Purpose

The bill aims to update state law to let coroners or medical examiners charge fees to cover their costs for specific duties. It focuses on fees for cremation approvals, copying or duplicating reports, and other administrative tasks, and it adds a fee for reviewing medical records when another entity won’t act as the medical certifier and complete a required death record. The goal is to ensure these offices can recover reasonable expenses and operate with proper oversight.

Main Provisions

• The coroner or medical examiner may charge fees for:
  • Cremation approval
  • Duplication of reports
  • Other administrative functions
  • These fees must be set to recover reasonable expenses and require county board approval.
• The coroner or medical examiner may charge a fee to cover reasonable expenses for conducting a medical record review when an individual facility or organization refuses to act as the medical certifier and complete a death record as required by Minnesota Rules part 4601.1800.
• The fee for the medical record review may include administrative expenses associated with reviewing the records and completing the death record.

Changes to Current Law

• Adds explicit authority for coroners/medical examiners to bill for cremation approvals, report copies, and various administrative tasks, with fees tied to reasonable costs and subject to county approval.
• Creates a new or clarified ability to charge a fee for medical record reviews when other parties refuse to fulfill the medical certifier role and finish a death record as required by state rules.

Practical Effects

• Departments under the coroner/medical examiner system could recover more of their operating costs through fees.
• Fees would be subject to oversight by county boards, potentially affecting how quickly and how much fees are set.
• If a facility or organization declines to certify a death and complete the death record, the responsible office may bill for reviewing records and finishing the death certificate, potentially speeding up administrative processes.

Relevant Terms coroner or medical examiner; cremation approval; duplication of reports; administrative functions; reasonable expenses; county board approval; medical record review; death record; medical certifier; Minnesota Rules part 4601.1800