Chapter 7.30 — FEES FOR THE REMOVAL AND STORAGE OF DEAD BODIES

Pursuant to Section 27472 of the California Government Code, whenever the coroner takes custody of a dead body pursuant to law, he or she shall charge and collect a fee from the person entitled to control the disposition of the remains as specified in Section 7100 of the California Health and Safety Code. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54985, the amount of the fee charged shall not exceed the actual costs incurred by the coroner in removing the body from the place of death and keeping the body until its release to the person responsible for its interment. These costs may include, but are not limited to, transportation to and from site of death, and materials and personnel time used in the removal and storage

of the corpse. The fee shall not include expenses of keeping the body during the time necessary for the coroner to perform his or her duties in connection with it. The charge, if not paid, may be considered a part of the funeral expenses and be imposed and paid as a preferred charge against the estate of the decedent.

(Ord. 00-04 § 1 (part), 2000: Ord. 84-517 § 1, 1984.)

The fee imposed by this chapter will not be imposed against a person who claims and proves to be indigent. For the purposes of this section, a person is considered indigent if the person is entitled to control the disposition of the remains of a dead body and the person's family income is equal to or less than one hundred fifty percent of the federal declared poverty scale in effect on the date the coroner takes charge of the body.

(Ord. 00-04 § 1 (part), 2000.)