California Government Code

§ 27491.56

GOV § 27491.56 Effective Jan 1, 2026Div. 2 · Title 3 · Part 3 · Ch. 10 · Art. 2

Statute text

(a)This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Forensic Accountability, Custodial Transparency, and Safety (FACTS) Act of 2025.

(b)In any county where the offices of the sheriff and the coroner are combined, the sheriff-coroner shall not determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of death pursuant to Section 27491 for any in-custody death, but shall instead do one or both of the following:

(1)Contract with one or more counties that have a coroner’s office that operates independently from the office of the sheriff, or that have established an office of medical examiner pursuant to Section 24010, to determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of death. The contracted coroners or medical examiners shall operate independently from the office of the sheriff-coroner in conducting the medical examination process, including, but not limited to, exercising professional judgment to make determinations of the circumstances, manner, and cause of death.

…

Legislative history

Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 389, Sec. 1. (AB 1108) Effective January 1, 2026. Operative January 1, 2027, by its own provisions.