Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB115 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	sb0115
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 115
8	8	J1, P1 5lr0259
9	9	(PRE–FILED) CF HB 290
10	10	By: Chair, Finance Committee (By Request – Departmental – Health)
11	11	Requested: October 9, 2024
12	12	Introduced and read first time: January 8, 2025
13	13	Assigned to: Finance
14	14
15	15	A BILL ENTITLED
16	16
17	17	AN ACT concerning 1
18	18
19	19	Office of the Chief Medical Examiner – Disclosure of Autopsy Information and 2
20	20	Maintenance of Investigative Database 3
21	21
22	22	FOR the purpose of altering the autopsy information in a public record with respect to 4
23	23	which a custodian is required to deny inspection; requiring the Office of the Chief 5
24	24	Medical Examiner to maintain an investigative database; providing that certain data 6
25	25	and records maintained in the database are not public records and not subject to the 7
26	26	Maryland Public Information Act; and generally relating to the Office of the Chief 8
27	27	Medical Examiner. 9
28	28
29	29	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 10
30	30	Article – General Provisions 11
31	31	Section 4–329 12
32	32	Annotated Code of Maryland 13
33	33	(2019 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 14
34	34
35	35	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 15
36	36	Article – Health – General 16
37	37	Section 5–301 and 5–310 17
38	38	Annotated Code of Maryland 18
39	39	(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
40	40
41	41	Preamble 20
42	42
43	43	WHEREAS, The safeguarding of personal information pertaining to decedents is a 21
44	44	matter of pressing concern, as these details are presently susceptible to exposure under the 22
45	45	current parameters of the Maryland Public Information Act; and 23
46	46
47	47	WHEREAS, The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s duty to protect sensitive 24
48	48	personal information highlighted an essential requirement to curb the undue and extensive 25 2 SENATE BILL 115
49	49
50	50
51	51	release of sensitive personal information from postmortem examinations; and 1
52	52
53	53	WHEREAS, There is uncertainty concerning the definition of an autopsy report and 2
54	54	the determination of which Office of the Chief Medical Examiner records should be 3
55	55	accessible by the public; and 4
56	56
57	57	WHEREAS, It is unclear whether records stored in the Chief Medical Examiner 5
58	58	electronic database qualify as public records subject to the Maryland Public Information 6
59	59	Act; now, therefore, 7
60	60
61	61	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 8
62	62	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 9
63	63
64	64	Article – General Provisions 10
65	65
66	66	4–329. 11
67	67
68	68	(A) IN THIS SECTION , “FINAL AUTOPSY DIAGNO SIS” MEANS THE 12
69	69	INTERPRETATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS OF A MEDICAL EXAMINER OR FORENSIC 13
70	70	PATHOLOGIST THAT ARE PART OF AN AUTOPSY REPORT . 14
71	71
72	72	[(a)] (B) Except for subsection [(b)(3)] (C)(3) of this section, this section does not 15
73	73	apply to: 16
74	74
75	75	(1) a nursing home as defined in § 19–1401 of the Health – General Article; 17
76	76	or 18
77	77
78	78	(2) an assisted living program as defined in § 19–1801 of the Health – 19
79	79	General Article. 20
80	80
81	81	[(b)] (C) Subject to subsection [(c)] (D) of this section, a custodian shall deny 21
82	82	inspection of the part of a public record that contains: 22
83	83
84	84	(1) medical or psychological information about an individual, other than 23
85	85	[an autopsy report of a medical examiner] A FINAL AUTOPSY DIAG NOSIS; 24
86	86
87	87	(2) personal information about an individual with, or perceived to have, a 25
88	88	disability as defined in § 20–701 of the State Government Article; or 26
89	89
90	90	(3) any report on human immunodeficiency virus or acquired 27
91	91	immunodeficiency syndrome submitted in accordance with Title 18 of the Health – General 28
92	92	Article. 29
93	93
94	94	[(c)] (D) A custodian shall allow the person in interest to inspect the public 30
95	95	record to the extent allowed under § 4–304(a) of the Health – General Article. 31
96	96	SENATE BILL 115 3
97	97
98	98
99	99	Article – Health – General 1
100	100
101	101	5–301. 2
102	102
103	103	(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 3
104	104
105	105	(B) “AUTOPSY REPORT ” MEANS A DOCUMENT DET AILING THE MEDICAL 4
106	106	FINDINGS, INTERPRETATIONS , AND CONCLUSIONS OF A POSTMORTEM 5
107	107	EXAMINATION PERFORME D BY A MEDICAL EXAMI NER OR FORENSIC PATHOLOG IST. 6
108	108
109	109	[(b)] (C) “Committee” means the Postmortem Examiners Advisory Committee. 7
110	110
111	111	(D) “FINAL AUTOPSY DIAGNOS IS” MEANS THE INTERPRETA TIONS AND 8
112	112	CONCLUSIONS OF A MEDICAL EXAMINER OR FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST THAT ARE 9
113	113	PART OF AN AUTOPSY REPORT . 10
114	114
115	115	[(c)] (E) “Medical examiner’s case” means a death that a medical examiner is 11
116	116	required by law to investigate. 12
117	117
118	118	[(d)] (F) “Office” means the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. 13
119	119
120	120	5–310. 14
121	121
122	122	(a) (1) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall keep complete records 15
123	123	on each medical examiner’s case. 16
124	124
125	125	(2) The records shall be indexed properly and include: 17
126	126
127	127	(i) The name, if known, of the deceased; 18
128	128
129	129	(ii) The place where the body was found; 19
130	130
131	131	(iii) The date, cause, and manner of death; and 20
132	132
133	133	(iv) All other available information about the death. 21
134	134
135	135	(3) (I) THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER SHALL 22
136	136	MAINTAIN A CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER INVESTIGATIV E DATABASE THAT INCL UDES 23
137	137	RECORDS ON EACH MEDI CAL EXAMINER ’S OR FORENSIC PATHOLOG IST’S CASE. 24
138	138
139	139	(II) EXCEPT FOR A FINAL AU TOPSY DIAGNOSIS, ELECTRONIC 25
140	140	DATA OR A RECORD STORED IN THE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER INVESTIGATIV E 26
141	141	DATABASE, OR A COMPARABLE DATA BASE MANAGED BY THE OFFICE FOR USE IN ANY 27
142	142	MEDICAL EXAMINER ’S CASE, IS NOT CONSIDERED A PUBLIC RECORD AND SHALL BE 28
143	143	EXEMPT FROM INSPECTI ON UNDER THE MARYLAND PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT. 29 4 SENATE BILL 115
144	144
145	145
146	146
147	147	(b) The original report of the medical examiner who investigates a medical 1
148	148	examiner’s case and the findings and conclusions of any autopsy shall be attached to the 2
149	149	record of the medical examiner’s case. 3
150	150
151	151	(c) The Chief Medical Examiner or, if the Chief Medical Examiner is absent or 4
152	152	cannot act, the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner or an assistant medical examiner, and each 5
153	153	deputy medical examiner promptly shall deliver to the State’s Attorney for the county 6
154	154	where the body was found a copy of each record that relates to a death for which the medical 7
155	155	examiner considers further investigation advisable. A State’s Attorney may obtain from the 8
156	156	office of a medical examiner a copy of any record or other information that the State’s 9
157	157	Attorney considers necessary. 10
158	158
159	159	(d) (1) In this subsection, “record”: 11
160	160
161	161	(i) Means the result of an external examination of or an autopsy on 12
162	162	a body; and 13
163	163
164	164	(ii) Does not include a statement of a witness or other individual. 14
165	165
166	166	(2) A record of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner or any deputy 15
167	167	medical examiner, if made by the medical examiner or by anyone under the medical 16
168	168	examiner’s direct supervision or control, or a certified transcript of that record, is competent 17
169	169	evidence in any court in this State of the matters and facts contained in it. 18
170	170
171	171	(e) (1) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall charge a reasonable fee 19
172	172	for reports as specified in a schedule of fees defined in the regulations of the Office of the 20
173	173	Chief Medical Examiner. 21
174	174
175	175	(2) A deputy medical examiner may keep any fee collected by the deputy 22
176	176	medical examiner. 23
177	177
178	178	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 24
179	179	October 1, 2025. 25