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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2152 By: Roe
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to maternal mortality; amending 63
O.S. 2021, Section 1 -242.4, which relates to
composition and structure of the Maternal Mo rtality
Review Committee; reducing membership; requiring
hospital or licensed birthing center to report
certain maternal deaths to the Office of the Chief
Medical Examiner; amending 63 O.S. 2021, Section 938,
which relates to types of deaths to be investig ated;
broadening types of deaths required to be
investigated; amending 63 O.S. 2021, Section 939,
which relates to production of records, documents,
evidence, or other material; authorizing Office of
the Chief Medical Examiner to share certain material
with the Maternal Mortality Review Committee for
specified purpose; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, S ection 1-242.4, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-242.4 The Maternal Mortality Review Committee shall
be composed of twenty-five (25) twenty-four (24) members, or their
designees, as follows:
1. Eighteen of the members shall be:
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a. the Chief Medical Examiner,
b. the Chair of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,
c. the Chief Medical Officer of the State Department of
Health,
d. the Chief Medical Officer of the Oklahoma Health Care
Authority,
e. the President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American
College of Nurse-Midwives,
f. the Medical Director for the Oklahoma Perinatal
Quality Improvement Collaborative,
g. the Director of the Maternal and Child Health Services
Service of the State Department of Health,
h. the Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services,
i. the Chair of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Association
of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses,
j. the Director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation,
k. the Director of the Injury Prevention Services Service
of the State Department of Health,
l. the Director of the Family Support and Prevention
Service of the State Department of Health,
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m. the Executive Director of the Southern Plains Tribal
Health Board,
n. the President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the National
Association of Social Workers,
o. the Director of the Office of Perinatal Quality
Improvement,
p. the Director of the Oklahoma City/County City-County
Health Department,
q. the Director of the Tulsa Health Departmen t, and
r. the Maternal and Child Health Service Perinatal and
Reproductive Health Division Medical Director
Administrative Program Manager ; and
2. Seven Six of the members shall be appointed by the State
Commissioner of Health to serve for two -year terms and shall be
eligible for reappointment. The members sha ll be persons having
training and experience i n matters related to maternal mortality and
severe maternal morbidity. The members shall be appointed from the
following positions:
a. a physician who is a member of the Oklahoma State
Medical Association,
b. a physician who is a member of the Oklahoma
Osteopathic Association,
c. a current law enforcement officer who is employed by a
local or county law enforcement agency,
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d. a maternal-fetal medicine physician,
e. an individual who has been affected by pregnan cy-
related or pregnancy-associated deaths, sev ere
maternal morbidity, and/or lack of access to maternal
health care services, and
f. an emergency medical technician , and
g. a home-visiting program director.
Every two (2) years the Committee shall elect fro m among its
membership a chair and a vice-chair. The Committee shall meet at
least quarterly and may meet more frequently as necessary as
determined by the chair.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-702f of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A hospital or licensed bir thing center shall make a reasonable
and good-faith effort to report to the Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner, within seventy-two (72) hours after the death occurs, any
maternal death that occurs in the hospital or licensed birthing
center during pregna ncy or within one (1) year of termination of
pregnancy.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 938, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 938. A. All human deaths of the types listed herein
shall be investigated as provide d by law:
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1. Violent deaths, whether apparently homicidal, suicidal, or
accidental;
2. Deaths under suspicious, unu sual or unnatural circumstances;
3. Deaths related to disease which might constitute a threat to
public health;
4. Deaths unattended by a licensed physician for a fatal or
potentially-fatal potentially fatal illness;
5. Deaths that are medically unexpec ted and that occur in the
course of a therapeutic procedure;
6. Deaths of any persons detained or occurring in custody of
penal incarceration; and
7. Deaths of persons whose bodies are to be cremat ed,
transported out of the state, donated to educational entities, to
include limited portions of the body, or otherwise made ultimately
unavailable for pathological study ; and
8. Maternal deaths that occur d uring pregnancy or within one
(1) year of termination of pregnancy reported by a hospital or
licensed birthing center under Section 2 of this act.
B. The Chief Medical Examiner shall state on the certificate of
death of all persons whose death was caused by execution pursuant to
a lawful court order t hat the cause of death was the execution of
such order.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 939, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 939. A. Except as otherwise provided by law, the Chief
Medical Examiner shall produc e records, documents, evidence or other
material of any nature only upon the order of a court of competent
jurisdiction. An interested party or litigant in a civil or
criminal action may make application for an order to produce such
materials. The court, after notice to all parties, including the
Chief Medical Examiner, and a hearing on the application, may, upon
the showing of good cause, direct the release of a copy or any part
of such material. In additio n, the court may also direct the
payment of reasonable costs by the requesting party for the
production of the material. The production of such material shall
take place at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner unless, upon
a showing of good cause, spe cifically ordered otherwise by the
court.
B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, the Chief
Medical Examiner may, to the extent allowed under state law, share
records, documents, evidence , or other material of any nature with
the Maternal Mortalit y Review Committee for the purpose of aiding
the Committee in carrying out its duties under the Materna l
Mortality Review Act.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-5383 TJ 12/15/22