Senate Bill 358 amends the statutes regarding fees charged by counties for coroner or medical examiner services. The bill introduces an exception to the current law that restricts fee increases based on the annual percentage change in the U.S. consumer price index. Specifically, it allows counties that transition from providing coroner or lay medical examiner services to physician medical examiner services between December 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, to set the fees for signing death records and issuing cremation permits at an amount exceeding the rates in effect on April 17, 2015, by up to $100. This exception does not apply to counties with populations over 300,000.

The bill also deletes the previous stipulation that the transition to physician medical examiner services must occur under an intergovernmental cooperation agreement and modifies the timeframe for the transition from the earlier specified dates to the new dates. Overall, the legislation aims to provide counties with greater flexibility in setting fees for essential services related to death records and cremation permits, thereby potentially addressing funding needs for these services.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 59.365(3)(a), 59.365