Bill Text: NY A08420 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires any elected or appointed coroner who is not a licensed physician to be a certified nurse practitioner or licensed physician assistant authorized to practice medicine in this state.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-21 - reported referred to rules [A08420 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08420-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8420--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    December 29, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, HYNDMAN, DeSTEFANO, O'DONNELL, BRABENEC,
          LEMONDES  --  read once and referred to the Committee on Local Govern-
          ments -- recommitted to the Committee on Local Governments in  accord-
          ance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee

        AN ACT to amend the county law, in relation to coroner qualifications

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 400 of the county law is amended by  adding  a  new
     2  subdivision 3-c to read as follows:
     3    3-c.  Coroner  qualifications. Any elected or appointed coroner who is
     4  not a physician duly licensed to practice medicine shall be a  certified
     5  nurse  practitioner  or licensed physician assistant authorized to prac-
     6  tice pursuant to title eight of the education law, or shall be a  certi-
     7  fied medicolegal death investigator or hold an associate's or bachelor's
     8  degree  in  nursing,  natural science, forensic science, anthropology or
     9  other related field while pursuing certification from the American board
    10  of medicolegal death investigators or similar professional organization.
    11  Any coroner who is not so licensed or certified, or who  does  not  have
    12  such  degree  while pursuing such certification as of the effective date
    13  of this subdivision may finish out their term.
    14    § 2. Subdivision 4-b of section 400 of the county  law,  as  added  by
    15  chapter 897 of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
    16    4-b.  Coroner's  physician.  Except  in  counties  where the office of
    17  coroner has been abolished, the board of supervisors may appoint one  or
    18  more  coroner's  physicians or may provide by local law for the appoint-
    19  ment of one or more coroner's physicians, and may fix the terms of their
    20  office.  In any county in which the coroner or any of  the  coroners  is
    21  not  a  physician  duly licensed to practice medicine in this state, the
    22  board shall appoint one or more coroner's physicians.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13919-07-4
        A. 8420--A                          2

     1    Each coroner's physician appointed pursuant to this  subdivision  must
     2  be  a  physician  duly  licensed  to practice medicine in this state and
     3  shall by virtue of [his] their office be  a  deputy  coroner  and  shall
     4  possess  the  powers  and  perform the duties of the coroner, during the
     5  absence or inability of the coroner to act, or in the event of a vacancy
     6  in the office of coroner.
     7    §  3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
     8  law.