--- type: "Bill" title: "Civil Procedure: discovery." description: "Existing law generally prohibits a copy, reproduction, or facsimile of any kind of a photograph, negative, or print, including instant photographs and video recordings, of the body, or any portion of the body, of a deceased person, taken by or for the coroner at the scene of death or in the course of a post mortem examination or autopsy, from being made or disseminated. This prohibition does not apply for use in a criminal action or proceeding in this state that relates to the death of that person, or, as a court permits, by order after good cause has been shown and after written notification of the request for the court order has been served, at least 5 days before the order is made, upon the district attorney of the county in which the post mortem examination or autopsy has been made or caused to be made." jurisdiction: "us/states/ca" legislature: "California Legislature" session: "20152016" identifier: "AB 2427" citation: "California AB 2427 (20152016)" classification: ["bill"] subjects: ["Civil Procedure: discovery."] status: "enacted" primary_sponsors: ["Chau"] version_count: 8 action_count: 30 vote_count: 6 first_action: "2016-02-19" last_action: "2016-09-22" source: "openstates" source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a6ace436-e8a6-4963-8952-4c75789df141" source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427" source_hash: "53e6dac6c0a4a3eb22f884c4fedceda249832524af3960a3fc0432bc789dafe3" vintage: "2026-07-01" source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump" retrieved_at: "2026-07-06" confidence: "reported" tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"] --- # California AB 2427 (20152016) — Civil Procedure: discovery. Existing law generally prohibits a copy, reproduction, or facsimile of any kind of a photograph, negative, or print, including instant photographs and video recordings, of the body, or any portion of the body, of a deceased person, taken by or for the coroner at the scene of death or in the course of a post mortem examination or autopsy, from being made or disseminated. This prohibition does not apply for use in a criminal action or proceeding in this state that relates to the death of that person, or, as a court permits, by order after good cause has been shown and after written notification of the request for the court order has been served, at least 5 days before the order is made, upon the district attorney of the county in which the post mortem examination or autopsy has been made or caused to be made. ## Version chain The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment. 1. **02/19/16 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427&version=20150AB242799INT) 2. **04/12/16 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427&version=20150AB242798AMD) 3. **05/04/16 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427&version=20150AB242797AMD) 4. **06/28/16 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427&version=20150AB242796AMD) 5. **08/19/16 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427&version=20150AB242795AMD) 6. **09/22/16 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427&version=20150AB242793CHP) 7. **AB2427** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427) 8. **08/31/16 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2427&version=20150AB242794ENR) ## Votes - AB 2427 CHAU Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **79–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass as amended. — **10–0** (pass) · lower - AB 2427 CHAU Assembly Third Reading — **80–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass. To Consent Calendar. — **20–0** (pass) · lower - 3rd Reading AB2427 Chau By Block — **39–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **7–0** (pass) · upper ## Sponsors - Chau — primary (person) ## Timeline The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote. - **2016-02-19** Introduced. To print. `introduction` - **2016-02-21** From printer. May be heard in committee March 22. - **2016-02-22** Read first time. `reading-1` - **2016-03-08** Referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee` - **2016-04-12** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. - **2016-04-12** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on JUD. Read second time and amended. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-1` - **2016-04-13** Re-referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee` - **2016-05-03** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (May 3). `amendment-introduction, committee-passage, amendment-passage` - **2016-05-04** Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. `amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1` - **2016-05-05** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1` - **2016-05-05** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. pursuant to Joint Rule 10.5. `referral-committee` - **2016-05-18** From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 20. Noes 0.) (May 18). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage` - **2016-05-19** Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. `reading-2, reading-1` - **2016-05-27** From Consent Calendar. - **2016-05-27** Ordered to third reading. - **2016-05-31** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 80. Noes 0. Page 5015.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1` - **2016-06-01** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1` - **2016-06-09** Referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee` - **2016-06-27** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 21). `amendment-introduction, committee-passage, amendment-passage` - **2016-06-28** Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee, reading-2, amendment-passage, reading-1` - **2016-08-01** From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. `committee-passage` - **2016-08-02** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1` - **2016-08-19** Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-3, amendment-passage, reading-1` - **2016-08-22** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1` - **2016-08-24** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 5368.). `reading-3, passage, reading-1` - **2016-08-25** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 28 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77. - **2016-08-30** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 6440.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage` - **2016-09-09** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2:30 p.m. - **2016-09-22** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature` - **2016-09-22** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 467, Statutes of 2016. ## Source OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a6ace436-e8a6-4963-8952-4c75789df141`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).