HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania coroners will have to wait for at least three days to announce the name of a dead person or the cause and manner of their death if they haven’t been able to notify the next of kin, under a measure that’s just passed the state House.
State representatives voted unanimously Monday for the bill that was inspired by the death last year from a heart tumor of a western Pennsylvania high school football player.
A Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association spokeswoman says it opposes the bill because it would prevent the public from promptly learning basic information about deaths the coroner is investigating.
The bill’s delays in public notice don’t apply if the information’s release would help to avert a public health emergency, or help to identify an unknown decedent.
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