SB 1303 (Pan and Galgiani) is a step forward

SB 1303 is follow-up legislation to SB 1189 (Pan) and expands upon the partial success of the earlier bill.This legislation, initially sponsored by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), is currently co-sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA). It requires counties with 500,000 or more population to rely on physician-MDs or DOs who are Medical Examiners to do forensic autopsies. It does away with the outmoded and politically orientated Sheriff-Coroner system. All that is explained in our earlier reporting illustrating how cover ups of wrongful death could happen under the Coroner system. 

The UAPD Legislative Report, 4/28/2018, said that UAPD President Stu Bussey, MD, JD, and Bennet Omalu, MD, MBA, of movie Concussion fame, "vociferously advocated on the need for this bill" before the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. Clearly, their testimony was convincing. 

The CMA Legislative Hot List, 5/3/2018, states that the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors recently eliminated the office of the sheriff Coroner and adopted a Medical Examiner model. CMA, with deserved self-praise, said "the pressure from this legislation clearly influenced the county's decision." 

The Weinmann Report, accepts plaudits, too. The California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery (CSIMS), the California Neurology Society (CNS), and others who saw the need and supported this legislation also deserve recognition. 

As we go to print, our information is that the bill is in Senate Appropriations. Physicians should write, e-mail, or fax Doug Chiappetta who is handling the bill for the UAPD and Stuart Thompson who is doing the job for the CMA to give this bill high priority. SB 1303 is a step forward in restoring professional prerogatives to properly educated professional persons.

References

Dr. Richard Pan Introduces Bill to Boost Public Confidence in Autopsy Reports, 20 Feb 2018, 
contact Shannon Velayas Martinez, 916-271-2867

The Weinmann Report, "SB 1303 would replace coroners with medical examiners," 2/25/18

The Weinmann Report, "forensic autopsy bill clears senate moves to assembly, 06/02/16

The Weinmann Report, "When is death by drowning described as 'undetermined'? " 5/30/16

The Weinmann Report, "Probable drowning," 5/23/16

CSIMS, "Issue of Interference in forensic autopsies isn't a new issue," 12/20/17