Reference is to Printer's Date 4/6/17-S.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting language and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Article 7, Chapter 5, Title 17 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 17-5-541.
(A) For the purposes of this section,
'a person responsible for a child's welfare' has the same
meaning as in Section 63-7-20(16).
(B) The coroner of each
county, within a timeframe not exceeding seven working days,
shall schedule a local Child Fatality Review Team to perform a
review of a case where a child under the age of eighteen dies in
the county he serves. The team may be composed of:
(1)
the county coroner or his designee;
(2)
a local law enforcement officer;
(3)
an agent from the State Law Enforcement Division's
Department of Child Fatalities assigned to the case;
(4)
a board certified child abuse pediatrician;
(5)
a representative from the local county department of
social services; and
(6)
a forensic pathologist.
(C) In addition to the
mandatory notification requirement in Section 17-5-540, the
coroner shall immediately notify the local county department of
social services and request any involvement of the agency,
excluding any economic services, in the life of the child, a
sibling, or a person responsible for a child's welfare that
resulted in a referred, indicated, or unfounded case.
(D) The local county
department of social services, within twenty-four hours or one
working day, whichever comes first, must provide the coroner and
the State Law Enforcement Division's Department of Child
Fatalities information related to any involvement of the agency,
excluding any economic services, in the life of the child, a
sibling, or a person responsible for a child's welfare that
resulted in a referred, indicated, or unfounded case.
Section 17-5-542. (A)
The purpose of the local Child Fatality
Review Team is to rapidly and expeditiously review all child
deaths that occur in the county in which each coroner
serves.
(B) To achieve this
purpose, the local Child Fatality Review Team shall:
(1)
enter the team's findings of each reviewed child death
into the Child Death Review Case Reporting System at the
direction of the coroner;
(2)
submit to the State Child Fatality Advisory Committee, a
monthly report and any other reports prepared by the team,
including the team's findings of each reviewed child death; and
(3)
submit a report of the findings of each reviewed child
death to the Bureau of Vital Statistics as prescribed by the
State."
SECTION 2. Article 3, Chapter 5, Title 17 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 17-5-140.
(A) From the funds appropriated for
the implementation of this section, and subject to the
provisions of subsection (C), the State Treasurer shall disburse
an equal amount to each county treasurer on a monthly basis.
These funds must supplement, and not supplant, existing funds
utilized for full-time county coroners.
(B) From the funds
received pursuant to this section, each county treasurer must
pay the duly elected full-time coroner at least thirty-five
thousand dollars annually. If the funds are not totally expended
to pay the duly elected full-time coroner, then at the
discretion of the coroner he may use the funds to hire a deputy
coroner, administrative personnel, or personnel with forensic
training. Also, the coroner may use the funds to provide an
office or office equipment.
(C) Upon disbursing
thirty-five thousand dollars to each county treasurer in a
fiscal year, the State Treasurer shall credit any remaining
funds pursuant to subsection (D) to the full-time coroners of
each county for the performance of their duties. The remaining
funds shall be disbursed as follows:
(1)
For those counties with a population of one hundred fifty
thousand and above, according to the latest official United
States Decennial Census, each full-time coroner shall receive an
equal share of fifty-five percent of the remaining funds.
(2)
For those counties with a population of at least fifty
thousand but not more than one hundred forty-nine thousand, nine
hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United
States Decennial Census, each full-time coroner shall receive an
equal share of thirty-five percent of the remaining funds.
(3)
For those counties with a population of less than fifty
thousand, according to the latest official United States
Decennial Census, each full-time coroner shall receive an equal
share of ten percent of the remaining funds.
(D) Implementation of
this section is contingent upon the appropriation of state
general funds or the availability of financial support from
other sources and must be operational within one year of
adequate funding becoming available."
SECTION 3. Section 17-5-130(G) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(G)(1) The
Director of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy shall
appoint a Coroners Training Advisory Committee to assist in the
determination of training requirements for coroners and deputy
coroners and to determine those forensic science degree and
certification programs that qualify as 'recognized' pursuant to
the requirements of this section. Also, the committee shall
assist in determining annual training requirements as set forth
in this section. The committee must consist of no fewer than
five coroners and at least one physician trained in forensic
pathology as recommended by the South Carolina Coroners
Association. The members of the committee shall serve without
compensation.
(2)
The Coroners Training Advisory Committee shall
govern the qualifications of all coroners, deputy coroners, and
candidates for coroner as set forth in this section. Also, the
committee must certify all coroners. The committee may require a
coroner or a deputy coroner to appear before it for performance
review. Failure to appear before the committee or failure to
follow state law relating to the performance of official duties
may result in sanctioning in the form of a private or public
reprimand. Also, the committee may recommend suspension to the
Governor and loss of funding to the county council. A person may
appeal an action of the committee pursuant to the provisions of
Chapter 23, Title 1. The committee may hire an administrative
assistant if it is determined necessary."
SECTION 4. Article 7, Chapter 5, Title 17 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 17-5-543.
(A) Meetings of the Child Fatality
Review Team the 'review team' are closed to the public and are
not subject to Chapter 4, Title 30, the Freedom of Information
Act, when the review team is discussing individual cases of
child deaths.
(B) Except as provided
in subsection (C), meetings of the review team are open to the
public and subject to the Freedom of Information Act when the
review team is not discussing individual cases of child
deaths.
(C) Information
identifying a deceased child or a family member, guardian, or
caretaker of a deceased child, or an alleged or suspected
perpetrator of abuse or neglect upon a child may not be
disclosed during a public meeting and information regarding the
involvement of any agency with the deceased child or family may
not be disclosed during a public meeting.
(D) Violation of this
section is a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, a person must be
fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more
than six months, or both."
SECTION 5. Article 7, Chapter 5, Title 17 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 17-5-544.
(A) All information, documents, and
records of the Child Fatality Review team, records acquired by
the review team, or records prepared by members of the review
team in the exercise of their purposes and duties pursuant to
this article are confidential, exempt from disclosure under
Chapter 4, Title 30, the Freedom of Information Act, and only
may be disclosed as necessary to carry out the review team's
duties and purposes.
(B) Statistical
compilations of data that do not contain information that would
permit the identification of a person to be ascertained are
public records.
(C) Reports of the
review team that do not contain information that would permit
the identification of a person to be ascertained are public
information.
(D) Except as necessary
to carry out the review team's purposes and duties, members of
the committee and persons attending their meeting may not
disclose what transpired at a meeting and may not disclose
information, the disclosure of which is prohibited by this
section.
(E) Members of the
Child Fatality Review Team, persons attending a committee
meeting, and persons who present information to the review team
may be required to disclose in any civil or criminal proceeding
information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a
meeting, except that information available from other sources is
not immune from introduction into evidence through those sources
solely because it was presented during proceedings of the
committee or department or because it is maintained by the
committee or department. Nothing in this subsection may be
construed to prevent a person from testifying to information
obtained independently of the committee or which is public
information.
(F) All information,
documents, and records of the Child Fatality Review team,
records acquired by the review team, and records prepared by the
review team are not subject to subpoena, discovery, or the
Freedom of Information Act, except that information, documents,
and records otherwise available from other sources are not
immune from subpoena, discovery, or the Freedom of Information
Act through those sources solely because they were presented
during proceedings of the committee or department or because
they are maintained by the committee or department.
(G) Violation of this
section is a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, a person must be
fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not
more than six months, or both."
SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.