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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL 707 By: Rosino of the Senate
and
Roe of the House
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to public health and safety ; amending
63 O.S. 2021, Section 1-317, as last amended by
Section 1, Chapter 184, O.S.L. 2022 (63 O.S. Supp.
2022, Section 1-317), which relates to death
certificates; extending time period s of certain
requirements; granting immunity from civil damages
under certain conditions; requiring the Office of the
Chief Medical Examiner to make certain disclosure;
requiring certain notice to contain specified
information; imposing certain duty on licensed
funeral directors; directing creation of certain
process; updating statutory language; 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, Section 1 -317, as
last amended by Section 1, Chapter 184, O.S.L. 2022 (63 O.S. Supp.
2022, Section 1-317), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-317. A. A death certificate for each death which
occurs in this state sha ll be filed with the State Department of
Health, within three (3) six (6) calendar days after such death.
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B. The funeral directo r shall personally si gn the death
certificate and shall be responsible for filing the death
certificate. If the funeral director is not availab le, the person
acting as such who first assumes c ustody of a dead body in
accordance with Section 1158 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma St atutes
shall personally sign and file the de ath certificate. The personal
data shall be obtained from the next of kin or t he best qualified
person or source available. The certificate shall be completed as
to personal data and delive red to the attending physician or the
medical examiner responsibl e for completing the medical
certification portion of the certificate of death within twenty-four
(24) hours after the death. No later than July 1, 2012, the
personal data, and no later than July 1, 2017, the me dical
certificate portion, shall be entered into the prescribed electronic
system provided by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics and the
information submitted to the State Registra r of Vital Statistics.
The resultant certificate produced by the elect ronic system shall be
provided to the physic ian or medical examiner for medical
certification within twenty-four (24) hours after the death.
C. The medical certification shall be compl eted and signed
within forty-eight (48) hours five (5) calendar days after death
receipt of the death certificate by the physician, physician
assistant, or advanced practice re gistered nurse Advanced Practice
Registered Nurse in charge of the patient’s care for the illness or
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condition which resulted in death, except when inquiry as to the
cause of death is required by S ection 938 of this title. No later
than July 1, 2017, the medical certification portion of ce rtificate
data shall be entered into the prescribed electronic system provided
by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics and the information
submitted to the Sta te Registrar of Vital Statistics.
D. In the event that the physician, physician assistant, or
advanced practice re gistered nurse Advanced Practice Re gistered
Nurse in charge of the patient’s care for the illness or conditio n
which resulted in death is not in attendance at the time of death ,
the medical certification shall be complete d and signed within
forty-eight (48) hours five (5) calendar days after death receipt of
the death certificate by the physician, physician assistant, or
advanced practice re gistered nurse Advanced Practice Registered
Nurse in attendance at the time of death, except:
1. When the patient is under hospi ce care at the time of d eath,
the medical certification may be signed by the hospice ’s medical
director; and
2. When inquiry as to the cause of death is required by Se ction
938 of this title.
Provided, that such certification, if sig ned by other than the
attending physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice
registered nurse Advanced Practice Registered Nurse , shall note on
the face the name of the attending physician, physician assistant,
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or advanced practice re gistered nurse Advanced Practice Registered
Nurse and that the information shown is only as reported.
E. A certifier completin g cause of death on a ce rtificate of
death who knows that a lethal d rug, overdose or other means of
assisting suicide within the meaning of Section s 3141.2 through
3141.4 of this title caus ed or contributed to the death shall list
that means among the chai n of events under cause of death or list it
in the box that describe s how the injury occurred. If such means is
in the chain of events under cause of death or in the box that
describes how the injury occurred, the certifier shall indicate
“suicide” as the manner of death.
F. The authority of a physician assistant to carry out the
functions described in this section shall be governed by the
practice agreement as provided by Section 519.6 of Title 59 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
G. A physician, physician assi stant, or Advanced Practice
Registered Nurse completing and signing a medical certification in
accordance with this section shall not be liable in a civil action
to recover damages for any acts or omissions relating to the medical
certification if the cause of death is determined in good faith
using the individual ’s best clinical judgment consistent with
current guidance provided by the applicable licensing board, u nless
the acts or omissions amount to willful or wanton misconduct. The
immunity provided by this subsection shall be in addition to any
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other immunity from liability to which these individuals may be
entitled.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 944.3 of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. If, in the course of an investigation, the Office of the
Chief Medical Examiner declines to conduct an autopsy under Section
944 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the Office shall so inform
the person legally entitled to the custody of the body of the
deceased, or his or her repre sentative to whom the body is released
under Section 941a of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, through a
written or electronic notice which the Office shall provide to such
person or representative at the time of release of the body. The
notice shall contain the contact information of a family assistance
coordinator for the purpose of implementing subsection C of this
section. The notice shall state that the person may have the right
to request a private autopsy at personal expense from an authorized
physician or hospital under Section 1154 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma
Statutes.
B. If the body is released to a representative of the person
legally entitled to the custody of the body and if that
representative is a funeral director licensed in this state, the
funeral director shall provide the person with the notice described
in this section upon receipt of the body.
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C. The Office shall create a process by which the person
legally entitled to the custody of a body, or his or her
representative, may ask questions of, and receive responses from, a
family assistance coordinator regarding the medicolegal
investigation and other relevant topics within the purview of the
Office.
SECTION 3. This act shall becom e effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-1897 DC 3/2/2023 10:57:51 AM