Bill Text: MS HB1283 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Medical examiners; require to document in autopsy report recent immunizations of persons who die suddenly and unexpectedly.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB1283 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB1283-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Currie
House Bill 1283
AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 41-61-60, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE AUTOPSY IN THE CASE OF AN INFANT OR CHILD WHO DIES SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY MUST INCLUDE A REVIEW OF THE CHILD'S IMMUNIZATION AND MEDICAL RECORDS; TO REQUIRE THE MEDICAL EXAMINER TO DOCUMENT IN THE AUTOPSY REPORT ANY IMMUNIZATIONS OR EMERGENCY COUNTERMEASURES ADMINISTERED TO THE CHILD WITHIN 90 DAYS BEFORE THE CHILD'S DEATH AND REPORT THE CASE TO THE NATIONAL SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATH (SUID) AND SUDDEN DEATH IN THE YOUNG (SDY) CASE REGISTRY; TO PROVIDE THAT THE AUTOPSY IN THE CASE OF A SUDDEN DEATH SUSPECTED TO BE CAUSED BY SUDDEN ARRHYTHMIC DEATH SYNDROME IN AN INDIVIDUAL OF ANY AGE MUST INCLUDE A REVIEW OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S IMMUNIZATION AND MEDICAL RECORDS; TO REQUIRE THE MEDICAL EXAMINER TO DOCUMENT IN THE AUTOPSY REPORT ANY IMMUNIZATIONS OR EMERGENCY COUNTERMEASURES ADMINISTERED TO THE INDIVIDUAL WITHIN 90 DAYS BEFORE HIS OR HER DEATH AND REPORT THE CASE TO THE SUID AND SDY CASE REGISTRY IF THE INDIVIDUAL WAS YOUNGER THAN 20 YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF DEATH; TO REQUIRE THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER TO IMPOSE ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES AGAINST MEDICAL EXAMINERS WHO FAIL TO REPORT CASES TO THE SUID AND SDY CASE REGISTRY AS REQUIRED WITHIN THIRTY 30 DAYS AFTER COMPLETING THE AUTOPSY REPORT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 41-61-59 AND 41-61-63, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 41-61-60, Mississippi Code of 1972:
41-61-60. (1) As used in this section, the following terms shall be defined as provided in this subsection:
(a) "Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome(SADS)" means the sudden and unexpected death due to cardiac arrhythmia, as determined by performance of an autopsy or a clinical investigation, of a young, apparently healthy individual with no previously diagnosed structural heart disease.
(b) "Sudden Death in the Young (SDY)" means the sudden and unexpected death of an individual younger than twenty (20) years of age due to natural causes, including, but not limited to, sudden cardiac death or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, which death remains unexplained after initial investigation.
(c) "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)" means the sudden death of an infant younger than one (1) year of age that remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of an autopsy, scene investigations, and a review of clinical history.
(d) "Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID)" means the sudden and unexpected death of an infant younger than one (1) year of age, whether explained or unexplained, including, but not limited to, death caused by SIDS, accidental suffocation, and other potential causes.
(e) "Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Death in the Young (SDY) Case Registry" means the national surveillance system coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that collects standardized data on sudden and unexpected deaths in individuals younger than twenty (20) years of age.
(2) In the case of an infant or child who dies suddenly and unexpectedly, including cases of SIDS, SUID or SDY, the autopsy must include microscopic and toxicology studies and a review of the child's immunization and medical records from the child's pediatrician or primary care practitioner or from other sources. The medical examiner shall document in the autopsy report any immunizations or emergency countermeasures administered to the child within ninety (90) days before the child's death and report the case to the SUID and SDY Case Registry in accordance with protocols established by the State Department of Health and the CDC.
(3) In the case of a sudden death suspected to be caused by SADS in an individual of any age, the autopsy must include microscopic and toxicology studies and a review of the individual's immunization and medical records from the individual's primary care practitioner or from other sources. The medical examiner shall document in the autopsy report any immunizations or emergency countermeasures administered to the individual within ninety (90) days before his or her death and report the case to the SUID and SDY Case Registry if the individual was younger than twenty (20) years of age at the time of death, in accordance with protocols established by the Department of Health and the CDC.
(4) The State Medical Examiner shall impose the following administrative penalties against a medical examiner who fails to report a case of SIDS, SUID, SDY or SADS, for individuals younger than twenty (20) years of age, to the SUID and SDY Case Registry within thirty (30) days after completing the autopsy report:
(a) For the first unreported case, a fine of up to One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00).
(b) For the second and subsequent unreported cases, a fine of up to Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).
(5) Compliance with the reporting and documentation requirements of this section is deemed a permissible disclosure under state and federal medical privacy laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
SECTION 2. Section 41-61-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-61-59. (1) A person's death that affects the public interest as specified in subsection (2) of this section shall be promptly reported to the medical examiner by the physician in attendance, any hospital employee, any law enforcement officer having knowledge of the death, the embalmer or other funeral home employee, any emergency medical technician, any relative or any other person present. The appropriate medical examiner shall notify the municipal or state law enforcement agency or sheriff and take charge of the body. When the medical examiner has received notification under Section 41-39-15(6) that the deceased is medically suitable to be an organ and/or tissue donor, the medical examiner's authority over the body shall be subject to the provisions of Section 41-39-15(6). The appropriate medical examiner shall notify the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of the body in cases of death as described in subsection (2)(m) or (n) of this section.
(2) A death affecting the public interest includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(a) Violent death, including homicidal, suicidal or accidental death.
(b) Death caused by thermal, chemical, electrical or radiation injury.
(c) Death caused by criminal abortion, including self-induced abortion, or abortion related to or by sexual abuse.
(d) Death related to disease thought to be virulent or contagious that may constitute a public hazard.
(e) Death that has occurred unexpectedly or from an unexplained cause.
(f) Death of a person confined in a prison, jail or correctional institution.
(g) Death of a person where a physician was not in attendance within thirty-six (36) hours preceding death, or in prediagnosed terminal or bedfast cases, within thirty (30) days preceding death.
(h) Death of a person where the body is not claimed by a relative or a friend.
(i) Death of a person where the identity of the deceased is unknown.
(j) Death of a child under the age of two (2) years where death results from an unknown cause or where the circumstances surrounding the death indicate that sudden infant death syndrome may be the cause of death.
(k) Where a body is brought into this state for disposal and there is reason to believe either that the death was not investigated properly or that there is not an adequate certificate of death.
(l) Where a person is presented to a hospital emergency room unconscious and/or unresponsive, with cardiopulmonary resuscitative measures being performed, and dies within twenty-four (24) hours of admission without regaining consciousness or responsiveness, unless a physician was in attendance within thirty-six (36) hours preceding presentation to the hospital, or in cases in which the decedent had a prediagnosed terminal or bedfast condition, unless a physician was in attendance within thirty (30) days preceding presentation to the hospital.
(m) Death that is caused by drug overdose or which is believed to be caused by drug overdose.
(n) When a stillborn fetus is delivered and the cause of the demise is medically believed to be from the use by the mother of any controlled substance as defined in Section 41-29-105.
(o) Death of any person under the age of eighteen (18).
(3) The State Medical Examiner is empowered to investigate deaths, under the authority hereinafter conferred, in any and all political subdivisions of the state. The county medical examiners and county medical examiner investigators, while appointed for a specific county, may serve other counties on a regular basis with written authorization by the State Medical Examiner, or may serve other counties on an as-needed basis upon the request of the ranking officer of the investigating law enforcement agency. If a death affecting the public interest takes place in a county other than the one where injuries or other substantial causal factors leading to the death have occurred, jurisdiction for investigation of the death may be transferred, by mutual agreement of the respective medical examiners of the counties involved, to the county where the injuries or other substantial causal factors occurred, and the costs of autopsy or other studies necessary to the further investigation of the death shall be borne by the county assuming jurisdiction.
(4) (a) In criminal trials where the testimony of a current or former State Medical Examiner, Deputy State Medical Examiner, or member of the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory is needed, the use of audiovisual communications equipment to present such testimony remotely is allowed when the state has provided written notice to the defendant at least ninety (90) days prior to trial of its intent to present such remote testimony, and the defendant provides no written objection within fourteen (14) days of receiving such notice. Should the defendant object, the remote testimony shall only be permitted upon a finding by the court that the rights of the defendant to confront the witness against the defendant is not violated, that compelling circumstances exist to allow such remote testimony, and that the remote testimony can be provided with appropriate safeguards so as to assure the reliability of the testimony of the witness during the trial.
(b) All persons qualified to administer an oath in the State of Mississippi may swear a witness remotely by audiovisual communication technology, provided they can positively identify the witness and they are able to both see and hear the witness via audiovisual communications equipment.
(5) The chief county medical examiner or chief county medical examiner investigator may receive from the county in which he serves a salary of One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($1,250.00) per month, in addition to the fees specified in Sections 41-61-69 and 41-61-75, provided that no county shall pay the chief county medical examiner or chief county medical examiner investigator less than Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) per month as a salary, in addition to other compensation provided by law. In any county having one or more deputy medical examiners or deputy medical examiner investigators, each deputy may receive from the county in which he serves, in the discretion of the board of supervisors, a salary of not more than Nine Hundred Dollars ($900.00) per month, in addition to the fees specified in Sections 41-61-69 and 41-61-75; however, no county shall pay the deputy medical examiners or deputy medical examiner investigators less than Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) per month as a salary in addition to other compensation provided by law. For this salary the chief shall assure twenty-four-hour daily and readily available death investigators for the county, and shall maintain copies of all medical examiner death investigations for the county for at least the previous five (5) years. He shall coordinate his office and duties and cooperate with the State Medical Examiner, and the State Medical Examiner shall cooperate with him.
SECTION 3. Section 41-61-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-61-63. (1) The State Medical Examiner shall:
(a) Provide assistance, consultation and training to county medical examiners, county medical examiner investigators and law enforcement officials.
(b) Keep complete records of all relevant information concerning deaths or crimes requiring investigation by the medical examiners.
(c) Promulgate rules and regulations regarding the manner and techniques to be employed while conducting autopsies; the nature, character and extent of investigations to be made into deaths affecting the public interest to allow a medical examiner to render a full and complete analysis and report; the format and matters to be contained in all reports rendered by the medical examiners; and all other things necessary to carry out the purposes of Sections 41-61-51 through 41-61-79. The State Medical Examiner shall make such amendments to these rules and regulations as may be necessary. All medical examiners, coroners and law enforcement officers shall be subject to such rules.
(d) Cooperate with the crime detection and medical examiner laboratories authorized by Section 45-1-17, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the Attorney General, law enforcement agencies, the courts and the State of Mississippi.
(e) Promulgate rules and regulations regarding the manner in which county medical examiner investigators are required to enter electronically the information for all deaths that occur in the investigator's county.
(2) In addition, the medical examiners shall:
(a) Upon receipt of notification of a death affecting the public interest, make inquiries regarding the cause and manner of death, reduce the findings to writing and promptly make a full report to the State Medical Examiner on forms prescribed for that purpose. The medical examiner shall be authorized to inspect and copy the medical reports of the decedent whose death is under investigation. However, the records copied shall be maintained as confidential so as to protect the doctor/patient privilege. The medical examiners shall be authorized to request the issuance of subpoenas, through the proper court, for the attendance of persons and for the production of documents as may be required by their investigation.
(b) Complete the medical examiner's portion of the certificate of death within seventy-two (72) hours of assuming jurisdiction over a death, and forward the certificate to the funeral director or to the family. The medical examiner's portion of the certificate of death shall include the decedent's name, the date and time of death, the cause of death and the certifier's signature. If determination of the cause and/or manner of death are pending an autopsy or toxicological or other studies, these sections on the certificate may be marked "pending," with amendment and completion to follow the completion of the postmortem studies. The State Medical Examiner shall be authorized to amend a death certificate; however, the State Medical Examiner is not authorized to change or amend any death certificate after he has resigned or been removed from his office as the State Medical Examiner. Where an attending physician refuses to sign a certificate of death, or in case of any death, the State Medical Examiner or properly qualified designee may sign the death certificate.
(c) Cooperate with other agencies as provided for the State Medical Examiner in subsection (1)(d) of this section.
(d) In all investigations of deaths affecting the public interest where an autopsy will not be performed, obtain or attempt to obtain postmortem blood, urine and/or vitreous fluids. Medical examiners may also obtain rectal temperature measurements, known hair samples, radiographs, gunshot residue/wiping studies, fingerprints, palm prints and other noninvasive studies as the case warrants and/or as directed by the State Medical Examiner. Decisions shall be made in consultation with investigating law enforcement officials and/or the State Medical Examiner. The cost of all studies not performed by the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory shall be borne by the county. County medical examiner investigators shall be authorized to obtain these postmortem specimens themselves following successful completion of the death investigation training school.
(e) In all investigations of deaths occurring in the manner specified in subsection (2)(j) of Section 41-61-59, a death investigation shall be performed by the medical examiners in accordance with the child death investigation protocol established by the State Medical Examiner. The results of the death investigation shall be reported to the State Medical Examiner on forms prescribed for that purpose by the State Medical Examiner and to appropriate authorities, including police and child protective services, within three (3) days of the conclusion of the death investigation.
(f) Electronically report all deaths, and all associated toxicology reports, that occur in the examiner's county to the State Medical Examiner in a manner prescribed by the State Medical Examiner.
(3) The medical examiner shall not use his position or authority to favor any particular funeral home or funeral homes.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
