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Senators back updates to Hennepin County medical examiner selection and handling of unclaimed property
Summary
The committee recommended two related medical examiner bills to advance: SF 46‑60 to modernize membership of the Hennepin County medical examiner selection panel, and SF 46‑61 to update disposition of unclaimed decedents' property and allow recovery of reasonable costs; Hennepin County testified the changes update outdated language and improve dignity and transparency.
Senators advanced two bills on March 27 to modernize medical examiner statutes after testimony from Hennepin County officials who said current law references organizations that no longer exist and relies on outdated procedures.
Senate File 46‑60, presented by Senator Johnson Stewart, updates language that governs the Hennepin County medical examiner selection panel, specifying representation from existing institutions such as the University of Minnesota Medical School, Hennepin Healthcare, and the county medical examiner's office. Sean Wilson, director of operations for the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office, told the committee that the current statutory language dates to earlier revisions and that, to their knowledge, no chief medical examiner has ever been appointed using the process currently in statute. He said Hennepin County handles death investigations for about one in three Minnesotans and emphasized the need for independent vetting of appointees to maintain public confidence.
A separate but related measure, Senate File 46‑61, modernizes how medical examiners and coroners handle personal effects of unclaimed or unidentified decedents. The bill would move the state away from a vestigial public auction practice and allow examiners to adopt dignified, case‑sensitive solutions, recover reasonable expenses (used to offset burial costs), and limit exposure to frivolous claims. Wilson noted that counties currently incur roughly $5,500 per unclaimed burial or cremation and that inventory of potentially salable items is small (he reported a single gold chain in 15 years of inventory), underscoring that this is not a revenue scheme.
Both bills received committee approval to advance: SF 46‑60 was recommended to pass and placed on general orders; SF 46‑61 was recommended to pass and referred to Judiciary.
Procedural outcome: SF 46‑60 recommended to pass and placed on general orders; SF 46‑61 recommended to pass and referred to Judiciary.
