California 2017-2018 Regular Session Status: To Executive

SB 1303 — Coroner: county office of the medical examiner.

Last action — In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2017-2018 Regular Session. It reached “To Executive” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Existing law specifies the officers of a county, including, but not limited to, the coroner. The California Constitution requires that certain county officers, other than the coroner, be elected. Existing statutory law requires that certain other county officers are to be elected, but establishes a process by which those offices that are required by statute to be elected may be converted to offices appointed by the board of supervisors. Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors to abolish the office of coroner and provide instead for the office of medical examiner, to be appointed by the board and to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the coroner and requires that the medical examiner be a licensed physician and surgeon duly qualified as a specialist in pathology. Commencing July 1, 2020, this bill would, for counties with a population of 500,000 or greater, excluding a county that has adopted a charter, require that the office of the coroner or the sheriff-coroner's office, as applicable, either be replaced with an office of the medical examiner to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the coroner without a public vote or election, or adopt a policy requiring referral of death investigations to a county that has implemented an office of medical examiner for any case when there is a potential conflict of interest for the office of the coroner or the sheriff-coroner's office, as specified. By requiring that counties comply with these requirements, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that the office of medical examiner operate independently from any other county agency or official in the conduct of autopsies. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending.

  2. Vetoed by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 5 p.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 26. Noes 11. Page 6134.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 44. Noes 30. Page 6985.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  9. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 16).

  10. August 8 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  11. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (June 26). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  12. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (June 20). Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  13. Referred to Coms. on L. GOV. and PUB. S.

  14. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  15. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 26. Noes 9. Page 4448.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  16. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  17. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 4308.) (May 25).

  18. Set for hearing May 25.

  19. May 14 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  20. Set for hearing May 14.

  21. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 4819.) (April 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  22. Set for hearing April 24.

  23. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  24. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 4. Noes 0. Page 4623.) (April 11).

  25. Set for hearing April 11.

  26. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on GOV. & F.

  27. Referred to Coms. on GOV. & F. and PUB. S.

  28. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.

  29. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

  • Gonzalez Fletcher · Cosponsor
  • Pan · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on · 13 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Pan

Co-sponsors (1)

  • Gonzalez Fletcher

Not signed on (120)

120 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 120 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Unfinished Business SB1303 Pan et al. Concurrence

Passed 26 Yea · 11 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 221003
Democratic 4100
Total 261103
% of votes cast 65%28%0%8%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Nay
Beall — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Fuller — Nay
Glazer — Yea
Allen — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
De León — Yea
Cannella — Not Voting
Chang — Nay
Delgado — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Hill — Yea
Bates — Nay
Lara — Yea
Monning — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Pan — Yea
Roth — Not Voting
Skinner — Yea
Vidak — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Nay
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Nay
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

SB 1303 Pan Senate Third Reading By KAMLAGER-DOVE

Passed 44 Yea · 30 Nay · 6 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 312304
Republican 0600
Democratic 13102
Total 443006
% of votes cast 55%38%0%8%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Low — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Mathis — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Quirk — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Voepel — Nay
Weber — Yea
Eggman — Nay
Burke — Yea
Chau — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Chu — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Holden — Yea
Kamlager-Dove — Yea
Levine — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Rivas — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Thurmond — Yea
Ting — Yea
Wood — Yea
Acosta — Nay
Bloom — Yea
Fong — Nay
Salas — Nay
Frazier — Nay
Gray — Nay
Harper — Nay
Kiley — Nay
Mayes — Not Voting
Medina — Not Voting
Chávez — Nay
Cooper — Nay
Cunningham — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Rodriguez — Not Voting
Steinorth — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Baker — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Brough — Nay
Daly — Nay
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Not Voting
Jim Patterson — Nay
Mark Stone — Yea
Travis Allen — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Nay
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Not Voting
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Not Voting
Chen, Phillip Republican Nay
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 11 Yea · 0 Nay · 6 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 8005
Democratic 3000
Republican 0001
Total 11006
% of votes cast 65%0%0%35%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Bigelow — Not Voting
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Not Voting
Nazarian — Yea
Eggman — Not Voting
Chau — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Fong — Not Voting
Obernolte — Not Voting
Quirk — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Public Safety]

Passed 5 Yea · 2 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 3001
Unaffiliated 2200
Republican 0001
Total 5202
% of votes cast 56%22%0%22%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Voepel — Nay
Rivas — Yea
Waldron — Nay
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Not Voting
Lackey, Tom Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

3rd Reading SB1303 Pan et al.

Passed 26 Yea · 9 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 22804
Democratic 4100
Total 26904
% of votes cast 67%23%0%10%
How each member voted (39)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Nay
Bates — Nay
Beall — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Monning — Yea
Morrell — Nay
Roth — Not Voting
Vidak — Nay
Cannella — Not Voting
Mitchell — Yea
Lara — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Newman — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Fuller — Nay
Galgiani — Yea
De León — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Allen — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Hill — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
Nielsen — Not Voting
Pan — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Wilk — Nay
Glazer — Yea
Beth Gaines — Not Voting
Bill Berryhill — Nay
Mark Stone — Nay
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Nay
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass

Passed 5 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4200
Democratic 1000
Total 5200
% of votes cast 71%29%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Bates — Nay
Bradford — Yea
Hill — Yea
Lara — Yea
Nielsen — Nay
Beall — Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Placed on suspense file

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Bates — Yea
Beall — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Hill — Yea
Lara — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety healthcare
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 1303 do?
Existing law specifies the officers of a county, including, but not limited to, the coroner. The California Constitution requires that certain county officers, other than the coroner, be elected. Existing statutory law requires that certain other county officers are to be elected, but establishes a process by which those offices that are required by statute to be elected may be converted to offices appointed by the board of supervisors. Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors to abolish the office of coroner and provide instead for the office of medical examiner, to be appointed by the board and to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the coroner and requires that the medical examiner be a licensed physician and surgeon duly qualified as a specialist in pathology. Commencing July 1, 2020, this bill would, for counties with a population of 500,000 or greater, excluding a county that has adopted a charter, require that the office of the coroner or the sheriff-coroner's office, as applicable, either be replaced with an office of the medical examiner to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the coroner without a public vote or election, or adopt a policy requiring referral of death investigations to a county that has implemented an office of medical examiner for any case when there is a potential conflict of interest for the office of the coroner or the sheriff-coroner's office, as specified. By requiring that counties comply with these requirements, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that the office of medical examiner operate independently from any other county agency or official in the conduct of autopsies. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Who sponsors SB 1303?
SB 1303 is sponsored by Gonzalez Fletcher and Pan.
What is the current status of SB 1303?
This bill died with 2017-2018 Regular Session. It reached “To Executive” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 1303?
Track SB 1303 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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