Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB290 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb0290
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 290
8	8	J1, P1 5lr0260
9	9	(PRE–FILED) CF SB 115
10	10	By: Chair, Health and Government Operations Committee (By Request –
11	11	Departmental – Health)
12	12	Requested: October 9, 2024
13	13	Introduced and read first time: January 8, 2025
14	14	Assigned to: Health and Government Operations
15	15
16	16	A BILL ENTITLED
17	17
18	18	AN ACT concerning 1
19	19
20	20	Office of the Chief Medical Examiner – Disclosure of Autopsy Information and 2
21	21	Maintenance of Investigative Database 3
22	22
23	23	FOR the purpose of altering the autopsy information in a public record with respect to 4
24	24	which a custodian is required to deny inspection; requiring the Office of the Chief 5
25	25	Medical Examiner to maintain an investigative database; providing that certain data 6
26	26	and records maintained in the database are not public records and not subject to the 7
27	27	Maryland Public Information Act; and generally relating to the Office of the Chief 8
28	28	Medical Examiner. 9
29	29
30	30	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 10
31	31	Article – General Provisions 11
32	32	Section 4–329 12
33	33	Annotated Code of Maryland 13
34	34	(2019 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 14
35	35
36	36	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 15
37	37	Article – Health – General 16
38	38	Section 5–301 and 5–310 17
39	39	Annotated Code of Maryland 18
40	40	(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
41	41
42	42	Preamble 20
43	43
44	44	WHEREAS, The safeguarding of personal information pertaining to decedents is a 21
45	45	matter of pressing concern, as these details are presently susceptible to exposure under the 22
46	46	current parameters of the Maryland Public Information Act; and 23
47	47
48	48	WHEREAS, The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s duty to protect sensitive 24 2 HOUSE BILL 290
49	49
50	50
51	51	personal information highlighted an essential requirement to curb the undue and extensive 1
52	52	release of sensitive personal information from postmortem examinations; and 2
53	53
54	54	WHEREAS, There is uncertainty concerning the definition of an autopsy report and 3
55	55	the determination of which Office of the Chief Medical Examiner records should be 4
56	56	accessible by the public; and 5
57	57
58	58	WHEREAS, It is unclear whether records stored in the Chief Medical Examiner 6
59	59	electronic database qualify as public records subject to the Maryland Public Information 7
60	60	Act; now, therefore, 8
61	61
62	62	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 9
63	63	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 10
64	64
65	65	Article – General Provisions 11
66	66
67	67	4–329. 12
68	68
69	69	(A) IN THIS SECTION , “FINAL AUTOPSY DIAGNO SIS” MEANS THE 13
70	70	INTERPRETATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS OF A MED ICAL EXAMINER OR FOR ENSIC 14
71	71	PATHOLOGIST THAT ARE PART OF AN AUTOPSY R EPORT. 15
72	72
73	73	[(a)] (B) Except for subsection [(b)(3)] (C)(3) of this section, this section does not 16
74	74	apply to: 17
75	75
76	76	(1) a nursing home as defined in § 19–1401 of the Health – General Article; 18
77	77	or 19
78	78
79	79	(2) an assisted living program as defined in § 19 –1801 of the 20
80	80	Health – General Article. 21
81	81
82	82	[(b)] (C) Subject to subsection [(c)] (D) of this section, a custodian shall deny 22
83	83	inspection of the part of a public record that contains: 23
84	84
85	85	(1) medical or psychological information about an individual, other than 24
86	86	[an autopsy report of a medical examiner] A FINAL AUTOPSY DIAGNOSIS; 25
87	87
88	88	(2) personal information about an individual with, or perceived to have, a 26
89	89	disability as defined in § 20–701 of the State Government Article; or 27
90	90
91	91	(3) any report on human immunodeficiency virus or acquired 28
92	92	immunodeficiency syndrome submitted in accordance with Title 18 of the Health – General 29
93	93	Article. 30
94	94
95	95	[(c)] (D) A custodian shall allow the person in interest to inspect the public 31
96	96	record to the extent allowed under § 4–304(a) of the Health – General Article. 32 HOUSE BILL 290 3
97	97
98	98
99	99
100	100	Article – Health – General 1
101	101
102	102	5–301. 2
103	103
104	104	(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 3
105	105
106	106	(B) “AUTOPSY REPORT ” MEANS A DOCUMENT DET AILING THE MEDICAL 4
107	107	FINDINGS, INTERPRETATIONS , AND CONCLUSIONS OF A POSTMORTEM 5
108	108	EXAMINATION PERFORME D BY A MEDICAL EXAMI NER OR FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST . 6
109	109
110	110	[(b)] (C) “Committee” means the Postmortem Examiners Advisory Committee. 7
111	111
112	112	(D) “FINAL AUTOPSY DIAGNOS IS” MEANS THE INTERPRETA TIONS AND 8
113	113	CONCLUSIONS OF A MED ICAL EXAMINER OR FOR ENSIC PATHOLOGIST TH AT ARE 9
114	114	PART OF AN AUTOPSY R EPORT. 10
115	115
116	116	[(c)] (E) “Medical examiner’s case” means a death that a medical examiner is 11
117	117	required by law to investigate. 12
118	118
119	119	[(d)] (F) “Office” means the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. 13
120	120
121	121	5–310. 14
122	122
123	123	(a) (1) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall keep complete records 15
124	124	on each medical examiner’s case. 16
125	125
126	126	(2) The records shall be indexed properly and include: 17
127	127
128	128	(i) The name, if known, of the deceased; 18
129	129
130	130	(ii) The place where the body was found; 19
131	131
132	132	(iii) The date, cause, and manner of death; and 20
133	133
134	134	(iv) All other available information about the death. 21
135	135
136	136	(3) (I) THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER SHALL 22
137	137	MAINTAIN A CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER INVESTIGATIV E DATABASE THAT INCL UDES 23
138	138	RECORDS ON EACH MEDI CAL EXAMINER ’S OR FORENSIC PATHOL OGIST’S CASE. 24
139	139
140	140	(II) EXCEPT FOR A FINAL AU TOPSY DIAGNOSIS , ELECTRONIC 25
141	141	DATA OR A RECORD STO RED IN THE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER INVESTIGATIV E 26
142	142	DATABASE, OR A COMPARABLE DATA BASE MANAGED BY THE OFFICE FOR USE IN ANY 27
143	143	MEDICAL EXAMINER ’S CASE, IS NOT CONSIDERED A PUBLIC RECORD AND SH ALL BE 28 4 HOUSE BILL 290
144	144
145	145
146	146	EXEMPT FROM INSPECTI ON UNDER THE MARYLAND PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT. 1
147	147
148	148	(b) The original report of the medical examiner who investigates a medical 2
149	149	examiner’s case and the findings and conclusions of any autopsy shall be attached to the 3
150	150	record of the medical examiner’s case. 4
151	151
152	152	(c) The Chief Medical Examiner or, if the Chief Medical Examiner is absent or 5
153	153	cannot act, the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner or an assistant medical examiner, and each 6
154	154	deputy medical examiner promptly shall deliver to the State’s Attorney for the county 7
155	155	where the body was found a copy of each record that relates to a death for which the medical 8
156	156	examiner considers further investigation advisable. A State’s Attorney may obtain from the 9
157	157	office of a medical examiner a copy of any record or other information that the State’s 10
158	158	Attorney considers necessary. 11
159	159
160	160	(d) (1) In this subsection, “record”: 12
161	161
162	162	(i) Means the result of an external examination of or an autopsy on 13
163	163	a body; and 14
164	164
165	165	(ii) Does not include a statement of a witness or other individual. 15
166	166
167	167	(2) A record of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner or any deputy 16
168	168	medical examiner, if made by the medical examiner or by anyone under the medical 17
169	169	examiner’s direct supervision or control, or a certified transcript of that record, is competent 18
170	170	evidence in any court in this State of the matters and facts contained in it. 19
171	171
172	172	(e) (1) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall charge a reasonable fee 20
173	173	for reports as specified in a schedule of fees defined in the regulations of the Office of the 21
174	174	Chief Medical Examiner. 22
175	175
176	176	(2) A deputy medical examiner may keep any fee collected by the deputy 23
177	177	medical examiner. 24
178	178
179	179	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 25
180	180	October 1, 2025. 26
181	181