Vermont S 210: An act relating to rental housing health and safety and affordable housing

Bill Text

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2026

VT LEG #389071 v.1
No. 83. An act relating to access to autopsy reports.
(S.210)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. 18 V.S.A. § 505 is amended to read:
§ 505. AUTOPSIES; AUTOPSY REPORTS
(a) When a Superior judge or the Attorney General orders an autopsy on
the body of a person, as provided in section 504 of this title, the Superior judge
or the Attorney General shall direct that such autopsy shall be made by the
Chief Medical Examiner, or under the Chief Medical Examiner’s direction,
unless, for good cause shown, such judge or the Attorney General otherwise
directs.
(b)(1) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall disclose a
decedent’s autopsy report to the decedent’s personal representative in
compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
1996, Pub. L. 104-191, and its associated regulations, including to the court-
appointed executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate and the decedent’s
heir at law, as determined by 14 V.S.A. chapter 42. Nothing in this
subdivision is intended to preclude disclosure of a decedent’s autopsy report to
other individuals as authorized by federal law.
(2)(A) An individual who is not authorized to receive the autopsy report
pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection (b) may petition the Probate
Division of the Superior Court for a copy of the autopsy report. The petition

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VT LEG #389071 v.1
shall contain an affidavit attesting to the petitioner’s relationship to the
decedent and the reason the petitioner is seeking the autopsy report. The
petitioner shall notify the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the State’s
Attorney of the county in which the death occurred within five days after filing
the petition. The Office and the State’s Attorney shall have an opportunity to
respond within 14 days after notice. If the Superior Court finds that the
petitioner has demonstrated good cause for the petitioner to obtain the autopsy
report, it shall order the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to provide a
copy to the petitioner, in whole or in part, and may place restrictions on the
petitioner’s dissemination of the copy provided.
(B) In determining good cause under subdivision (A) of this
subdivision (b)(2), the Superior Court shall consider:
(i) the relationship of the petitioner to the decedent and decedent’s
family;
(ii) whether the disclosure is necessary for the public evaluation of
governmental performance;
(iii) the seriousness of intrusion into the decedent and decedent
family’s privacy;
(iv) whether the disclosure is by the least intrusive means
available, including whether and to what degree redaction of some portions of
the autopsy report is appropriate;

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(v) the availability of similar information in other public records
regardless of form; and
(vi) whether the disclosure interferes with an ongoing criminal
investigation.
(C) Nothing in this subdivision (2) shall prohibit a petitioner from
refiling a petition for a copy of an autopsy report upon a material change in
information.
Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
Date Governor signed bill: April 22, 2026