Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB354 Compare Versions

OldNewDifferences
11
22
3-SB354 HFLR Page 1
4-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
3+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 1 1
54 2
65 3
76 4
87 5
98 6
109 7
1110 8
1211 9
1312 10
1413 11
1514 12
1615 13
1716 14
1817 15
1918 16
2019 17
2120 18
2221 19
2322 20
2423 21
2524 22
2625 23
2726 24
28-
29-HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
30-
31-STATE OF OKLAHOMA
32-
33-1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
3427
3528 ENGROSSED SENATE
3629 BILL NO. 354 By: Bergstrom of the Senate
3730
3831 and
3932
4033 Davis of the House
4134
4235
4336
4437
4538 An Act relating to out-of-state transport of dead
4639 bodies; providing for deaths in certain counties with
4740 shared state jurisdiction al boundaries; authorizing
4841 release of body to funeral director in adjoining out -
4942 of-state county under certain conditions; stating
5043 eligible types of deaths; defining term; requiring a
5144 release statement; direct ing certificate of death be
5245 filed within certain time; establishing requirements
5346 for out-of-state funeral director to participate in
5447 removing eligible bod ies from this state; directing
5548 out-of-state licenses be filed each year; restricting
5649 transport to certain vehicle; prohibiting other
5750 methods of transport; subjecting out-of-state funeral
5851 director to state jurisdiction; requiring return of
5952 body for investigation ; directing jurisdictional hold
6053 on certain bodies; stating jurisdictional hold
6154 period; making jurisdictional hold automatically
6255 expire; providing exception to automatic expiration
6356 time; authorizing the Board of Medicolegal
6457 Investigations and Chief Medical Examiner to
6558 promulgate rules, proced ures and forms; providing
6659 alternative to promulgated form; construing
6760 provisions; amending 63 O.S. 2011, Section 1-317, as
6861 last amended by Section 2, Chapter 305, O.S.L. 2019
6962 (63 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 1 -317), which relates to
7063 filing death certificate s; requiring certain out-of-
7164 state funeral directors to file death cert ificates;
7265 modifying language; amending 63 O.S. 2011, Section 1-
7366 329.1, as amended by Section 2, Chapter 385, O.S.L.
7467 2017 (63 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 1 -329.1), which
7568 relates to cremation permits; excepting certain
69+eligible deaths from cremation fee and perm it;
70+amending 63 O.S. 2011, Section 938, as ame nded by
71+Section 6, Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2014 (63 O.S. Supp.
72+2020, Section 938), which relates to types of deaths
73+to be investigated; providing certain exception for
74+required investigation; amending 63 O.S. 2011,
7675
77-SB354 HFLR Page 2
78-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
76+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 2 1
7977 2
8078 3
8179 4
8280 5
8381 6
8482 7
8583 8
8684 9
8785 10
8886 11
8987 12
9088 13
9189 14
9290 15
9391 16
9492 17
9593 18
9694 19
9795 20
9896 21
9997 22
10098 23
10199 24
102100
103-eligible deaths from cremation fee and permit;
104-amending 63 O.S. 201 1, Section 938, as amended by
105-Section 6, Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2014 (63 O.S. Supp.
106-2020, Section 938), which relates to types of deaths
107-to be investigated; providing certain exception for
108-required investigation; amending 63 O.S. 2011,
109101 Section 947, as amended by Section 16, Cha pter 293,
110102 O.S.L. 2014 (63 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 947), which
111103 relates to certificate of death; exempting medical
112104 examiner certificate of death for certain deaths;
113105 amending 63 O.S. 2011, Section 94 8.1, as last amended
114106 by Section 9, Chapter 85, O.S.L. 2015 (63 O.S. Supp.
115107 2020, Section 948.1), which relates to fee schedule ;
116108 exempting certain deaths from certain fees an d
117109 permits; providing for codification; providing an
118110 effective date; and declaring an emergency.
119111
120112
121113
122114
123115 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPL E OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
124116 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
125117 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 955.1 of Title 63, unless there
126118 is created a duplication in nu mbering, reads as follows:
127119 A. When a death occurs in a county of this st ate that adjoins a
128120 county of another state by a shared state jurisdictional boundary,
129121 and the person legally entitled to take custody of the deceased
130122 person’s body in this state desires to utilize the funeral services
131123 of an out-of-state funeral establishment located in the adjoining
132124 out-of-state county, the dead body may be released to such person
133125 without a medical examiner’s investigation or this state’s
134126 requirement for an out-of-state transport permit or cremation permit
135127 provided the out-of-state funeral director is in compliance with the
128+provisions of this section and the death is one of the following
129+types:
130+1. A natural death that occurs from natural causes such as age
131+or disease. For purposes of this section, a “natural death”
136132
137-SB354 HFLR Page 3
138-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
133+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 3 1
139134 2
140135 3
141136 4
142137 5
143138 6
144139 7
145140 8
146141 9
147142 10
148143 11
149144 12
150145 13
151146 14
152147 15
153148 16
154149 17
155150 18
156151 19
157152 20
158153 21
159154 22
160155 23
161156 24
162157
163-provisions of this section and the death is one of the following
164-types:
165-1. A natural death that occurs from natural causes such as age
166-or disease. For purposes of this section, a “natural death”
167158 specifically excludes any death caused by or suspected to be caused
168159 by accident, injury, violence, homicide, suicide, medical procedure
169160 or equipment, unnatural or unusual circumstances, a disease that may
170161 be a threat to public safety or a suspicious or undetermined cause;
171162 2. An attended death caused by a diagnosed illness, disease or
172163 condition that occurs under medical supervision in an Oklahoma
173164 licensed medical facility or hospital excluding a medically
174165 unexpected death or a death that occurs during the course of a
175166 therapeutic procedure;
176167 3. A stillbirth that occurs under medical supervision in an
177168 Oklahoma licensed medical facility or hospital that was known in
178169 advance or medically anticipated prior to delivery;
179170 4. An attended death caused by a diagnosed fatal or potentially
180171 fatal illness, disease or condition that occurs under medical
181172 supervision in an Oklahoma licensed hospice care facility;
182173 5. An attended death caused by a diagnosed fatal or potentially
183174 fatal illness, disease or condition that occurs under licensed
184175 hospice supervision at home; or
185176 6. An attended death caused by a diagnosed fatal or potentially
186177 fatal illness, disease or condition or a natural death that occurs
178+under medical supervision in an Oklahoma licensed nursing home or
179+medical-assisted care facility.
180+B. The types of deaths eligible for removal from the
181+jurisdiction of the county of death in t his state to the adjoining
187182
188-SB354 HFLR Page 4
189-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
183+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 4 1
190184 2
191185 3
192186 4
193187 5
194188 6
195189 7
196190 8
197191 9
198192 10
199193 11
200194 12
201195 13
202196 14
203197 15
204198 16
205199 17
206200 18
207201 19
208202 20
209203 21
210204 22
211205 23
212206 24
213207
214-under medical supervision in an Oklahoma licensed nursing home or
215-medical-assisted care facility.
216-B. The types of deaths eligible for removal from the
217-jurisdiction of the county of death in this state to the adjoining
218208 out-of-state county for funeral services as authorized by subsection
219209 A of this section shall require a signed release by the person
220210 legally entitled to take custody of the deceased person’s body that
221211 contains a clear statement that the body will be removed to the
222212 named funeral establish ment in the adjoining out -of-state county for
223213 professional funeral services. The out-of-state funeral director is
224214 required to file the release statement with the Office of Chief
225215 Medical Examiner within twenty-four (24) hours of taking custody of
226216 the body. The filing may be completed by electronic or digit al
227217 means as authorized by the Chief Medical Examiner.
228218 C. The person legally entitled to take custody of the deceased
229219 person’s body or the attending med ical professional or physician
230220 shall personally sign and file the death certificate within seventy-
231221 two (72) hours after the death as provided in Section 1-317 of Title
232222 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
233223 D. Prior to removing a dead body from this state pursuant to
234224 the authority of this section, the out-of-state funeral director
235225 shall have on file with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in
236226 this state and the county sheriff of the county of this state that
237227 adjoins the out-of-state county where the funeral establishment is
228+located a certified copy of the valid license for the out-of-state
229+funeral establishment and his or her funeral director license at the
230+same address. The physical location of the funeral establishment
231+shall be in the adjoining out-of-state county to the county in this
238232
239-SB354 HFLR Page 5
240-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
233+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 5 1
241234 2
242235 3
243236 4
244237 5
245238 6
246239 7
247240 8
248241 9
249242 10
250243 11
251244 12
252245 13
253246 14
254247 15
255248 16
256249 17
257250 18
258251 19
259252 20
260253 21
261254 22
262255 23
263256 24
264257
265-located a certified copy of the valid license for the out -of-state
266-funeral establishment and his or her funeral director license at the
267-same address. The physical location of the funeral establishment
268-shall be in the adjoining out -of-state county to the county in this
269258 state where the death occurred and shall be the same place where the
270259 dead body will be taken for funeral services . The out-of-state
271260 licenses may be filed once each year and shall be valid for purposes
272261 of this section during the license term or calendar year, whichever
273262 occurs first.
274263 E. Removal and transport of an eligible and authorized dead
275264 body from the county of death in this state to the adjoining out-of-
276265 state county for funeral services pursuant to the provisions of this
277266 section shall be made by the out-of-state funeral director in the
278267 funeral establishment’s private funeral vehicle. The dead body
279268 shall not be shipped, transported by any commercial carrier or
280269 transported by any other type of vehicle or method.
281270 F. By filing an out-of-state funeral establishment license and
282271 an out-of-state funeral director license in thi s state as authorized
283272 by this section, the funeral establishment and funeral director each
284273 submit to the jurisdiction of this state for purposes of making and
285274 filing reports, certificates and documents required for processing a
286275 death in this state and furt her each voluntarily agrees to be
287276 responsible for the costs of return of the dead body removed from
288277 this state upon request of an Oklahoma law enforcement officer ,
278+district attorney or Chief Medical Examiner as required for
279+investigation of the death. A State of Oklahoma jurisdictional hold
280+shall be placed on a dead body removed under the provisions of this
281+section for seventy-two (72) hours during which time no burial or
289282
290-SB354 HFLR Page 6
291-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
283+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 6 1
292284 2
293285 3
294286 4
295287 5
296288 6
297289 7
298290 8
299291 9
300292 10
301293 11
302294 12
303295 13
304296 14
305297 15
306298 16
307299 17
308300 18
309301 19
310302 20
311303 21
312304 22
313305 23
314306 24
315307
316-district attorney or Chief Medical Examiner as required for
317-investigation of the death. A State of Oklahoma jurisdictional hold
318-shall be placed on a dead body removed under the provisions of this
319-section for seventy-two (72) hours during which time no burial or
320308 cremation is authorized by the out-of-state funeral director . The
321309 jurisdictional hold shall automatically expire after seventy-two
322310 (72) hours from the time the dead body is removed from this state
323311 unless the body is required to be returned to this state for
324312 investigation.
325313 G. For purposes of this section, the attending medical
326314 professional or physician shall complete the medical certification
327315 of death within forty-eight (48) hours after death as required by
328316 law pursuant to Section 1-317 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
329317 H. The Board of Medicolegal Investigations together with the
330318 Chief Medical Examiner may promulgate rules, procedures and forms to
331319 implement and enforce the provisions of this section. In the
332320 alternative to a promulgated form, the Chief Medical E xaminer may
333321 accept a written release statement prepared and filed by the out-of-
334322 state funeral director for an eligible and authorized dea th.
335323 I. Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict or
336324 expand the transport, cremation or any permit issuance for a dead
337325 body into or out of this state as authorized by another provision of
338326 law in this state or the laws of another state’s jurisdiction.
327+SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2011, Section 1-317, as
328+last amended by Section 2, Chapter 305, O.S.L. 2019 (63 O.S. Supp.
329+2020, Section 1-317), is amended to read as fo llows:
339330
340-SB354 HFLR Page 7
341-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
331+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 7 1
342332 2
343333 3
344334 4
345335 5
346336 6
347337 7
348338 8
349339 9
350340 10
351341 11
352342 12
353343 13
354344 14
355345 15
356346 16
357347 17
358348 18
359349 19
360350 20
361351 21
362352 22
363353 23
364354 24
365355
366-SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2011, Section 1 -317, as
367-last amended by Section 2, Chapter 305, O.S.L. 2019 (63 O.S. Supp.
368-2020, Section 1-317), is amended to read as follows:
369356 Section 1-317. A. A death certificate for each d eath which
370357 occurs in this state shall be filed with the State Department of
371358 Health, within three (3) days after such death.
372359 B. The funeral director shall personally sign the death
373360 certificate and shall be responsible for filing the death
374361 certificate. If the funeral director is not available, the person
375362 acting as such who first assumes custody of a dead body in
376363 accordance with Section 1158 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Stat utes
377364 shall personally sign an d file the death certificate. For purposes
378365 of Section 1 of this act, the out-of-state funeral director shall
379366 personally sign and shall be responsi ble for filing the death
380367 certificate in this state. The personal data shall be obtained from
381368 the next of kin or the best qualified best-qualified person or
382369 source available. The certificate shall be completed as to personal
383370 data and delivered to the attending ph ysician or the medical
384371 examiner responsible for completing the medical certification
385372 portion of the certificate of d eath within twenty-four (24) hours
386373 after the death. No later than July 1, 2012, the The personal data,
387374 and no later than July 1, 2017, the medical certificate portion ,
388375 shall be entered into the prescribed electronic system provided by
389376 the State Registrar of Vital Statistics and the information
377+submitted to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. The resultant
378+certificate produced by the electro nic system shall be provided to
390379
391-SB354 HFLR Page 8
392-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
380+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 8 1
393381 2
394382 3
395383 4
396384 5
397385 6
398386 7
399387 8
400388 9
401389 10
402390 11
403391 12
404392 13
405393 14
406394 15
407395 16
408396 17
409397 18
410398 19
411399 20
412400 21
413401 22
414402 23
415403 24
416404
417-submitted to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. The resultant
418-certificate produced by the electronic system shall be provided to
419405 the physician or medical examiner for medical certification within
420406 twenty-four (24) hours after the death.
421407 C. The medical certification shall be completed and signed
422408 within forty-eight (48) hours after death by the physicia n in charge
423409 of the patient’s care for the illness or condition which resulted in
424410 death, except when inquiry as t o the cause of death is required by
425411 Section 938 of this title. No later than July 1, 2017, the The
426412 medical certification portion of certificate dat a shall be entered
427413 into the prescribed electronic system provided by the State
428414 Registrar of Vital Statistics and the information submitted to the
429415 State Registrar of Vital Statistics.
430416 D. In the event that the physician in charge of the patient ’s
431417 care for the illness or condition which res ulted in death is not in
432418 attendance at the time of death, the medical certi fication shall be
433419 completed and signed wit hin forty-eight (48) hours after death by
434420 the physician in attendance at the time of death, except:
435421 1. When the patient is under hospice c are at the time of death,
436422 the medical certification may be signed by the ho spice’s medical
437423 director; and
438424 2. When inquiry as to the cause of death is required by Section
439425 938 of this title.
426+Provided, that such certification, if signed by other than the
427+attending physician, shall note on the face the name of the
440428
441-SB354 HFLR Page 9
442-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
429+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 9 1
443430 2
444431 3
445432 4
446433 5
447434 6
448435 7
449436 8
450437 9
451438 10
452439 11
453440 12
454441 13
455442 14
456443 15
457444 16
458445 17
459446 18
460447 19
461448 20
462449 21
463450 22
464451 23
465452 24
466453
467-Provided, that such certification, if signed by other than the
468-attending physician, shall note on the face t he name of the
469454 attending physician and that the information shown is only as
470455 reported.
471456 E. A certifier completing cause of death on a certificate of
472457 death who knows that a lethal dru g, overdose or other means of
473458 assisting suicide within the meaning of Sections 3141.2 through
474459 3141.4 of this title caused or contributed to the death shall list
475460 that means among the chain of events under cause of death or list it
476461 in the box that describes how the injury occurred. If such means is
477462 in the chain of events under or in the box that describes how the
478463 injury occurred, the certifier shall indi cate “suicide” as the
479464 manner of death.
480465 SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2011, Section 1-329.1, as
481466 amended by Section 2, Chapter 385, O.S.L. 2017 (63 O.S. Supp. 2020,
482467 Section 1-329.1), is amended to read as follows:
483468 Section 1-329.1. Until a permit for disposal has been issued in
484469 accordance with this section, no dead human body whose death
485470 occurred within the State of Oklahoma this state shall be cremated,
486471 buried at sea, or made unavailable for further path ologic study by
487472 other recognized means of destruction or dissolution of such
488473 remains, except as otherwise authorized herein.
489474 When the person legally responsible for disposition of a dead
490475 human body, whose death occurred or was pronounced within this
476+state, desires that the body be cremated, buried at sea, or made
477+unavailable for further pathologic study by other recognized means
491478
492-SB354 HFLR Page 10
493-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
479+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 10 1
494480 2
495481 3
496482 4
497483 5
498484 6
499485 7
500486 8
501487 9
502488 10
503489 11
504490 12
505491 13
506492 14
507493 15
508494 16
509495 17
510496 18
511497 19
512498 20
513499 21
514500 22
515501 23
516502 24
517503
518-state, desires that the body be cremated, buried at sea , or made
519-unavailable for further pathologic study by other recognized means
520504 of destruction or dissolution of such remains, that per son shall
521505 complete an application -permit form for such procedur e provided by
522506 the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. For purposes of Section 1
523507 of this act, no application-permit shall be required to transport an
524508 eligible body from the county of death in this state to the
525509 adjoining out-of-state county for cremation or burial provided the
526510 body is held by the out-of-state funeral director for the required
527511 seventy-two (72) hours prior to cremation o r burial. The Office of
528512 the Chief Medical Examiner, in acco rdance with Section 948.1 of this
529513 title, shall charge a fee for each cremat ion permit issued. The
530514 Medical Examiner shall be notified, as required in Section 938 of
531515 this title. He or she shall perform the required investigation and
532516 shall issue a valid dea th certificate as required by Section 947 of
533517 this title and execute the per mit in accordance with rules
534518 established by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In order
535519 to be valid, each permit must contain an individual number assigned
536520 to the particular permit by the Office of the Chief Medical
537521 Examiner. A copy of the applica tion-permit form and the original
538522 death certificate shall be filed with the State Registrar. The
539523 original application -permit form shall be filed by the funeral
540524 director with the Of fice of the Chief Medical Examiner. Such filing
525+shall occur or be postmark ed within forty-eight (48) hours of the
526+death.
541527
542-SB354 HFLR Page 11
543-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
528+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 11 1
544529 2
545530 3
546531 4
547532 5
548533 6
549534 7
550535 8
551536 9
552537 10
553538 11
554539 12
555540 13
556541 14
557542 15
558543 16
559544 17
560545 18
561546 19
562547 20
563548 21
564549 22
565550 23
566551 24
567552
568-shall occur or be postmarked within forty -eight (48) hours of the
569-death.
570553 If death occurred or was pronounced outside the geographic
571554 limits of the State of Oklahoma this state and the body is brought
572555 into this state for such disposal, a transit permit or a permit for
573556 removal, issued in accorda nce with the laws and regulations in force
574557 where the death occurred shall authorize the transportation of the
575558 body into or through this state and shall be accepted in lieu of a
576559 certificate of death as required above. A valid permit issued for
577560 disposal of such body in accordance with the laws in the
578561 jurisdiction where the body died or death was pronounced shall be
579562 authority for cremation or burial at sea or to make the body
580563 otherwise unavailable for further pathologic study by other
581564 recognized means of dest ruction or dissolution of such remains.
582565 SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
583566 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 941a-1 of Title 63, unless there
584567 is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follo ws:
585568 For an eligible death type enumerated in subsection A of Section
586569 1 of this act and solely for the purpose authorized in Section 1 of
587570 this act, the body of the deceased person may be released to the
588571 person legally entitled to take custody thereof upon a signed
589572 written release and stateme nt naming the place where the body will
590573 be transported for funeral services in the adjoining out-of-state
591574 county, unless an attending medical professional, witness, law
575+enforcement officer or emergency first responder has notified the
576+Chief Medical Examiner, or his or her designee, of the need for
592577
593-SB354 HFLR Page 12
594-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
578+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 12 1
595579 2
596580 3
597581 4
598582 5
599583 6
600584 7
601585 8
602586 9
603587 10
604588 11
605589 12
606590 13
607591 14
608592 15
609593 16
610594 17
611595 18
612596 19
613597 20
614598 21
615599 22
616600 23
617601 24
618602
619-enforcement officer or emergency first responder has notified the
620-Chief Medical Examiner, or his or her designee, of the need for
621603 further investigation into the cause of death, or has notified the
622604 appropriate district attorney of such need. In the event
623605 investigation into the cause of death is required, the body shall be
624606 held by the medical examiner until such investigation is completed.
625607 SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2011, Section 938, as
626608 amended by Section 6, Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2014 (63 O.S. Supp. 2020,
627609 Section 938), is amended to read as follows:
628610 Section 938. A. All human deaths of the types listed herein
629611 shall be investigated as provided by law:
630612 1. Violent deaths, whether ap parently homicidal, suicidal , or
631613 accidental;
632614 2. Deaths under suspicious, u nusual or unnatural circumstances;
633615 3. Deaths related to disease which might constitute a threat to
634616 public health;
635617 4. Deaths unattended by a licensed physician for a fatal or
636618 potentially-fatal potentially fatal illness;
637619 5. Deaths that are medically unexpected and that occ ur in the
638620 course of a therapeutic procedure;
639621 6. Deaths of any persons detained or occurring in custody of
640622 penal incarceration; and
641623 7. Deaths of persons whose bodies are to be crem ated,
642624 transported out of the state, donated to educational entities, to
625+include limited portions of the body, or otherwise made ultimately
626+unavailable for pathological study ; and
643627
644-SB354 HFLR Page 13
645-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
628+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 13 1
646629 2
647630 3
648631 4
649632 5
650633 6
651634 7
652635 8
653636 9
654637 10
655638 11
656639 12
657640 13
658641 14
659642 15
660643 16
661644 17
662645 18
663646 19
664647 20
665648 21
666649 22
667650 23
668651 24
669652
670-include limited portions of the body, or otherwise made ultimately
671-unavailable for pathological study ; and
672653 8. Except as provided in Section 1 of this act, d eaths
673654 transported out of st ate.
674655 B. The Chief Medical Examiner shall state on the certificate of
675656 death of all persons whose death was caused by execu tion pursuant to
676657 a lawful court order that the cause of death was the execution of
677658 such order.
678659 SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2011, Section 947, as
679660 amended by Section 16, Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2014 (63 O.S. Supp. 2020,
680661 Section 947), is amended to read as follows:
681662 Section 947. A. The certification of death of any person whose
682663 death is investigated under Section 931 et seq. of this title shall
683664 be made by the Chief Medical Examiner or his or her designee upon a
684665 medical examiner death cer tificate provided by the State Registrar
685666 of Vital Statistics. Such death certificates shall be valid only
686667 when signed by the Chief Medical Examiner or his or her designee.
687668 Copies of all such certificates sha ll be forwarded immediately upon
688669 receipt by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics to the Office of
689670 the Chief Medical Examiner.
690671 B. Any certification of death by an attending physi cian may be
691672 referred by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics to the Chie f
692673 Medical Examiner for investigation and the am ending of the original
693674 certificate of death by the filing o f a medical examiner death
675+certificate by the Chief Medical Examiner or his or her designee
694676
695-SB354 HFLR Page 14
696-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
677+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 14 1
697678 2
698679 3
699680 4
700681 5
701682 6
702683 7
703684 8
704685 9
705686 10
706687 11
707688 12
708689 13
709690 14
710691 15
711692 16
712693 17
713694 18
714695 19
715696 20
716697 21
717698 22
718699 23
719700 24
720701
721-certificate by the Chief Medical Examiner or his or her designee
722702 when the death is determined by the Chief Medical Examiner to be one
723703 properly requiring investigation und er Section 938 of this title.
724704 C. Medical examiner death ce rtificates will not be required in
725705 cases investigated solely for the purpos e of issuing a permit for
726706 transport of a body out of state.
727707 D. Medical examiner death certificates will not be required f or
728708 transport of a body from the county of death in this state to the
729709 adjoining out-of-state county as authorized by Section 1 of this
730710 act.
731711 SECTION 7. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2011, Section 948.1, as
732712 last amended by Section 9, Chapter 85, O.S.L. 2015 (63 O.S. Supp.
733713 2020, Section 948.1), is amended to read as follows:
734714 Section 948.1. A. The Board of Medicolegal Investiga tions may
735715 establish a fee schedule for forensic services, permits and reports
736716 rendered to members of the public and other agencies.
737717 1. No fee schedule may be established or amen ded by the Board
738718 except during a regular legislative session. The Board shall comply
739719 with the Administrative Procedures Act for adoption of rules and
740720 establishing or amending any such fee schedule.
741721 2. Except as otherwise specified in this section, the Bo ard
742722 shall charge fees only within the following ranges:
723+a. permit for cremations that occur within the state:
724+One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) to Two Hundr ed Dollars
725+($200.00),
743726
744-SB354 HFLR Page 15
745-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
727+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 15 1
746728 2
747729 3
748730 4
749731 5
750732 6
751733 7
752734 8
753735 9
754736 10
755737 11
756738 12
757739 13
758740 14
759741 15
760742 16
761743 17
762744 18
763745 19
764746 20
765747 21
766748 22
767749 23
768750 24
769751
770-a. permit for cremations that occur within the state:
771-One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) to Two Hundred Dollars
772-($200.00),
773752 b. forensic science servi ce: One Hundred Dollars
774753 ($100.00) to Three Thousand Dol lars ($3,000.00),
775754 c. report copies: Ten Dollars ($10.00) for report of
776755 investigation, including toxicology, and Twenty
777756 Dollars ($20.00) for an autopsy r eport, including
778757 toxicology,
779758 d. x-rays: Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) each,
780759 e. microscopic slides, Hematoxylin, and Eosin (H&E): Ten
781760 Dollars ($10.00) each,
782761 f. special stains: Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) each, and
783762 g. photographs: Twenty -five Dollars ($25.00) pe r compact
784763 disc (CD) or other suitable digital s torage media.
785764 3. Medical examiner permit certificates s hall be required in
786765 cases investigated solely for the purpose of issuing a per mit for
787766 transporting a body out of state, except as provided in paragraph 6
788767 of this subsection.
789768 4. The Board of Medicoleg al Investigations shall charge a fee
790769 for out-of-state shipment of human remains whenever the Office of
791770 the Chief Medical Examiner has not been required to conduct an
792771 investigation of the death.
772+5. An out-of-state transport permit and cremation permit shal l
773+both be required for bodies containing body parts sent ou t of state
774+or out of country, while remaining body parts remain unused.
793775
794-SB354 HFLR Page 16
795-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
776+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 16 1
796777 2
797778 3
798779 4
799780 5
800781 6
801782 7
802783 8
803784 9
804785 10
805786 11
806787 12
807788 13
808789 14
809790 15
810791 16
811792 17
812793 18
813794 19
814795 20
815796 21
816797 22
817798 23
818799 24
819800
820-5. An out-of-state transport permit and cremation permit shall
821-both be required for bodies containing body parts sent out of state
822-or out of country, while remaining body parts remain unused.
823801 6. No fee shall be charged, and no permit shall be required for
824802 an eligible body transported from the county of death in thi s state
825803 to the adjoining out-of-state county as authorized by Section 1 of
826804 this act.
827805 B. The Board shall base the fee schedule for for ensic science
828806 services, permits and reports upon reasonable costs of review ,
829807 investigation and forensic science service de livery; provided,
830808 however, the fee schedule shall be within the ranges specified in
831809 subsection A of this section. The Board shall con tinue a system of
832810 basic and continuing educational service and training for all
833811 personnel who render forensic science serv ices in order to ensure
834812 uniform statewide application of th e rules of the Board. The Board
835813 shall consider the reasonable costs associ ated with such training
836814 and continuing education in setting the forensic sc ience service
837815 fees.
838816 C. The Board may exempt by rule any agency or class of
839817 individuals from the requireme nts of the fee schedule if the Board
840818 determines that the fees would cause a n unreasonable economic
841819 hardship or would otherwise hinder or conflict with an agency’s
842820 responsibilities.
821+D. All statutory fees currently in effect for permits or
822+forensic science services administered by the Chief Medical Examiner
823+and the Board of Medico legal Investigations within the jurisdiction
824+of the Office of the Chief Med ical Examiner shall remain in effect
843825
844-SB354 HFLR Page 17
845-BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
826+ENGR. S. B. NO. 354 Page 17 1
846827 2
847828 3
848829 4
849830 5
850831 6
851832 7
852833 8
853834 9
854835 10
855836 11
856837 12
857838 13
858839 14
859840 15
860841 16
861842 17
862843 18
863844 19
864845 20
865846 21
866847 22
867848 23
868849 24
869850
870-D. All statutory fees currently in effect for permits or
871-forensic science services administered by the Chief Medical Examiner
872-and the Board of Medicolegal Investigations within the jurisdiction
873-of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall remain in effect
874851 until such time as the Board acts to implement new schedules
875852 pursuant to the provisions of this section and Section 948 of this
876853 title.
877854 SECTION 8. This act shall become effective July 1, 2021.
878855 SECTION 9. It being immediately necessar y for the preservation
879856 of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
880857 declared to exist, by reason whereof thi s act shall take effect and
881858 be in full force from and after its passage and approval .
859+Passed the Senate the 2nd day of March, 2021.
882860
883-COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, dated 04/08/2021 -
884-DO PASS.
861+
862+
863+ Presiding Officer of the Senate
864+
865+
866+Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________,
867+2021.
868+
869+
870+
871+ Presiding Officer of the House
872+ of Representatives
873+