S508 - 2023 Budget Technical/Other Corrections. (SL 2024-1)

Overview: Section 3.5A amends the provisions of Section 9H.10 of S.L. 2023-134, which allocated funds for the establishment of an autopsy center in Union County, in the following ways:

• It requires the autopsy center to expand its service area to include Anson and Cabarrus Counties by December 30, 2024, Rowan and Stanly Counties by June 30, 2025, Moore and Richmond Counties by November 30, 2025, and Gaston and Montgomery Counties by June 30, 2026.
• It requires Union County and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) to amend their contract to account for the expanded service area.
• It allows Union County and the OCME to come up with an alternative expansion schedule if the initial expansion schedule is unworkable.
• It requires Union County to report to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, the Fiscal Research Division, and the counties in the expanded service area on the status of the autopsy center, any delays in expansion, and any proposed alternative expansion schedules. The reports must be made on February 1, 2024, December 1, 2024, and every six months thereafter until expansion is complete. Under the original version of Section 9H.10 of S.L. 2023-134, the expansion counties were not included in the list of report recipients, the reporting ended on December 1, 2024, and the only item required to be reported was the status of the autopsy center.

This section became effective July 1, 2024.