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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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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.
