An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2152 By: Roe, Waldron, Pittman and
Hefner of the House
and
Dossett of the Senate
An Act relating to maternal mortality; amending 63
O.S. 2021, Section 1 -242.4, which relates to
composition and structure of the Maternal M ortality
Review Committee; reducing and modifying membership;
requiring hospital or 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 medicolegal investigatio ns;
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; updating sta tutory language;
providing for codification; and providing an
effective date.
SUBJECT: Maternal mortality
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 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) eleven (11) members, or their
designees, as follows:
1. Eighteen Eight of the members shall be: ENR. H. B. NO. 2152 Page 2
a. the Chief Medical Examiner,
b. the Chair of the Oklahoma Chapter of th e American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,
c. the Chief Medical Officer of the State Department of
Health,
d. the Chief Medical Offic er of the Oklahoma Health Care
Authority,
e. b. the President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American
College of Nurse-Midwives,
f. c. the Medical Director for the Oklahoma Perinatal
Quality Improvement Collaborative,
g. d. the Director of the Maternal and Child Health
Services Service of the State Department of Health,
h. the Commissioner of Mental Health and Subs tance Abuse
Services,
i. e. 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 Injury Prevention Services of the
State Department of Health,
l. the Director of the Family Support and Prevention
Service of the State Department of Health,
m. f. 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. g. the Director of the Office of Oklahoma Perinatal
Quality Improvement Collaborative,
ENR. H. B. NO. 2152 Page 3
p. the Director of the Oklahoma City/County Health
Department,
q. the Director of the Tulsa Health Department , and
r. h. the administrative progra m manager of the Maternal
and Child Health Service Perinatal and Reproductive
Health Division Medical Director; and
2. Seven Three 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 shall be persons having
training and experience in 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 or the Oklahoma Osteopathic
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,
d. a maternal-fetal medicine physician, and
e. c. an individual who has been affected by pregnancy -
related or pregnancy -associated deaths, seve re
maternal morbidity, and/or lack of access to maternal
health care services ,
f. an emergency medical technician, and
g. a home-visiting program director .
Every two (2) years the Committee shall elect from among its
membership a chair and a vice-chair 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: ENR. H. B. NO. 2152 Page 4
A hospital or birthing 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 o ccurs, any maternal
death that occurs in the hospital or birthing center during
pregnancy or within one (1) year of termination of pregn ancy.
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 provided by law:
1. Violent deaths, whether apparently h omicidal, suicidal, or
accidental;
2. Deaths under suspicious, unusual 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 unexpected and that occur in the
course of a therapeu tic procedure;
6. Deaths of any persons detained or occurring in custody of
penal incarceration the Department of Corrections or a county jail ;
and
7. Deaths of persons whose bodies are to be cremated,
transported out of the state, donated to education al entities, to
include limited portions of the body, or otherwise made ultimately
unavailable for pathological study ; and
8. Maternal deaths th at occur during pregnancy or within one
(1) year of termination of pregnancy reported by a hospital or
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 that the cause of death was the execution of
such order.
ENR. H. B. NO. 2152 Page 5
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 939, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 939. A. Except as otherwise provided by law, the Chief
Medical Examiner shall produce 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 additi on, 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, sp ecifically ordered otherwise by the
court.
B. 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 Mortality Review Committee for the
purpose of aiding the Committee in carrying out its duties under the
Maternal Mortality Review Act.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
ENR. H. B. NO. 2152 Page 6
Passed the House of Representatives the 30th day of April, 2024.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 22nd day of April, 2024.
Presiding Officer of t he Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklaho ma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this _________ _
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________