Assembly Bill 347 amends section 59.365 (3) (a) of the statutes to create an exception for certain fees charged by counties for coroner or medical examiner services. Specifically, the bill 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 amounts exceeding those in effect on April 17, 2015, by up to $100. This provision permits fee adjustments without regard to changes in the U.S. consumer price index, which is a departure from current law that limits fee increases to the annual percentage change in the index.

Additionally, the bill specifies that this exception does not apply to counties with populations exceeding 300,000. The previous language that referenced an intergovernmental cooperation agreement and the specific time frame for fee adjustments has been deleted and replaced with the new provisions outlined in the bill. This legislative change aims to provide counties with greater flexibility in managing fees associated with coroner and medical examiner services during a transitional period.

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