Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 188
By
Senator Garcia
36-00570-26 2026188__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to medical examiners’ duties; amending
3 s. 406.11, F.S.; defining terms; specifying autopsy
4 requirements for certain cases involving sudden and
5 unexpected deaths; requiring medical examiners to
6 document certain information in the autopsy reports
7 for such cases; requiring medical examiners to report
8 specified cases to the national Sudden Unexpected
9 Infant Death and Sudden Death in the Young Case
10 Registry in accordance with protocols established by
11 the Department of Health and the United States Centers
12 for Disease Control and Prevention; requiring the
13 department to impose certain administrative penalties
14 against medical examiners for failure to report such
15 cases in a specified timeframe; providing that
16 compliance with specified provisions is deemed a
17 permissible disclosure for purposes of state and
18 federal medical privacy laws; providing an effective
19 date.
20
21 WHEREAS, the United States Centers for Disease Control and
22 Prevention operates the Sudden Unexpected Infant Death and
23 Sudden Death in the Young Case Registry, a national surveillance
24 program coordinated with the National Institutes of Health to
25 establish a valuable repository of information for researchers
26 studying the characteristics of sudden deaths in young
27 individuals, and
28 WHEREAS, district medical examiners in this state are
29 currently not required to report to the registry, resulting in
30 inconsistent data collection, and
31 WHEREAS, uniform reporting and the inclusion of relevant
32 medical information, including recent immunizations and
33 emergency countermeasures, are essential to strengthen public
34 health research, identify risk factors, and improve prevention
35 strategies, NOW, THEREFORE,
36
37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39 Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 406.11,
40 Florida Statutes, to read:
41 406.11 Examinations, investigations, and autopsies.—
42
(3)(a)
As used in this subsection, the term:
43
1.
“Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome(SADS)” means
the
44
sudden
and unexpected death
due to cardiac arrhythmia, as
45
determined by performance of an autopsy or a clinical
46
investigation,
of
a young, apparently healthy individual with no
47
previously diagnosed structural heart disease
.
48
2.
“Sudden Death in the Young (SDY)” means the sudden and
49
unexpected death of an individual younger than 20 years of age
50
due to natural causes, including, but not limited to, sudden
51
cardiac death or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, which
52
death
remains unexplained after initial investigation.
53
3.
“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)” means the sudden
54
death of an infant younger than 1 year of age which remains
55
unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including
56
performance of an autopsy, scene investigations, and a review of
57
clinical history.
58
4
.
“Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID)” means the sudden
59
and unexpected death of an infant younger than 1 year of age,
60
whether explained or unexplained, including, but not limited to,
61
death caused by SIDS, accidental suffocation, and other
62
potential causes.
63
5.
“Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Death
64
in the Young (SDY) Case Registry” means the national
65
surveillance system coordinated by the Centers for Disease
66
Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health
67
which collects standardized data on sudden and unexpected deaths
68
in individuals younger than 20 years of age.
69
(b)
In the case of an infant or child who dies suddenly and
70
unexpectedly, including cases of SIDS, SUID, or SDY, the autopsy
71
must include microscopic and toxicology studies and a review of
72
the child’s immunization and medical records, as available
73
through the
state’s immunization registry established pursuant
74
to s. 381.003,
from the child’s pediatrician or primary care
75
practitioner, or from other sources. The medical examiner shall
76
document in the autopsy report any immunizations or emergency
77
countermeasures administered
to the child
within 90 days before
78
the
child’s
death and report the case to the
SUID and
SDY Case
79
Registry in accordance with protocols established by the
80
Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and
81
Prevention.
82
(c)
In the case of a sudden death suspected to be caused by
83
SADS in an individual of any age, the autopsy must include
84
microscopic and toxicology studies and a review of the
85
individual’s immunization and medical records, as available
86
through state health databases or other sources. The medical
87
examiner shall document in the autopsy report any immunizations
88
or emergency countermeasures administered
to the individual
89
within 90 days before
his or her
death and report the case to
90
the
SUID and
SDY Case Registry if the individual
was
younger
91
than 20 years of age
at the time of death
, in accordance with
92
protocols established by the Department of Health and the
93
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
.
94
(d)
The Department of Health shall impose the following
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administrative penalties against a district medical examiner who
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fails to report a case of SIDS, SUID, SDY, or SADS, for
97
individuals younger than 20 years of age, to the
SUID and
SDY
98
Case Registry within 30 days after completing the autopsy
99
report:
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1.
For the first unreported case, a fine of up to $1,000.
101
2.
For the second unreported case, a fine of up to $5,000.
102
3.
For repeated noncompliance, referral to the Medical
103
Examiners Commission for disciplinary action, which may include
104
suspension or
removal
pursuant to s. 406.0
75
.
105
(e)
Compliance with the reporting and documentation
106
requirements of this section is deemed a permissible disclosure
107
under
state and federal
medical privacy laws, including the
108
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
109 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.