Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 173 Third Substitute (2015GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Pitcher, D.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/23/2015

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• allows the medical examiner to retain tissue from an unclaimed body in order to donate the tissue to an individual for the purpose of training a dog to search for human remains.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

RECOVERY DOG TRAINING AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Dixon M. Pitcher
Senate Sponsor: 
Ann Millner
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions to related an unclaimed dead body.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ allows the medical examiner to retain tissue from an unclaimed body in order to
donate the tissue to an individual for the purpose of training a dog to search for
human remains.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
26-4-4
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 60
35A-3-401
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2004, Chapter 29
53B-17-301
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 1987, Chapter 167
REPEALS AND REENACTS:
26-4-25
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 1998, Chapter 153
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
26-4-4
 is amended to read:
26-4-4.
Chief medical examiner -- Appointment -- Qualifications -- Authority.
(1) The executive director, with the advice of an advisory board consisting of the
chairman of the Department of Pathology at the University of Utah medical school and the
dean of the law school at the University of Utah, shall appoint a chief medical examiner who
shall be licensed to practice medicine in the state and shall meet the qualifications of a forensic
pathologist, certified by the American Board of Pathologists.
(2) (a) The medical examiner shall serve at the will of the executive director.
(b) The medical examiner has authority to:
(i) employ medical, technical and clerical personnel as may be required to effectively
administer this chapter, subject to the rules of the department and the state merit system;
(ii) conduct investigations and pathological examinations;
(iii) perform autopsies authorized in this title;
(iv) conduct or authorize necessary examinations on dead bodies; and
(v) notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection 
26-28-122
(3), retain tissues and
biological samples
:
(A)
 for scientific purposes [
and those the medical examiner considers
]
;
(B) where
 necessary to accurately certify the cause and manner of death[
.
]
; or
(C) for tissue from an unclaimed body, subject to Section 
26-4-25
, in order to donate
the tissue or biological sample to an individual who is affiliated with an established search and
rescue dog organization, for the purpose of training a dog to search for human remains.
(c) In the case of an unidentified body, the medical examiner shall authorize or conduct
investigations, tests and processes in order to determine its identity as well as the cause of
death.
(3) The medical examiner may appoint regional pathologists, each of whom shall be
approved by the executive director.
Section 2. Section 
26-4-25
 is repealed and reenacted to read:
 26-4-25.
Burial of an unclaimed body -- Request by the school of medicine at the
University of Utah -- Medical examiner may retain tissue for dog training.
(1) Except as described in Subsection (2) or (3), a county shall provide, at the county's
expense, decent burial for an unclaimed body found in the county.
(2) A county is not responsible for decent burial of an unclaimed body found in the
county if the body is requested by the dean of the school of medicine at the University of Utah
under Section 
53B-17-301
.
(3) For an unclaimed body that is temporarily in the medical examiner's custody before
burial under Subsection (1), the medical examiner may retain tissue from the unclaimed body
in order to donate the tissue to an individual who is affiliated with an established search and
rescue dog organization, for the purpose of training a dog to search for human remains.
Section 3. Section 
35A-3-401
 is amended to read:
35A-3-401.
General Assistance.
(1) (a) General Assistance may be provided to individuals who are not receiving cash
assistance under Part 3, Family Employment Program, or Supplemental Security Income, and
who are unemployable according to standards established by the department.
(b) (i) General Assistance may be provided by payment in cash or in kind.
(ii) The office may provide an amount less than the existing payment level for an
otherwise similarly situated client of cash assistance under Part 3, Family Employment
Program.
(c) The office shall establish asset limitations for General Assistance clients.
(d) (i) General Assistance may be granted to meet special nonrecurrent needs of an
applicant for the federal Supplemental Security Income program, if the applicant agrees to
reimburse the division for assistance advanced while awaiting the determination of eligibility
by the Social Security Administration.
(ii) General Assistance payments may not be made to a current client of cash assistance
or Supplemental Security Income.
(e) (i) General Assistance may be used for the reasonable cost of burial for a client, if
heirs or relatives are not financially able to assume this expense.
(ii) Notwithstanding Subsection (1)(e)(i), if the body of a person is unclaimed, Section
[
53B-17-301
] 
26-4-25
 applies.
(iii) The department shall fix the cost of a reasonable burial and conditions under
which burial expenditures may be made.
(2) The division may cooperate with any governmental unit or agency, or any private
nonprofit agency in establishing work projects to provide employment for employable persons.
Section 4. Section 
53B-17-301
 is amended to read:
53B-17-301.
Unclaimed dead bodies -- Notice to school of medicine at the
University of Utah -- Preservation of dead bodies.
[
(1) Any person who has charge over an unclaimed dead body that is to be buried at
public expense shall notify the dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Utah within
hours after taking charge of the body.
]
(1) A county shall, within 24 hours after assuming custody of an unclaimed body for
which the county is required to provide burial under Section 
26-4-25
, provide notice of the
county's custody of the body to the dean of the school of medicine at the University of Utah.
(2) The notice 
described in Subsection (1)
 shall specify the 
body's
 probable cause of
death.
(3) [
At the dean's request, the person shall
] 
Subject to Section 
26-4-25
, the county
shall, at the request of the dean of the school of medicine at the University of Utah,
 forward the
body to the university, at [
its
] 
the university's
 expense, within 24 hours of receiving the dean's
request.
[
(4) The delivered body shall be properly embalmed and preserved for not less than 60
days. If a personal friend or relative of the deceased person requests the body for a private
burial, during this time period, the person is given possession of the body.
]
(4) The school of medicine at the University of Utah shall, for a body it receives under
Subsection (3):
(a) properly embalm and preserve the body for at least 60 days; and
(b) upon request, release the body to a person with priority to control the disposition of
the body under Section 
58-9-602
.