This chapter is adopted pursuant to chapter 142, Washington Laws of 1999, relating to the authority of the forensic investigations council to prescribe rules governing the disbursement of funds to local jurisdictions to assist them in the investigation of multiple deaths involving unanticipated, extraordinary, and catastrophic events, or involving multiple jurisdictions and to secure forensic anthropology services and other testing designed to aid in the identification of human remains upon a showing of financial need.

The purpose of this chapter is to set forth the procedures governing all applications for state death investigations account assistance.

(1) "Death investigation budget" shall mean the local jurisdiction's appropriation into the coroner or medical examiner budgets for the determination of cause and manner of death.

(2) "Forensic anthropology services" shall mean services to local jurisdictions in an applied area of physical anthropology utilizing the science, methodology, and technology of physical/biological anthropology and related fields to help address medicolegal issues, such as personal identification and circumstances surrounding death.

(3) "Local jurisdiction" shall mean a city, town, or county of the state of Washington.

(4) "Multiple deaths involving multiple local jurisdictions" shall mean that the deaths occurred in two or more geographically distinct local jurisdictions.

(5) "Other testing" includes, but is not limited to, forensic odontology, forensic genealogy, and other forms of testing that in the judgment of the council may aid in the identification of human remains.

(6) "Unanticipated" shall mean an event having a disproportionate fiscal impact, relative to the local jurisdiction's death investigation budget and which cannot be reasonably foreseen in the normal budget process.

(1) Only the following investigations, forensic anthropology services, and other testing are eligible for funding assistance:

(a) Investigations of multiple deaths involving unanticipated, extraordinary, and catastrophic events;

(b) Investigations of multiple deaths involving multiple local jurisdictions; and

(c) Forensic anthropology services and other testing designed to aid in the identification of human remains.

(2) Funding assistance shall be limited to supplementations of the death investigation budget of a local jurisdiction.

(3) Funding assistance shall not be used to supplant moneys reasonably available from other state or federal sources.

(1) To qualify for consideration and eligibility for assistance from the state death investigations account, the legislative authority of the local jurisdiction shall:

(a) Submit to the forensic investigations council an application on a form approved by the council;

(b) Provide a written statement to the council that includes the following:

(i) The scope and nature of the emergency that requires additional funding;

(ii) The amount of jurisdiction funds available for the investigation;

(iii) The estimated need of supplemental funding from FIC;

(iv) A description of the private, federal, state, or local government resources the jurisdiction has applied to for funding and the amount they anticipate receiving from each source;

(v) Any other information that demonstrates the jurisdiction has a financial need;

(vi) Provide any additional information requested by the forensic investigations council, in order to evaluate the request for assistance.

(2) The request will be promptly reviewed, and the council shall deny, grant, or grant in part the request in writing subject to the availability of FIC funding for the current biennium.

Funding assistance shall be available only for death investigations that commenced after August 1, 2003. Funding assistance shall be available for forensic anthropology services and other testing designed to aid in the identification of human remains regardless of the age of a case.