f) The fee for an autopsy performed
under this section shall be the
usual and reasonable fee and travel allowance authorized under
K.S.A.
22a-233 and amendments thereto and shall be paid from
moneys available
therefor from appropriations to the department of health
and environ-
ment. The reasonableness of all claims for payment of a fee
for an autopsy
under this section shall be determined by the secretary of
health and
environment and shall be paid from the district
coroners fund.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 22a-245 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 22a-
245. (a) There is hereby established in the state treasury the
district cor-
oners fund.
(b) Moneys in the district coroners fund
after the payment of fees for
autopsies under subsection (f) of K.S.A. 22a-242 and amendments
thereto
shall be allocated and distributed to each county on March 15 of
each
year based on the number of recorded deaths in the county during
the
previous calendar year as a ratio of the total number of deaths in
this
state during the previous calendar year. Such distributions shall
be cred-
ited to the county general fund to assist in paying for the
district coroner's
expenses pursuant to chapter 2 of article 22a of the Kansas
Statutes An-
notated, and amendments thereto. Moneys in the district coroners
fund
shall not be expended allocated and
distributed to the county general
fund until such time as all outstanding death certificates for the
previous
calendar year are filed with the state registrar and such
certificate contains
certificates contain the final cause of death.
(c) Payments
Distributions to counties under this act and
payments
of fees for autopsies under subsection (f) of K.S.A. 22a-242 and
amend-
ments thereto from this fund shall be made upon warrants of
the director
of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by
the
secretary of health and environment or by a person or persons
designated
by the secretary of health and environment.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 65-2418
is hereby amended to read as
follows: 65-2418. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section,
the
secretary shall fix and charge the fees, if any, to be paid for
certified copies
of certificates or for search of the files or records when no
certified copy
is made. Fees for certified copies of certificates shall be fixed
by rules
and regulations of the secretary except that the fee for the first
copy of a
birth or death certificate shall include a $3
surcharge and the fee for each
additional copy of the same birth or death
certificate requested at the
same time shall include a $1 surcharge, and the fee for the
first copy of
a death certificate shall include a $4 surcharge and the fee for
each ad-
ditional copy of the same death certificate requested at the
same time shall
include a $2 surcharge. The secretary shall not charge any
fee for a cer-
tified copy of a certificate or for a search of the files or
records if the
certificate or search is requested by a person who exhibits
correspondence
from the United States veterans administration or the Kansas
commission
on veterans' affairs which indicates that the person is applying
for benefits
from the United States veterans administration and that such
person
needs the requested information to obtain such benefits, except
that, for
a second or subsequent certified copy of a certificate or search of
the files
requested by the person, the usual fee shall be charged. The
secretary
may provide by rules and regulations for exemptions from such
fees.
(b) Subject to K.S.A. 65-2420, and
amendments thereto, the national
office of vital statistics may be furnished copies or data it
requires for
national statistics. The state shall be reimbursed for the cost of
furnishing
the data. The data shall not be used for other than statistical
purposes by
the national office of vital statistics unless so authorized by the
state reg-
istrar of vital statistics.
(c) (1) The secretary shall remit
all moneys received by or for the
secretary from fees, charges or penalties to the state treasurer in
accord-
ance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments
thereto.
Upon receipt of each such remittance, other than remittances for
fees
for birth certificates, the state treasurer shall deposit the
entire amount
in the state treasury to the credit of the state general fund.
(2) Upon receipt of any such remittance
of a fee for a birth certificate,
$3 of each such fee for the first copy of a birth certificate and
$1 of each
such fee for each additional copy of the same birth certificate
requested
at the same time shall be remitted to the state treasurer in
accordance
with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto.
Upon
receipt of each such remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit
the entire
amount in the state treasury to the credit of the permanent
families ac-
count of the family and children investment fund created by K.S.A.
38-
1808, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of any such remittance
of
a fee for a death certificate, $3 $4 of
each such fee for the first copy of a
death certificate and $1 $2 of each such
fee for each additional copy of
the same death certificate requested at the same time shall be
remitted
to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A.
75-4215,
and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the
state
treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to
the credit
of the district coroners fund created by K.S.A. 22a-245, and
amendments
thereto. The balance of the money received for a fee for a birth
certificate
shall be remitted to the state treasurer in accordance with the
provisions
of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each
such
remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in
the state
treasury to the credit of the state general fund.
(d) Upon receipt of any fee for a
certified copy of a birth, death, fetal
death, marriage or divorce certificate, $1 of each such fee
shall be remitted
to the state treasurer who shall deposit the entire amount of
each such
remittance in the state treasury and credit it to the vital
statistics main-
tenance fee fund created by K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 65-2814b, and
amend-
ments thereto. For the purposes of the vital statistics
maintenance fee
fund, the secretary of health and environment shall adopt rules
and reg-
ulations providing for an increase of $1 in fees charged by the
state trea-
surer for providing a certified copy of a birth, death, fetal
death, marriage
or divorce certificate.
Sec. 4. K.S.A. 22a-242 and 22a-245 and K.S.A. 2001 Supp.
65-2418
and 65-2418a are hereby repealed.
Sec. 5. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the statute book.
Approved May 16, 2002.
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