Bill > AB1108

This bill addresses potential conflicts of interest in investigating in-custody deaths in California counties where the sheriff and coroner offices are combined. Starting January 1, 2027, in counties with merged sheriff-coroner offices, the sheriff-coroner will be prohibited from determining the circumstances, manner, and cause of death for in-custody deaths. Instead, they must contract with another county's independent coroner's office, a medical examiner's office, or a third-party medical examination provider that is completely separate from the sheriff's office. An "in-custody death" is broadly defined to include deaths of individuals who are detained, arrested, en route to incarceration, or in municipal, county, state, federal, or immigration detention facilities. The county board of supervisors must annually select and enter into a service agreement with an independent medical examiner or coroner's office, and the findings of such investigations must be delivered to the sheriff-coroner, district attorney, county health officer, board of supervisors, and the decedent's next of kin. The Legislature notes that 48 out of 58 California counties currently have combined sheriff-coroner offices, which creates a potential conflict of interest in investigating deaths involving law enforcement, and therefore seeks to ensure the independence and integrity of autopsy investigations.

Budget and Finance, Government Affairs, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1108