Bill Text: MS HB1314 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: State Medical Examiners; expand duties related to mass fatality incident.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-02-05 - Died In Committee [HB1314 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2019-HB1314-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Powell
House Bill 1314
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-61-53, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DEFINITIONS FOR THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL EXAMINER ACT OF 1986 TO INCLUDE THE DEFINITION OF A "MASS FATALITY INCIDENT"; TO AMEND SECTION 41-61-63, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER SHALL HAVE THE SOLE AUTHORITY FOR THE RECOVERY, IDENTIFICATION, STORAGE AND DISPOSITION OF VICTIMS OF A MASS FATALITY INCIDENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 41-61-53, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-61-53. For the purposes of Sections 41-61-51 through 41-61-79, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) "Certification of death" means signing the death certificate.
(b) "Coroner" means the elected county official provided for in Sections 19-21-101 through 19-21-107.
(c) "County medical examiner investigator" means a nonphysician trained and appointed to investigate and certify deaths affecting the public interest.
(d) "County medical examiner" means a licensed physician appointed to investigate and certify deaths affecting the public interest.
(e) "Death affecting the public interest" means any death of a human being where the circumstances are sudden, unexpected, violent, suspicious or unattended.
(f) "Medical examiner" means the State Medical Examiner, county medical examiners and county medical examiner investigators collectively, unless otherwise specified.
(g) "Pronouncement of death" means the statement of opinion that life has ceased for an individual.
(h) "State medical examiner" means the board certified forensic pathologist/physician appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety pursuant to Section 41-61-55 to investigate and certify deaths that affect the public interest.
(i) "Mass fatality incident" means any incident involving fatalities of private or commercial aircraft, mass transit conveyances, United States military transport conveyances, or any other situation in which there are more fatalities than can be properly handled and/or that exhaust local resources.
SECTION 2. Section 41-61-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-61-63. (1) The State Medical Examiner shall:
(a) Provide assistance, consultation and training to county medical examiners, county medical examiner investigators and law enforcement officials.
(b) Keep complete records of all relevant information concerning deaths or crimes requiring investigation by the medical examiners.
(c) Promulgate rules and regulations regarding the manner and techniques to be employed while conducting autopsies; the nature, character and extent of investigations to be made into deaths affecting the public interest to allow a medical examiner to render a full and complete analysis and report; the format and matters to be contained in all reports rendered by the medical examiners; and all other things necessary to carry out the purposes of Sections 41-61-51 through 41-61-79. The State Medical Examiner shall make such amendments to these rules and regulations as may be necessary. All medical examiners, coroners and law enforcement officers shall be subject to such rules.
(d) Cooperate with the crime detection and medical examiner laboratories authorized by Section 45-1-17, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the Attorney General, law enforcement agencies, the courts and the State of Mississippi.
(e) Orchestrate and have the sole lead authority for the recovery, identification, storage and disposition of victims of a mass fatality incident, except when such authority should be observed in conjunction with any superseding agency sharing jurisdiction of the scene.
(i) The State Medical Examiner shall use the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation division for assistance in securing and preserving the scene and the incident morgue site, including, but not limited to, during the initial stages of recovery operations, during set up of the incident morgue site, while overseeing the storage, loading and/or transportation of the recovered victims, and/or to secure the scene or incident morgue site from unauthorized entry by nonauthorized personnel.
(ii) The State Medical Examiner shall determine where to establish an incident morgue site depending upon the size and nature of the incident. The site may be in the existing morgue for the geographical area or it may be a temporary incident morgue site in another location such as a warehouse, airplane hangar, fair ground building, conveyance or other such location as deemed necessary and appropriate by the State Medical Examiner. The State Medical Examiner shall consider the physical condition of the victims, the number of the victims, and the number of personnel needed to perform the morgue functions such as administration, logistics, refrigeration, and operations when laying out the morgue operation site. The operational areas may include areas for receiving, photography, radiographs, personal effects, anthropology, dental, fingerprinting, pathology, storage, shipping, and any other area as deemed necessary.
(2) In addition, the medical examiners shall:
(a) Upon receipt of notification of a death affecting the public interest, make inquiries regarding the cause and manner of death, reduce the findings to writing and promptly make a full report to the State Medical Examiner on forms prescribed for that purpose. The medical examiner shall be authorized to inspect and copy the medical reports of the decedent whose death is under investigation. However, the records copied shall be maintained as confidential so as to protect the doctor/patient privilege. The medical examiners shall be authorized to request the issuance of subpoenas, through the proper court, for the attendance of persons and for the production of documents as may be required by their investigation.
(b) Complete the medical examiner's portion of the certificate of death within seventy-two (72) hours of assuming jurisdiction over a death, and forward the certificate to the funeral director or to the family. The medical examiner's portion of the certificate of death shall include the decedent's name, the date and time of death, the cause of death and the certifier's signature. If determination of the cause and/or manner of death are pending an autopsy or toxicological or other studies, these sections on the certificate may be marked "pending," with amendment and completion to follow the completion of the postmortem studies. The State Medical Examiner shall be authorized to amend a death certificate; however, the State Medical Examiner is not authorized to change or amend any death certificate after he or she has resigned or been removed from his or her office as the State Medical Examiner. Where an attending physician refuses to sign a certificate of death, or in case of any death, the State Medical Examiner or properly qualified designee may sign the death certificate.
(c) Cooperate with other agencies as provided for the State Medical Examiner in subsections (1)(d) and (e) of this section.
(d) In all investigations of deaths affecting the public interest where an autopsy will not be performed, obtain or attempt to obtain postmortem blood, urine and/or vitreous fluids. Medical examiners may also obtain rectal temperature measurements, known hair samples, radiographs, gunshot residue/wiping studies, fingerprints, palm prints and other noninvasive studies as the case warrants and/or as directed by the State Medical Examiner. Decisions shall be made in consultation with investigating law enforcement officials and/or the State Medical Examiner. The cost of all studies not performed by the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory shall be borne by the county. County medical examiner investigators shall be authorized to obtain these postmortem specimens themselves following successful completion of the death investigation training school.
(e) In all investigations of deaths occurring in the manner specified in subsection (2)(j) of Section 41-61-59, a death investigation shall be performed by the medical examiners in accordance with the child death investigation protocol established by the State Medical Examiner. The results of the death investigation shall be reported to the State Medical Examiner on forms prescribed for that purpose by the State Medical Examiner and to appropriate authorities, including police and child protective services, within three (3) days of the conclusion of the death investigation.
(3) The medical examiner shall not use his or her position or authority to favor any particular funeral home or funeral homes.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.
