Florida HB 819: Truck License Taxes

Bill Text

HB 819 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb819-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to medical examiners' duties; amending 2
s. 406.11, F.S.; defining terms; specifying autopsy 3
requirements for certain cases involving sudden and 4
unexpected deaths; requiring medical examiners to 5
document certain information in the autopsy reports 6
for such cases; requiring medical examiners to report 7
specified cases to the national Sudden Unexpected 8
Infant Death and Sudden Death in the Young Case 9
Registry in accordance with protocols established by 10
the Department of Health and the United States Centers 11
for Disease Control and Prevention; requiring the 12
department to impose certain administrative penalties 13
against medical examiners for failure to report such 14
cases in a specified timeframe; providing that 15
compliance with specified provisions is deemed a 16
permissible disclosure for purposes of state and 17
federal medical privacy laws; authorizing the 18
department to adopt rules; providing an effective 19
date. 20
21
WHEREAS, the United States Centers for Disease Control and 22
Prevention operates the Sudden Unexpected Infant Death and 23
Sudden Death in the Young Case Registry, a national surveillance 24
program coordinated with the National Institutes of Health to 25

HB 819 2026

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establish a valuable repository of information for researchers 26
studying the characteristics of sudden deaths in young 27
individuals, and 28
WHEREAS, district medical examiners in this state are 29
currently not required to report to the registry, resulting in 30
inconsistent data collection, and 31
WHEREAS, uniform reporting and the inclusion of relevant 32
medical information, including recent immunizations and 33
emergency countermeasures, are essential to strengthen public 34
health research, identify risk factors, and improve prevention 35
strategies, NOW, THEREFORE, 36
37
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38
39
Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 406.11, 40
Florida Statutes, to read: 41
406.11 Examinations, investigations, and autopsies.— 42
(3)(a) As used in this subsection, the term: 43
1. "Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome(SADS)" means the 44
sudden and unexpected death due to cardiac arrhythmia, as 45
determined by performance of an autopsy or a clinical 46
investigation, of a young, apparently healthy individual with no 47
previously diagnosed structural heart disease. 48
2. "Sudden Death in the Young (SDY)" means the sudden and 49
unexpected death of an individual younger than 20 years of age 50

HB 819 2026

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due to natural causes, including, but not limited to, sudden 51
cardiac death or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, which 52
death remains unexplained after initial investigation. 53
3. "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)" means the sudden 54
death of an infant younger than 1 year of age which remains 55
unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including 56
performance of an autopsy, scene investigations, and a review of 57
clinical history. 58
4. "Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID)" means the 59
sudden and unexpected death of an infant younger than 1 year of 60
age, whether explained or unexplained, including, but not 61
limited to, death caused by SIDS, accidental suffocation, and 62
other potential causes. 63
5. "Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Death 64
in the Young (SDY) Case Registry" means the national 65
surveillance system coordinated by the Centers for Disease 66
Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health 67
which collects standardized data on sudden and unexpected deaths 68
in individuals younger than 20 years of age. 69
(b) In the case of an infant or child who dies suddenly 70
and unexpectedly, including cases of SIDS, SUID, or SDY, the 71
autopsy must include microscopic and toxicology studies and a 72
review of the child's immunization and medical records, as 73
available through the state's immunization registry established 74
pursuant to s. 381.003, from the child's pediatrician or primary 75

HB 819 2026

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care practitioner, or from other sources. The medical examiner 76
shall document in the autopsy report any immunizations or 77
emergency countermeasures administered to the child within 90 78
days before the child's death and report the case to the SUID 79
and SDY Case Registry in accordance with protocols established 80
by the Department of